RangerWickett
Legend
D&D 3e gave us Fort/Ref/Will, which were basically Con/Dex/Wis saves. They handled things that affected your physical form that you couldn't dodge, things that you could dodge, and things that affected your mind or soul.
5e has saves for all six stats, but Str, Int, and Cha saves are pretty rare. I'd like help coming up with a nice array of types of things that would call for each save, so that I can use a variety in my games, and make all saves pertinent. Here's what I've got so far. Things with asterisks are probably going to seem weird until I explain them.
STRENGTH
(Conan is good at resisting this)
Things that grab or swallow you (including grapple checks, webs, tanglefoot bags).
Things that push, drag, or trip you (including thunderwave, ropers, and wolves).
DEXTERITY
(Spider-Man is good at resisting this)
Explosions and other area attacks.
Pit traps and other hazards that require getting out of the area.
*Gaze attacks (specifically to look away from them).
CONSTITUTION
(Wolverine is good at resisting this)
Poison (but I'm changing it - I want it to work sorta like a specter's attack; it always does damage, but if you fail your save it also lowers your hit point maximum by the same amount)*.
Suffocation (like being choked or crushed or drowned).
Stunning effects.
INTELLIGENCE
(Iron Man is good at resisting this - without needing his suit)
Illusions.
WISDOM
(Paul Atreides from Dune is good at resisting this)
Combat maneuvers like feints, disarms, and dirty tricks.
Emotion effects like charm and fear.
CHARISMA
(Steve Rogers is good at resisting this - without the super soldier serum)
Domination (total mind control)
Compulsion (stuff that orders a specific action)
Stuff that changes what you are (polymorph, petrification)
So for instance, if a medusa looks at you, you'd get a Dex save to look away. If you succeed, you're blinded for a round. If you fail, you make a Charisma save to resist being petrified. If you succeed, you are slowed as you partially turn to stone, and then you fully turn to stone at the start of your next turn. If you fail, you turn to stone immediately.
----
If I'm doing these things, I think I might design monsters to have more vulnerabilities, and let Intelligence be used to figure those out. Because I can't think of many Int-based saves.
Also, I might want to add a new damage type: curse. It's for things that don't have a physical wound component, and don't really affect your mind either, but still somehow make you more likely to die. Curse and poison damage would both have a chance to lower your HP max. I might even make Medusas do a LOT of curse damage; you can make a Dexterity save for half to look away. If you fail the Dex save, you make a Cha save to avoid being slowed for a round. But you're only petrified if the curse reduces your HP total to 0.
Hm, should 'bleed' effects exist and use the same mechanic? Or maybe bleed and curse lower max HP, and poison is just damage that tends to cause a negative status condition.
Sorry, it's 3am and I'm rambling. What do you think?
5e has saves for all six stats, but Str, Int, and Cha saves are pretty rare. I'd like help coming up with a nice array of types of things that would call for each save, so that I can use a variety in my games, and make all saves pertinent. Here's what I've got so far. Things with asterisks are probably going to seem weird until I explain them.
STRENGTH
(Conan is good at resisting this)
Things that grab or swallow you (including grapple checks, webs, tanglefoot bags).
Things that push, drag, or trip you (including thunderwave, ropers, and wolves).
DEXTERITY
(Spider-Man is good at resisting this)
Explosions and other area attacks.
Pit traps and other hazards that require getting out of the area.
*Gaze attacks (specifically to look away from them).
CONSTITUTION
(Wolverine is good at resisting this)
Poison (but I'm changing it - I want it to work sorta like a specter's attack; it always does damage, but if you fail your save it also lowers your hit point maximum by the same amount)*.
Suffocation (like being choked or crushed or drowned).
Stunning effects.
INTELLIGENCE
(Iron Man is good at resisting this - without needing his suit)
Illusions.
WISDOM
(Paul Atreides from Dune is good at resisting this)
Combat maneuvers like feints, disarms, and dirty tricks.
Emotion effects like charm and fear.
CHARISMA
(Steve Rogers is good at resisting this - without the super soldier serum)
Domination (total mind control)
Compulsion (stuff that orders a specific action)
Stuff that changes what you are (polymorph, petrification)
So for instance, if a medusa looks at you, you'd get a Dex save to look away. If you succeed, you're blinded for a round. If you fail, you make a Charisma save to resist being petrified. If you succeed, you are slowed as you partially turn to stone, and then you fully turn to stone at the start of your next turn. If you fail, you turn to stone immediately.
----
If I'm doing these things, I think I might design monsters to have more vulnerabilities, and let Intelligence be used to figure those out. Because I can't think of many Int-based saves.
Also, I might want to add a new damage type: curse. It's for things that don't have a physical wound component, and don't really affect your mind either, but still somehow make you more likely to die. Curse and poison damage would both have a chance to lower your HP max. I might even make Medusas do a LOT of curse damage; you can make a Dexterity save for half to look away. If you fail the Dex save, you make a Cha save to avoid being slowed for a round. But you're only petrified if the curse reduces your HP total to 0.
Hm, should 'bleed' effects exist and use the same mechanic? Or maybe bleed and curse lower max HP, and poison is just damage that tends to cause a negative status condition.
Sorry, it's 3am and I'm rambling. What do you think?
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