Narrative play for 5e

It’s 5e, told as a story first. Rolls still decide things, and they matter more, because everyone knows what’s on the line before the dice land, and a near miss turns into a choice instead of a shrug.

Every rule below is optional. Switch on the ones your table likes.

On the tabletop, open your table’s settings and turn on Narrative play. Then pick the rules you want:

It works with both the 2014 and 2024 rules. Turning it off puts every roll back to plain 5e.

Before anyone rolls, say two things: the number, and what happens if it goes wrong. That’s it.

Now the roll matters to everyone, and nobody feels tricked by what happens next. On the tabletop, type the risk into the Stakes box before you roll, and it shows on the roll card.

If you can’t think of anything that would go wrong, don’t call for a roll. Just let it happen.

Compare the total with the number, and read it like this:

• Beat it by 5 or more, or roll a natural 20: it goes better than you hoped. The player says what extra they get.
• Meet or beat it: it works.
• Miss by 1 to 4: a close call. The player chooses how it goes.
• Miss by 5 or more, or roll a natural 1: it fails, and the risk happens.

A close call gives the roller two buttons on the card:

Close calls come up about one roll in five, whatever anyone’s bonus is. That’s enough to keep the story twisting, and rare enough that a clean success still feels earned.

Every character sheet has a short Story section: a Drive, an Ideal, a Bond and a Flaw. When a player’s Bond drags them into danger, their Flaw gets them into trouble, or they chase their Drive at a real cost, they earn Inspiration. There’s a button for each on the sheet.

Players hold one Inspiration at a time and spend it as usual: advantage in the 2014 rules, a reroll in 2024. It rewards exactly the play you want: characters acting like people with something to lose.

When a player describes something daring and specific, like swinging from the chandelier, kicking the brazier into the cultists, or sliding under the closing portcullis, give them advantage. On the tabletop, tick Bold stunt before rolling.

Save it for real flair, not for every attack. If the whole table leans in when they describe it, it counts.

At 0 HP a character is out of the fight: captured, lost, left for dead, waking up somewhere they didn’t expect. They only die if their player agrees it’s the right moment for their story. In return, players should play characters who want to live.

This lets you hit hard. A fight can go badly without ending someone’s campaign.

Narrative play works well when people post hours apart, because nobody has to wait for you to say whether something worked.

• Post the numbers up front. When you set a scene, list the DCs and ACs that matter and what goes wrong: “The lock is a 15. The guards have AC 13. If anyone is seen, the alarm goes up.”
• Post what enemies do. “The ogre swings at whoever is nearest: +5 to hit, 2d8+3.” With Players roll enemy attacks on, the target rolls that attack against themselves when they next post.
• Let players settle their own close calls and write what happens. Step in later if you want to change something.

• Say yes more often. Only roll when failure would be interesting.
• When a player picks “at a cost”, make the cost quick and concrete: a little damage, a lost item, a worse position, an enemy who acts right now.
• When someone gets a big success, let them describe it. It’s their moment.
• Never punish a player for choosing to fall short safely. That’s a good, careful choice.
• Talk about tone and limits before the first session, and check in as you play.