D&D 5E How much extra starting HP for PCs in a Death at 0 HP Variant?

[mflayermonk]

I agree with others, what are you trying to get at?

I mean, what's the difference between 50hp and 1? nothing. Between 1 and 0? Death. That's a big change for a little step.

That's the bargain the PCs made (with an NPC). They wanted something to happen, an NPC struck a bargain, and they've got six sessions to go to the place, do the thing and reverse the deal.

 

[LordEntrails]

That's the bargain the PCs made (with an NPC). They wanted something to happen, an NPC struck a bargain, and they've got six sessions to go to the place, do the thing and reverse the deal.

Sorry, I don't understand.
What bargain? What thing? What deal?

These all make sense to you, but to me I'm clueless.

 

[cbwjm]

If you need to add additional hit points, I would recommend that at 1st level they gain: max hit points + Constitution score. This should provide a suitable buffer at 1st level. From 2nd level onwards, have them gain additional hit points according to their constitution modifier as per normal.

 

[Quickleaf]

I plan on running a 6-session campaign with a death at 0 hp variant.
I need an idea of how much additional hp to award starting characters.

I've run a few playtests for 4 players and the number I've got is +50 starting hp.

Anyone have any experience with this how much extra hp do you award?
Do you award a large block to start with or do you do something like double hp per level?

The number of additional HP you should give the PCs is should equal the number of PCs in your party (4) divided by the number of hit points a PC dies at (0). So, 0 extra HP.

If they are 1st level, their first or second encounter should also be with an ogre.

 

[mflayermonk]

The number of additional HP you should give the PCs is should equal the number of PCs in your party (4) divided by the number of hit points a PC dies at (0). So, 0 extra HP.

If they are 1st level, their first or second encounter should also be with an ogre.

Wait, that's division by 0.
The PCs (intentionally) died to enter the land of the dead so everything they encounter must also be dead. Maybe a zombie ogre.

 

[Quickleaf]

Wait, that's division by 0.
The PCs (intentionally) died to enter the land of the dead so everything they encounter must also be dead. Maybe a zombie ogre.

You should have led with that!

IMHO, I'd run it as a time limit instead of messing with the HP/death rules. "You have till the sun rises in the land of the living..." or "If you have not left the land of the dead by the next new moon, you shall never leave..."

Then you can introduce complications that play off that.... "Meanwhile, back in the land of the living with your exposed corpses..." or "The soul vessel tempts you with illusions of dearly departed, trying to sway you from your quest..." or "The BBEG casts an illusion making time seem to move slower in his dead realm..."

 

[ccs]

Wait, that's division by 0.
The PCs (intentionally) died to enter the land of the dead so everything they encounter must also be dead. Maybe a zombie ogre.

Out of curiosity, what lv were they when they died?

Personally I'd tie their death in this realm to their Charisma scores.
Whenever they reach zero hp, make a DC 10 cha save.
Failure = dead & gone.
Success = they get back up at full hp - but thier Charisma bonus drops by 1. Making the next save harder. And the one after that harder yet. Eventually thier spirits will break.

 

[Tony Vargas]

The death saves mechanic doesn't match well with the fiction of the setting.

Sure, it has that in common with AC, hps, saving throws, falling damage, cyclical initiative, and slot-based casting.

 

[mflayermonk]

Out of curiosity, what lv were they when they died?

Personally I'd tie their death in this realm to their Charisma scores.
Whenever they reach zero hp, make a DC 10 cha save.
Failure = dead & gone.
Success = they get back up at full hp - but thier Charisma bonus drops by 1. Making the next save harder. And the one after that harder yet. Eventually thier spirits will break.

8th level at the time they "died".

Thank you, this is a perfect solution for me. The main PC that wanted this rescue mission was the bard (parallels to the Orpheous and Eurydice myth) and this gives me a way to reward the bard's selflessness and fits the challenge of the setting.

Sure, it has that in common with AC, hps, saving throws, falling damage, cyclical initiative, and slot-based casting.

Dead people making death saves was a little too much for me.

 

[Blue]

The insta-death rule depends on their max-HP, so for mimicing that doing it at high level play vs. low level play is quite different.

Either way though this will have some rather dramatic effects on play. It dilutes all healing, since it needs to cover the full amount instead of "start from zero" no matter how much below zero.

But the other aspect is that it will be a lot harder to drop someone, which means that you lose one of your tools for creating tension. Plus with PCs staying up longer you need to throw more at them to challenge them, but slipping a little over the edge from challenge means actually dead PCs. Personally, I'd hate to be a player where the DM softballs it so there's no real threat, but you are taking away your margin if the dice are finicky.