Dragon Editorial: Fearless

[WyzardWhately]

You know, there was a throwaway line somewhere, in one of the D&D articles, about there being more incentives to keep going past the "15 minute workday." I think that suggests more than just second winds and per-encounter powers. I really suspect that there's some kind of shift in the XP or reward model that gives PCs and incentive to hit more encounters per/day.

I thought that was so brilliant that I might make a house rule out of it. The first encounter you have in a day is worth less XP than the fifth, or something. I really, really like that idea. It puts a mechanical framework in place to encourage players to try and stuff in one more good fight, and to husband their resources.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

This also mystifies me. (I guess I'm a mystified fella these days.) I can only remember offhand a couple effects that cause instant death with a failed saving throw: Slay Living (of course) and Wail of the Banshee. I haven't run games at super high level yet, though, so that may be my problem.

So what causes instant death in D&D v.3.5?

For me: Bodaks. Especially Hordes of them. (at least twice)
And trapped Vases (triggered by our fellow bard, at the beginning of a session, in the middle of presenting my replacement characters). And it wasn't "Killer DM"s fault, it was Paizos Shackled City Adventure Path fault.
Symbol of Death hidden behind a wand carpet.

That are the 3 I remember my characters fell prey to. There was more, but the victim not being me makes it harder to remember.

(And then there where the encounters were PCs simply died because of the massive damage in the first combat round. Or the PCs that died because they had to face 3 monsters with Fireball as spell-like ability, all of them winning initiaitve and using this ability... Which isn't exactly Save or Die - for some characters, it was just die. )

 

[Cadfan]

So what causes instant death in D&D v.3.5?

There are a number of disguised instant death effects in D&D. For example, a level 13 Disintegrate aimed at a level 13 Wizard is functionally save or die, because if it hits, and if the save is failed, the spell will do 26d6 damage (91 average) to a character with 4+12d4+13*con (60 average with con 14) hit points. There are also effects which aren't technically save or die, per se, but might as well be- Flesh to Stone, for instance, turns you to stone on a failed Fortitude save. Yes, you can be rescued, but you could have been Resurrected about as easily (Resurrect has material components, Stone to Flesh sometimes kills the target).

 

[Wolfspider]

There are a number of disguised instant death effects in D&D. For example, a level 13 Disintegrate aimed at a level 13 Wizard is functionally save or die, because if it hits, and if the save is failed, the spell will do 26d6 damage (91 average) to a character with 4+12d4+13*con (60 average with con 14) hit points. There are also effects which aren't technically save or die, per se, but might as well be- Flesh to Stone, for instance, turns you to stone on a failed Fortitude save. Yes, you can be rescued, but you could have been Resurrected about as easily (Resurrect has material components, Stone to Flesh sometimes kills the target).

Strange.

 

[malraux]

Just to toss it out there, the reason Indian Jones movies are so exciting isn't because Indy disarms all the traps before they go off, its watching him deal with the trap after it does go off. I'd much rather the game add the excitement of dealing with a trap, instead of the mechanistic approach of take 20 on search, roll DD and then either go beg the cleric for some cure wounds or ignore the trap. But having to deal with the interaction of a trap going off in an exciting way, even if it means fewer trap encounters is far better than the way core 3e plays.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

For me sitting in a mine cart which races towards a gap in the rails and the only thing you do is cheering is a stupid idea (especially when you later say that jumping out of the cart is wrong).

*shrugs* I think we should be happy with "You think what I like is stupid and I think what you like is stupid" and be done with it. So I am.

 

[Wormwood]

But having to deal with the interaction of a trap going off in an exciting way, even if it means fewer trap encounters is far better than the way core 3e plays.

I agree. That's why I favor large, interactive 'encounter zones' instead of static traps.

In other words, I want Disable Device to help *end* an encounter, not *bypass* it.

 

[Wolfwood2]

For me sitting in a mine cart which races towards a gap in the rails and the only thing you do is cheering is a stupid idea (especially when you later say that jumping out of the cart is wrong).

In-character it's a choice of:

A. Attempt a crazy action to cause the cart to jump the gap in the rails. This will either leave you safely undamaged on the other side or get you very badly hurt when the cart crashes.

B. Jump out of a speeding cart onto the track, guaranteeing that you will be injured.

The reason that option B "makes sense" is solely because the player knows that a little falling damage from a moving cart isn't going to seriously inconvenience their character, while a cart crash might hurt a lot more.

From a purely in-character perspective in a 4E game, the character either thinks that both options might break their neck or is pretty confident in their ability to survive both options. (I'm not getting into that debate again.)

 

[Doug McCrae]

I got to fairly great pains to make sure that traps exist only on things that look like they'd be trapped.

A place where *everything* is trapped - wagons, flowers, lamps, gloves, chamber pots - might be amusing for a while. Could be an alternate material plane. Or a very weird culture.

 

[Mercule]

I also agree that it's easy enough to put "the deadly" back in the game, but if you don't like that option...don't play.

My guess is that the easiest option to do this is to take away one or two hit dice at 1st level. I expect that doing so would level out the danger closer 3.5 levels, all through the power curve.