Originally Posted by
Porkslope
I've been tinkering with 5e homebrew since the game came out and I've mainly tried to stick to duplicating or altering mechanics present in the core rulebook, with only a few outliers here and there (like imitating 3.5's psionic focus mechanic), but a 1-minute cooldown is something I can't remember ever seeing in a game. I think it could have a place for features that are too strong for at-will use, but not strong enough to justify a refresh on a short rest.
What I wanted to discuss are the implications of that mechanic and how it could change the use of an ability. With a 1 minute cooldown, that feature could be used once a battle, and players are encouraged to use it as soon as they see an opportunity, rather than save it for when they think they need it. This way, there won't be a feeling of "I held back too much with my short rest features, now we're more worn down than we should be" when the party takes a short rest. You could even apply it to a point-based resource if you wanted to get more granular and let them spend the resource on more than one feature.
Do you think a mechanic like the 1-minute cooldown could fit in to D&D 5e? Is it too video gamey? Is it not video gamey enough? What would you like to see it applied to, or do you think it should go in the trash?