D&D 5E What do you think of the 5e Energy Drain mechanic?

[JRRNeiklot]

I don't like it. Too easily fixed. Make it removable only by a wish and they might have something. Otherwise it's a minor inconvenience.

 

[Gorgoroth]

Very interesting! I hated losing levels (even temporarily, but especially permanently), but the hit point loss is pretty scary. Compared to 4e, definitely a major improvement. Even if losing a surge amounted to the same thing overall, it's way scarier to have a cumulatively lower maximum HP the deeper you go into the dungeon. And not healable except by a long rest. Eek! There should be a high level cleric spell that can fix it, IMO. Channel Divinity / Energy is a good contender. One of the uses of it, at least.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I don't like it. Too easily fixed. Make it removable only by a wish and they might have something. Otherwise it's a minor inconvenience.

Eh. That's a lot of tracking/magic dependence/time. I mean, as an option, sure, but I wouldn't want all energy-draining undead by default to come with a "YOUR CHARACTER'S STATS ARE FOREVER CHANGED (barring rare magic) BECAUSE SOMEONE ROLLED LUCKY TONIGHT" consequence. Scary, but also just kind of unnecessarily permanent. By 3 sessions into having the condition, the player's not even likely to remember how much her HP is down by. I'm not particularly a fan of an effect that is so easily forgettable.

Reducing max HP isn't bad. I've adopted it as a consequence of failing exploration challenges, and it's worked OK.

 

[Dausuul]

There should be a high level cleric spell that can fix it, IMO.

There is. One of the listed uses of greater restoration is to restore maximum hit points.

 

[GX.Sigma]

There is. One of the listed uses of greater restoration is to restore maximum hit points.

Actually, for all except the vampire, remove curse (Clr 3) works.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Eh. That's a lot of tracking/magic dependence/time. I mean, as an option, sure, but I wouldn't want all energy-draining undead by default to come with a "YOUR CHARACTER'S STATS ARE FOREVER CHANGED (barring rare magic) BECAUSE SOMEONE ROLLED LUCKY TONIGHT" consequence.

I look at it more like someone got stupid and decided to arm wrestle a wraith and got what they deserve. There's nothing wrong with old school level drain, other than, as you say, the book keeping. 3e fixed that nicely with the negative level mechanic, though they made it way too easily fixed. Undead should be scary, a 5 hit point loss, regained by a low to mid level spell is not. Worse, It's boring.

 

[Gorgoroth]

Wait a minute, a wight drains 5 hp on a hit, that's on top of the damage it does. It's rated as a level 3 creature. Remove Curse (level 3, i.e. need to be a level 5 cleric), or Greater Restoration (7) are the only spell listed AFAIK that remedy this HP loss, other than a long rest. So if you are in a dungeon full of undead, you are going to go down fast, and often, and stay there, i.e. dead. There won't even be any corpses of the fallen adventurers that came before you, they'll be taking part in your destruction. That is a VERY well designed trap dungeon that should indeed, terrify players. I would describe it as a DM like your hair is falling out and your eyes go gaunt and you look old, similar to the Wraith in Stargate Atlantis.

Several level 3 or level 7 cleric spells are also not easy to come by, for level 3 parties fighting such creatures, and even when you are higher level, they will still in greater numbers be a very big threat to weedle down the fighter and other party resources before they get to the lower catacombs and fight deadlier enemies. I think it's a good mechanic, fair and balanced but still a danger.

I'm playing this next week, I CAN'T WAIT!!!

 

[Gargoyle]

Wait a minute, a wight drains 5 hp on a hit, that's on top of the damage it does. It's rated as a level 3 creature. Remove Curse (level 3, i.e. need to be a level 5 cleric), or Greater Restoration (7) are the only spell listed AFAIK that remedy this HP loss, other than a long rest. So if you are in a dungeon full of undead, you are going to go down fast, and often, and stay there, i.e. dead. There won't even be any corpses of the fallen adventurers that came before you, they'll be taking part in your destruction. That is a VERY well designed trap dungeon that should indeed, terrify players. I would describe it as a DM like your hair is falling out and your eyes go gaunt and you look old, similar to the Wraith in Stargate Atlantis.

Several level 3 or level 7 cleric spells are also not easy to come by, for level 3 parties fighting such creatures, and even when you are higher level, they will still in greater numbers be a very big threat to weedle down the fighter and other party resources before they get to the lower catacombs and fight deadlier enemies. I think it's a good mechanic, fair and balanced but still a danger.

I'm playing this next week, I CAN'T WAIT!!!

That's a good assessment IMO, and sort of what I was thinking, this is scary enough without making it tougher.

It occurs to me that another function of these undead besides scaring the party is that of making the party happy they brought a cleric. "Thank goodness he was able to turn the zombies away so we could take down the wight" at lower levels, even. There is a need in the game for monsters that make people glad they brought <insert class name here>. That's not to make any one class more important than another, but instead the purpose is to make it so that the player of that class feels needed. It's good now and then as a DM to spotlight a particular PC now and then, especially if you feel someone is feeling like they aren't needed. Big burly monsters make fighters feel needed. Traps and locked doors and such (should) make rogues feel needed. Hordes of monsters make wizards feel needed, etc. Healing in general may make clerics feel needed most of the time anyway, but dangerous undead especially do.

 

[babomb]

Harm also lowers maximum HP: if you roll higher than the target's current HP (on 14d6), the target's maximum HP is reduced to 1 for 1 hour. (If you roll less than or equal to the target's current HP, it doesn't lower max HP, just deals damage.)

 

[Blackwarder]

I would prefer if the target had to make another Con save at the end of the 24 hour period to get it's maximum HP back.

Warder