Dragon 368 - Death Matters, Design & Developments

[malraux]

I remember. It got taken out because the simulationists complained.

Damn sims. Narrativists fo' lyfe!

Well, other than the quoted person said that it wasn't ever in there.

 

[Dax Doomslayer]

The death rules were something I was unsure about until I tried them, and in general I really like them.

The 3 saves throws towards death happen quicker than you think, and the fact they stick around comes up much more often than I thought it would.

Losing negative hitpoints after you heal is quick and elegant, I really like it a lot.

And after having one character roll 3 20's and get back into a fight, that 1 in 20 saving throw rule never felt corny, it felt awesome.

Not to hijack this thread but where exactly does it say in the PHB (or DMG) that the failed saving throws stick until a rest? I don't see it in Chapt 9 p. 295. I know the article indicates this but for the life of me I can't find this stated in the PHB. Any direction is greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

 

[Jack99]

Not to hijack this thread but where exactly does it say in the PHB (or DMG) that the failed saving throws stick until a rest? I don't see it in Chapt 9 p. 295. I know the article indicates this but for the life of me I can't find this stated in the PHB. Any direction is greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

Page 295 PHB
Death Saving Throw: When you are dying, you need to make a saving throw at the end of your turn each round. The result of your saving throw deter-
mines how close you are to death.
Lower than 10: You slip one step closer to death. If you get this result three times before you take a rest, you die.
10–19: No change.
20 or higher: Spend a healing surge. When you do so, you are considered to have 0 hit points, and then your healing surge restores hit points as normal. You are no longer dying, and you are conscious but still prone. If you roll 20 or higher but have no healing surges left expressed as a negative number, your condition doesn’t change.

Elsewhere, "a rest" is define as either a short or an extended rest.

Cheers

 

[Dax Doomslayer]

Thanks Jack99! I appreciate it. I would have thought they would make a bigger deal of this by creating an example or something as it is a pretty subtle nuance . . .

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Death of a PC should always be bad and there is not enough of it.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

Losing a character is always a big thing, but not something that should make anyone depressed. You should strive to keep your characters alive, but it doesn't mean you will always succeed. I hope people ARE attached to their character even at the lowest levels.

Nah. I enjoy playing my characters, but if they die they die - their story is over. Hopefully it was an interesting story, but a big part of the enjoyment for me is in seeing what happens to my characters - good and bad.

I don't become attached to them because I have no reason to - I don't pretend I am the character when I play, and I have more invested in their lives being an interesting experience to play through than I do in their being successful in their goals. I don't even necessarily want them to succeed, sometimes, if failure leads to a more interesting game.

 

[justanobody]

But for that enjoyment you are invested in them. What would you say if every character you made died during its first combat?

 

[mhacdebhandia]

But for that enjoyment you are invested in them. What would you say if every character you made died during its first combat?

I would ask the GM if they knew what the hell they were doing when they designed the encounters!

But, seriously, whenever I create a character for a new game I always create two or three possibilities. I would, quite honestly, shrug and move on, hoping that the story of the next character was more interesting.

If nothing else, it's trivial to take the coolest parts of a dead 1st-level character's personality and backstory and reuse them with another PC, since it's very unlikely that they would have come out in game already.

 

[justanobody]

So by your admission, even though opposite of my own, you do view a character death equal no matter the level it occurs.

You are not as invested or attached to them, while I am, but the level a character death happens you feel the same no matter which level correct?

I lose level 1 character: DAMN!
You lose level 1 character: oops!

I lose level 30 character: DAMN!
You lose level 30 character: oops!

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I lose level 1 character: DAMN!
You lose level 1 character: oops!

I lose level 30 character: DAMN!
You lose level 30 character: oops!

I guess. I'm actually probably more likely to be excited if a level 30 character dies, and mildly disappointed if a level 1 character dies, simply because the death of the first is likely to be part of an interesting climax to a satisfying story. The key, though, is that I care about quality of play experience, not quantity; two levels' worth of a great character is worth as much to me as thirty levels' worth of the same great character. In a lot of ways, I value the game, the ongoing play experience, more than I value the presence of any one individual PC of mine within that game.