-10, Only MOSTLY Dead

[DMFTodd]

Looking for feedback.

Raise Dead/Resurrection/etc in D&D causes several problems:
* It removes drama from the game: Ah well, Bob died, keep fighting the dragon, we'll get him raised later. It's no longer about life or death, it's about living or suffering some inconvenience.

* It interrupts the flow of adventures: Oops, Bob died, we'll have to put this adventure on hold to go get him raised

* Eliminates the "king has been assasinated" adventures. Who cares? Just raise him.

So for those reasons, let's eliminate Raise Dead and his brothers from the game. If you die, you die. You're not coming back.

BUT, D&D as written is far too deadly: Save Vs. Die spells, inopportunely timed crits, luck claw/claw/rends, etc. So how can we make D&D less deadly, but still keeps things exciting?

One idea:

Any time you die, you instead go to -10. You're not dead yet. On your NEXT turn, you die. If you can stabilize or receive any healing before then, you do not die.

This has several advantages:

* Softens the Save or Die spells which are no fun

* If a PC dies, it's not the DM's fault. It's the fellow players who didn't get to their fallen comrade

* Adds excitement to the game. "Oh, crap. The dragon just dropped Bob. Can we save him in time?"

Disads:
* Dieing would be much less likely, might remove some excitement

* Permanent. If somebody dies, there's no way to take it back.

 

[Travinkel]

I've been thinking about the exact same thing. Your idea is great, needs a bit of tweaking though.

It actually sucks dying now.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

What I do:
You don't die till at negative HP equal to your hit dice plus your constitution score.

Action points 5+charisma modifier (can be spent to reduce damage or increase AC against one attack in addition to normal uses).

Instant Death effects reduce you to 1 HP away from death.

Only miracle and wish can bring the dead back.


I like your solution to the problem though.

 

[Knightfall]

What I do:
You don't die till at negative HP equal to your hit dice plus your constitution score.

I do something similar, but different.

A character dies when they reach a minus equal to their Constitution score. Thus, if a PC has a Con of 8 then that character dies at -8 hp. A PC with a Con of 18 dies at -18 hp.

KF72

 

[the Jester]

I ran a low-magic game that used a Cling to Life variant: you die at a negative amount equal to your level plus your con score (always -10 or better). So (f'rinstance) a 1st-level fighter with a con of 15 dies at -16; a 10th-level fighter with an 18 con dies at -28. This increasing threashold helps offset the fact that higher level monsters deal significantly more damage.

 

[Ciaran]

In the Aquerra setting, characters die when they drop to a negative hit point total of 10 + half their maximum hit points. So a character with, say, 36 hit points dies at -28.

 

[Salamandyr]

Something else you might try is, leave the spells in the game, but give them a very limited timeframe for them to work in. For example, you might rule that Raise Dead can only be used within a number of rounds equal to the level of the cleric, and the Resurrect line can only be used within a number of minutes equal to the level of the cleric.

This provides a couple of benefits. In the first place it still gives players the backstop that D&D assumes they have, while still allowing story elements like a king assassination plot. There's even some good potential for flavor text, about how the soul hangs around the body, its' grip becoming more and more tenuous, but giving the priest the chance to reconnect the two if he gets there fast.

It's my preferred fix to the revolving death's door syndrome of some D&D campaigns.

 

[harmyn]

Here are my rules for dying straight from my House Rules page:

Hovering on Death's Door.
Characters normally are staggered from their wounds only at exactly zero hit points. When they go negative, even a negative 1, they fall unconscious. Later, everyone dies at -10 hit points. No variation because of health or valor. You are simply dead. Under this optional system the wounded individual gets a little more leeway. The severely wounded become staggered at zero hit points and stay awake but staggered until their total negative hit points go past the character's constition modifier +1 (minimum of -1). The character does not actually die until their negative hit points equal their constitution score (minimum of -10).

As an example, Salij has a constitution of 14. He becomes staggered at zero hit points and remains conscious, but still staggered, at up to -3 hit points (his +2 modifier +1). At -4 hit points Salij would fall unconscious. Another orc soon stomps across him on his way to slay a halfling. The orc deals 7 more points of damage to the unconscious wizard, sending him to -11 hit points. Salij is still not dead though. He has 2 rounds to be healed or stabilize. If he remains in his present condition he will die in 3 rounds, when he reaches -14 hit points (negative equal to his constitution).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another option with the removal of Raise Dead from you game and dealing with Character Mortality is the Druidic Spell Last Breath. For this spell I removed the loss of level that is normally given, but I strictly enforce the one round time frame to use. You could also provide it to Clerics as 4th level spell as well. You could even offer up an expanded version of it at 6th level that must be cast within a number of rounds equal to the fallen character's level or half the fallen character's level (at 12 level it would be 12 or 6 rounds for example). You can also leave True Resurrection at 9th level but up its component cost and include an attribute penalty if desired.

For my part on Raise Dead and Resurrection I don't take away character levels. The character instead loses 2 attribute points off an attribute of their choice. This happens each time they receive the benefits of such a spell and the same attribute cannot be penalized twice until all have been reduced at least once (you would had to have died 6 times before repeating --- this has never happened by the way). The players can always spend a feat I call Restored Vigor that removes one of the attribute penalties. But that's just how I do it in my game.

 

[Nebulous]

I've tinkered with a "Not Quite Dead Yet" houserule. If an attack is going to kill someone, no doubt about it, give the player a choice: Death OR an appropriately gruesome alternative, such as having a hand chopped off, or permanent loss to Cha or Con or Dex. I like to use the example of Luke and Vader in this instance. Not quite as scary as dying, but a player is not likely to forget the incident either.

 

[Nifft]

IMC, you are dead at -(10 + HD).
Furthermore, you may spend a Fate Point to place yourself at 0 hp if an event would reduce you to any negative value (even minus a billion).

Fate Points are not free, and most players have very few (some have none), and they have other attractive uses.

-- N