Fanaelialae
Legend
Technically, these are not mutually exclusive within the context of the game. In the context of any given campaign, obviously, they are.I disagree.
I want D&D BBEG fights at the end of the dungeon to be the big action hero climax fight where the PCs pull out their best moves as it comes down to the wire, not one where the heroes can barely swing a sword due to death spiraling.
I want heroes hp to be whacked down a lot in that climax fight and then they still pull out a win TKO, not to be smacked around by the BBEG then have the numbers of death spiral show them they have no chance.
The default could be that HP loss doesn't have penalties. Which seems reasonable due to tradition.
There could be an optional Heroic Death Spiral rule, wherein the closer your character is to death the stronger they are.
There could also be an optional Gritty Death Spiral rule, wherein your character is weaker the closer to death they are.
Slap on a warning that Heroic will make encounters easier while Gritty will make them harder (so DMs know to adjust accordingly) and done.