Bonus rules

The optional rules below can be used to further customize your play experience and help you feel more immersed in the world of Varris. The rules were written with the 5e ruleset in mind, but can easily be adapted to other systems.

Legal notice

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

Character creation

These rules are meant for players. You can apply any of them to your character when you create them.

Running the game

These rules are meant for Game Masters. Session 0 is a great opportunity to establish with your group which of them will apply during their adventure. Some of these bonus rules may not be necessary or suitable, depending on the type of adventure you are running and your group's preferred playstyle.

Metalwork

Metallic dragons are a big part of the Varris setting. This section contains additional rules for crafting, buying and using weapons, armors and shields made of metals other than steel.

Basic rules

The following rules constitute the metalwork system:

While most metal equipment is crafted out of steel, it's possible to find, buy or commission equipment made of a specific metal, choosing from copper, brass, bronze, silver, gold and platinum, listed in the order of increasing price.
"Silvered" weapons don't exist in Varris and it's not possible to coat your weapons and ammunition in silver for the price given in the basic rules. Instead, any weapon or ammunition made of silver, gold or platinum counts as "silvered" for the purposes of damage resistances.
A creature who has immunity to "bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered" has disadvantage on attacks made against creatures wearing silver, gold or platinum armor and cannot have advantage against creatures wielding silver, gold or platinum shields.
Elves are proficient with any armor and shields made of the metal of their subrace and gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls made with weapons or ammunition made of that metal. This is noted in the Player Options with a trait called "Metallic Affinity". Most elf statblocks are assumed to be carrying weapons and armor corresponding to their subrace.
Chromatic dragons and half-dragons often have a trait called “Metallic Nemesis”, which makes equipment made of the metal corresponding to their respective metallic equivalent more effective in fights against them. Weapons and ammunition of that metal have advantage on attack rolls against them. They cannot score critical hits against creatures wielding shields of that metal. Creatures wearing armor made of that metal take half damage from their breath weapon.
Each piece of platinum equipment carried or worn by a cleric or paladin increases the DC of any saving throw they force creatures to make as part of their Channel Divinity by 1. Additionally, a cleric, paladin, druid or ranger who wears platinum armor and wields a platinum shield gains resistance to necrotic damage.

Custom rules

You may decide that certain monsters are either vulnerable to, or have a resistance or an immunity to damage from bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from attacks made with weapons made of a specific metal.

Some powerful elves might be immune to damage from attacks made with weapons corresponding to their subrace,have advantage on attacks made against creatures wearing armor made of that metal or even be able to deal damage to creatures wearing or carrying equipment made of it with a free casting of the heat metal spell once per day. You may also offer any or all of these benefits to your elf or half-elf player characters as a feat.

Crafting and buying

It's possible to commission equipment made of any of the six metals, as long as the blacksmith who is to forge it has access to enough material — it's possible to provide the craftsmen with the total weight of the requested item in different items for them to melt and reforge it with no additional cost. The price and weight of a piece of equipment is multiplied by amounts specific to the metal it's forged from.

You can assume that in large or prosperous cities, all types of metal are available for crafting. Blacksmiths in towns might only have access to the metals of the one or two elven subraces that are the most common in the local area, as the elves are likely to commission any equipment they need to be made from the metal that suits their needs. The table below shows the weight and prices of various pieces of metal equipment. The column labeled "Steel" represents the items you know from the basic rules.

Multiplier	Steel	Copper	Bronze	Brass	Silver	Gold	Platinum
Price	1	0.8	1.5	2	4	10	18
Weight	1	1	1	1	1.5	2	3

Exploration

This section contains rules originally written for the Heart of Darkness campaign, which features a large open world. Consequently, these rules are meant for adventures where the player characters travel across long distances.

Orientation checks

Finding one's way in uncharted wilderness can be a challenge, especially while being interrupted by encounters. Whenever the party continues their travel after leaving initiative or taking a rest, ask them to roll an Orientation check. The party decides who should roll this ability check and what skill they should use. The character must be proficient in a skill to use it for this roll and it must be something that can reasonably be used to determine where the party should be headed, such as Survival, Perception, Nature or Arcana. The DC of this check depends on the area the party is currently in. It is near impossible to get lost while traveling along a straight road leading through a grassland, but navigating through the thick foliage of a dimly lit forest can prove to be a challenge.

If the check is a success, the party continues their travel. If it's a failure, they get temporarily lost. This extends their travel time by 2 hours and adds one travel encounter before they reach their destination. At the end of the added encounter, ask for another Orientation check — a success means getting back on track, while another failure means getting lost again.

If the party gets lost two or more times in a row, they may end up in a completely different location to where they intended to go. It is possible for them to stumble upon a new settlement or dungeon that way, the location or even existance of which they were previously unaware of.

While accompanied by NPCs familiar with the region, such as a local or a seasoned traveler, the player characters gain advantage on Orientation checks. Player characters originating from the region also have this advantage. Traveling during the night imposes a disadvantage on Orientation checks.

Weather effects

There are no seasons in Varris. Instead, the weather changes throughout the year due to the movement of gargantuan elementals who dwell deep underground, as any Getarian child knows. This causes the temperature and atmosphere to often change rapidly and unpredictably.

Each sunrise, roll on this table to determine what weather conditions are present in the region until sundown. These effects are not applicable underground, indoors, or in areas where magical effects supress the weather.

2d6	Weather
2	Frigidness
After each hour of travel, make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or gain a level of exhaustion. Taking any rest and eating food removes one level of exhaustion acquired this way. Characters resistant to cold damage or accustomed to frigid climates are unaffected.
3	Overnight freeze
A thin layer of frost covers the ground. Whenever you take the dash action across a smooth surface, make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw, slipping and falling prone on a failed save.
4	Drizzle
Non-magical flames are extinguished and fire damage is halved. Additionally, you have disadvantage on melee weapon attacks made with non-magical weapons.
5	Overnight downpour
Soil has become mud. Whenever you take the dash action while walking across the mud, make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw, slipping and falling prone on a failed save. Anything that touches the ground becomes soiled and wet until cleaned, clothes included.
6-7	Clear skies
No additional effects.
8-9	Fog
This effect does not apply to mountainous areas. You have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. You are blind beyond a 30 ft. radius.
10	Strong wind
You have disadvantage on ranged weapon attacks made with non-magical weapons. Flight speed is halved. Items that aren't worn or carried are swept away by the wind in a random direction with a speed of 10 ft. per round.
11	Thunderstorn
You have disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing. You are vulnerable to lightning damage and resistant to thunder damage.
12	Heatwave
After each hour of travel, make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or gain a level of exhaustion. Taking any rest and drinking water removes one level of exhaustion acquired this way. Characters resistant to fire damage or accustomed to hot climates are unaffected.

These weather conditions affect all creatures in the region, so be mindful of them when running combat encounters — the rules apply to your monsters, too.