Level Up (A5E) Double Crit + Massive Damage = The Deadliest 5e yet!

[niklinna]

I think the issue most people have is not death but "lame death", doomed gives you the chance to have a death that matters. So yeah I like that concept a lot.

Denise Crosby would approve.

 

[Steampunkette]

So I wouldn't remove doomed with the various heals, that I think takes away the entire purpose of the condition....you are going to die, there is nothing to be done.

However, to me the plot power of doomed is it doesn't kill you until the "proper time". So in this example, the hill giant crushes you. The clerics heals you up, but whispers in your ear that part of the damage was so severe that he couldn't heal it....and in time you are going to die.

Now the DM and the player can work through that timing. Maybe its the end of the adventure, or waits until the end of the arc. What's fun is plotwise the character KNOWS they are going to die, so maybe they become reckless, maybe they become more sentimental, maybe they try to throw themselves at danger to take a hit for other party members. It becomes a significant part of the roleplaying, and allows for a truly memorable "end" to that character.


I think the issue most people have is not death but "lame death", doomed gives you the chance to have a death that matters. So yeah I like that concept a lot.

Oh, well... yeah. But I just mean that's the RAW for Doomed.

"A doomed creature has sustained damage to their
body, mind, and spirit that puts it beyond the help
of normal recovery and lesser magic. While the
symptoms of a doomed creature’s injuries might be
removed, only powerful spells such as regeneration
or resurrection can spare it from death or restore it
to life.
Suffering the effects of 5 or more levels of fatigue is
one way to become doomed; however at the Narrator’s
discretion a creature might become doomed
for any number of other reasons."

I figure spells like Regeneration, Heal, Revivify... those would work on the Doomed Condition.

But... I also -love- your idea, here, Stalker. That a person who is Doomed can still matter in the battle for a last desperate stand by still getting hit points but not really "Healed" in a true sense...

Maybe Healing done to a Doomed creature can become Temp HP lost at the end of the scene? That could be a good solid way to handle things, I think.

 

[tetrasodium]

So I wouldn't remove doomed with the various heals, that I think takes away the entire purpose of the condition....you are going to die, there is nothing to be done.

However, to me the plot power of doomed is it doesn't kill you until the "proper time". So in this example, the hill giant crushes you. The clerics heals you up, but whispers in your ear that part of the damage was so severe that he couldn't heal it....and in time you are going to die.

Now the DM and the player can work through that timing. Maybe its the end of the adventure, or waits until the end of the arc. What's fun is plotwise the character KNOWS they are going to die, so maybe they become reckless, maybe they become more sentimental, maybe they try to throw themselves at danger to take a hit for other party members. It becomes a significant part of the roleplaying, and allows for a truly memorable "end" to that character.


I think the issue most people have is not death but "lame death", doomed gives you the chance to have a death that matters. So yeah I like that concept a lot.

That's a good point & reminds me of a phenomenal example of the doomed condition that played out november 25th 1998 Babylon 5 eposode with Lorien as the cleric. For two+ seasons we knew a character had a clock on his lifespan & even got a tease about it being "unbelievable in the 4th season before One day twenty years later realizing that he's getting closer to tock than tick & sending out rush invites for one last night together & leaving early the next morning to meet the tock on his own terms in sleeping in the light. Having it a defined mechanic will be huge

 

[Morrus]

The doomed condition is a very powerful tool for the Narrator to use with NPCs. No more chucking a healing potion down their throat and avoiding the dramatic death scene as the dying king gasps out his last words.

 

[Satirical Bard]

Maybe, but unless things changed, a 1 on the death save still means death... I mean one of my characters when I was a player died a few minutes after we started playing, because was critted (0 hp), failed 1 death roll, not healed immediately, and crit failed the second. Was not a fun night...
I'll most likely just add strife and fatigue

I mean ... that (translated here) would be incredibly bad luck, requiring all of:

1. High damage dealing creature crits (5% chance)
2. PC fails DC15 Con save (65% chance, assuming +1 Con for sake of argument)
3. PC then rolls a 1 on death save (5% chance)

That has a 0.16% (or 1.6 in 1000) chance of happening, and #3 is negated if any allies can provide healing or stabilisation before the roll is made.

At that point, the dice gods clearly want you dead.

 

[lichmaster]

At that point, the dice gods clearly want you dead.

Never underestimate the dice gods
The only thing I did as a player that night was to roll 2 dice and have a failure and a crit fail sequentially. And that happened literally minutes after we started. My bad luck with dice as a player is legendary, also in other parties I played in people were in awe at how many nat 1s I can roll.

As a Narrator I'd really hate if one of my players was kicked out of the game just out of bad luck. I simply don't want it to happen that way.
Adding any element that may make that a possibility is a no go for me. I'll have to finish reading the rules, but atm I think it's not something I'll be adding