D&D 5E Death and dying houserule

[CydKnight]

To me it sounds like an elaborate solution to something that just shouldn't come up very often in 5E. In fact, I can't think of any battles in any games I've played or witnessed that had to have a PC stabilized after falling to zero or below HP more than once. It may have happened but I certainly can't recall anything significant enough to believe there is actually a wak-a-mole syndrome running rampant in 5E.

 

[Reynard]

The whack-a-mole issue is most easily solved by saying only spending a Hit Die will take a PC back to above 0 HP. This mostly requires a short rest but I think there are some abilities that allow it under different circumstances. You may even want to create a healing spell for this specific purpose.

The issue of lasting injury is a different one. I like modelling an injury track on exhaustion but I would keep them separate. Even so death spirals can be annoying and your players might not be in to it.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

To me it sounds like an elaborate solution to something that just shouldn't come up very often in 5E. In fact, I can't think of any battles in any games I've played or witnessed that had to have a PC stabilized after falling to zero or below HP more than once. It may have happened but I certainly can't recall anything significant enough to believe there is actually a wak-a-mole syndrome running rampant in 5E.

I've seen it happen a few times. Unless a Heal or other massive hp-restoring spell is used the downed PC is easy to knock back down again but they start death saves fresh. Maybe one approach is to have failed death saves refresh only after a Long Rest?

 

[Antonlowe]

I'm leery of any attempt to make one mechanic reflect a different mechanic. Exhaustion works the way it does because that's what exhaustion is, and this is how those effects are translated into the language of the system. Why would dying from sword cuts and dragon breath also coincidentally have the same symptoms as not getting enough food or sleep? Why would a goblin stabbing you make you more tired?

I mean, it's not the worst house rule on these boards. I could almost buy it if you had approached from the direction that almost dying should be a physically exhausting experience. As it stands, it feels more like you were unsatisfied with the existing rules for dying, and just tried to shoe-horn it into the exhaustion rules because you thought it was a better fit.

Also, if you did use this rule, then it becomes tempting to just let the target die instead of stabilizing them with three or four levels of exhaustion. Death can be fixed with a level 3 spell and 300gp, while exhaustion requires a level 5 spell and 100gp per level to fix.

Saelon, thanks for the reply. I consider tying the these rules to an existing mechanic as a feature not a bug. To me, the exhaustion rules as written represent Slowly dying. If you get stabbed enough times by a goblin you start Quickly dying.

As for the use of revivify, that's a really good point. I would simply rule that if you use the spell, the target comes back with 5 levels of exhaustion. Higher level spells might have the same effect or might be powerful enough to bring you back without the exhaustion levels.

 

[Antonlowe]

It will change bouncing back from the brink of death. Since you won't pop back completely ready to fight.
And being knocked down a couple times in a single fight will be nasty. Or even dropped a couple times during the adventuring day, as the exhaustion will stick around. 2-3 death saves will take a couple days to sleep off and aren't easily removed by low level spells. One bad fight will hurt for the rest of the adventuring day.

The catch with the rule is, you actually dying slower (in that you need to fail six death saving throws, doubling the number of rounds before death) and significantly harder (since you have more rounds to stabilise). Except until you hit 3 levels of exhaustion, when making those death saves becomes harder.

I might merge the rules. Keep the three death saving throws before death but also have failing a death saving throw granting a level of exhaustion. So you die at the same rate and bleed out as quickly, but have the added penalty that builds up over multiple deaths.

Jester, you have a talent for making insightful replies.

I do like you idea, but I feel that making death less likely, it requires more failed saves is a balance to adding the exhaustion mechanic. So I dont think I will use this rule, but I will keep it in the back of my mind as an alternative.

 

[Antonlowe]

Well, to be blunt, you failed. In multiple ways, actually. First, nothing about the PC’s strategy has changed, they still want to get people off the ground ASAP and now it’s just slightly less optimal. However, it’s still better than leaving them down to make death saves or get attacked, so you’ve changed nothing. Secondly, HP is already such a nebulous gameplay device that your method has simply changed the way the abstraction is viewed; your players are still just as good at 1 hp as they are at 100, and until you fix the HP pool at large then the death process is irrelevant from a realism standpoint.

At best all this does is make the adventuring day shorter as players will find ways to rest to clear exhaustion and then resume the same strategies as always.

I disagree. The tactics (in combat) might change a little. Healers will be more concerned with keeping the party up so they wont get levels of exhaustion. Compared to letting them fight until they are at 0 hp and then fixing the problem. Also, if a PC gets starts taking levels of exhaustion, it might make the party retreat from the fight.

The strategy (outside of combat) will change, just like you said. After a fight in which one or more characters have taken levels of exhaustion, they now have to make choices about weather its safe to continue.

Also I have no problems with the HP abstraction rules. They are fine for DnD, for me at least.

 

[Satyrn]

I've seen it happen a few times. Unless a Heal or other massive hp-restoring spell is used the downed PC is easy to knock back down again but they start death saves fresh. Maybe one approach is to have failed death saves refresh only after a Long Rest?

It's happened once at my table so far. Just a couple sessions ago. My gnome battlemaster fell to some weird Lobstrosity. Hewas healed by paladin and made one feeble round of attacks before dropping again. So the druid healed him. It was getting ridiculous, silly.

But then I killed the weird lobster thing, and all was well.

 

[CydKnight]

I've seen it happen a few times. Unless a Heal or other massive hp-restoring spell is used the downed PC is easy to knock back down again but they start death saves fresh. Maybe one approach is to have failed death saves refresh only after a Long Rest?

I never questioned that it occurs. I questioned the frequency of the occurrence and whether that warrants special house rules.

 

[Satyrn]

I never questioned that it occurs. I questioned the frequency of the occurrence and whether that warrants special house rules.

It did feel silly the one time it happened, so I could see a houserule being wanted.

I'd go simpler than the OP though. I'd just say once you drop to 0 hp it takes you 1 minute to recover after any healing. Or make that apply the second time you fall in a fight so that you can be brought back into the fight once, but can't do the whackamole thing.

 

[robus]

I imagine many folks here have read the Angry GMs treatise on this topic? http://theangrygm.com/fighting-spirit/

I think his solution is a bit overcomplicated for my needs. But I do want something other than the binary options currently presented. Jester's idea of increasing exhaustion level every time the character hits zero is very nice in my opinion. It gives meaning to having your bell rung/being stabbed. You start to suffer even if you're given some temporary relief by a spell or potion.

It's a much better explanation of hit points - they then become an indicator of the "fight" left in you, rather than a record of damage taken and actually maps much better to combats we see in the movies where opponents are worn down to a point where they start making mistakes and risk injury.