el-remmen
Moderator Emeritus
Here is a set of house rules for dying that we've been using in my 5E games for a few years now, having been tweaked here and there over time until the version below is what I am proposing for my Homebrew Rule set, VF5E.
The super short version is that being at 0 HPs and Dying, does not mean you are automatically unconscious and unable to act.
The things it does that I like are that it gives Death Saves an additional layer of stakes through which to perform heroic (or sneaky acts). There is a shift in energy and drama when there is someone dying but conscious on the table and what they will do with those one or two rounds? Will they drink a potion or take revenge? It works best, in my opinion, is when something happens as it did in a recent session, when the PC paladin was dying at the same time as his protege NPC sidekick and he used his action to heal the sidekick, knowing he might fail his death save next time around and not get to heal himself before falling unconscious (the rest of the party was kinda stuck fighting undead). I also like the mechanic allows for someone to fall in and out of consciousness!
One side effect of this that I consider more neutral, is that Dying characters who are still acting can still pose a threat to enemies, meaning they are opening themselves up to being targeted while vulnerable. On the one hand, this also builds drama and adds a point of tactical consideration, but on the other hand, as a DM, I sometimes feel like a jerk when I have enemies target downed PCs when it makes sense (even though my players would not want it any other way).
The one potential negative we ran into was the peculiar case of druids. If a Dying druid of 2nd level or higher can take an action, then they can use Wildshape (2014) to gain a new pool of temporary hit points (but not capital T Temporary Hit Points
) through which to do stuff while delaying the dying condition. Maybe this is not a big deal, but when it made defeating a druid antagonist in one adventure extremely more difficult, it gave me pause and then the PC druid started doing it. We put a moratorium on being able to wildshape while dying in our current game, but am considering lifting it.
Below are the rules as we use them currently, starting with the Dying Condition (which comes along with it the Prone and Dazed conditions), followed with rules for Death Saves. I cribbed the Dazed condition off Flee, Mortals! as a kind of lesser stunned condition.
Dying. A Dying creature has dropped to 0 Hit Points. They immediately lose concentration on any spell they are maintaining, fall Prone, and cannot get back up until they regain Hit Points. At the beginning of a Dying creature's turn they must make a Death Save [see Death Saves]. A Dying creature with more Death Save failures than Successes is unconscious. A Dying creature that is still conscious is Dazed, and can only take an Action, Bonus Action, or move (crawl) on their turn. The only actions a Dying creature can take are the Attack, Cast a Spell, or Use an Object Actions, but they cannot cast any spells with a concentration duration or a casting time longer than 1 Action. The Dying creature suffers Disadvantage on any Strength or Dexterity based ability checks or saving throws, and on any attack they make.
Dazed. A dazed creature can only take an Action or Bonus Action or move its Speed on its turn. It cannot take Reactions.
Death Saves
A creature at 0 Hit Points is Dying [see Dying Condition]. At the beginning of each of its turns it must make a Death Save, which is an unmodified d20 roll against DC 10. If the Dying creature earns 3 successful Death Saves, they are stabilized. If the Dying creature earns 3 Death Save failures, they die. If at any time the Dying Creature has more Death Save failures than successes they fall Unconscious (and can wake back up if this ratio changes).
If the Dying creature rolls a natural '20' on their Death Save, it automatically stabilizes and gain 1 Hit Point. If they roll a natural '1', this counts as 2 failures. A Hero Die can be spent to make a failed Death Save you earned this turn into a success.
If you take any damage while Dying, you automatically suffer two failed Death Saves.
Stabilizing
If you stabilize while conscious, you still suffer the penalties for the Dying condition until you've had 1d4 hours of rest. The DM makes this roll in secret. If you participate in even light activity, you must begin the rest again. If you are unconscious, you remain that way for 1d4 hours. After this time, you regain 1 Hit Point. During this time you no longer have to make Death Saves unless you take damage again. You cannot begin an effective Short or Long Rest unless you have at least 1 Hit Point.
Failed Death Saves
Failed Death Saves stay with you. If you fall to 0 Hit Points, earn a failed Death Save, are healed, and then fall to 0 Hit Points and are Dying again, you begin with 1 failed Death Save. All failed Death Saves are removed after a Long Rest. They can also be removed with the Lesser and Greater Restoration spells. [note: the former removes 1 failed Death Save. The latter removes all].
The super short version is that being at 0 HPs and Dying, does not mean you are automatically unconscious and unable to act.
The things it does that I like are that it gives Death Saves an additional layer of stakes through which to perform heroic (or sneaky acts). There is a shift in energy and drama when there is someone dying but conscious on the table and what they will do with those one or two rounds? Will they drink a potion or take revenge? It works best, in my opinion, is when something happens as it did in a recent session, when the PC paladin was dying at the same time as his protege NPC sidekick and he used his action to heal the sidekick, knowing he might fail his death save next time around and not get to heal himself before falling unconscious (the rest of the party was kinda stuck fighting undead). I also like the mechanic allows for someone to fall in and out of consciousness!
One side effect of this that I consider more neutral, is that Dying characters who are still acting can still pose a threat to enemies, meaning they are opening themselves up to being targeted while vulnerable. On the one hand, this also builds drama and adds a point of tactical consideration, but on the other hand, as a DM, I sometimes feel like a jerk when I have enemies target downed PCs when it makes sense (even though my players would not want it any other way).
The one potential negative we ran into was the peculiar case of druids. If a Dying druid of 2nd level or higher can take an action, then they can use Wildshape (2014) to gain a new pool of temporary hit points (but not capital T Temporary Hit Points
) through which to do stuff while delaying the dying condition. Maybe this is not a big deal, but when it made defeating a druid antagonist in one adventure extremely more difficult, it gave me pause and then the PC druid started doing it. We put a moratorium on being able to wildshape while dying in our current game, but am considering lifting it.Below are the rules as we use them currently, starting with the Dying Condition (which comes along with it the Prone and Dazed conditions), followed with rules for Death Saves. I cribbed the Dazed condition off Flee, Mortals! as a kind of lesser stunned condition.
Dying. A Dying creature has dropped to 0 Hit Points. They immediately lose concentration on any spell they are maintaining, fall Prone, and cannot get back up until they regain Hit Points. At the beginning of a Dying creature's turn they must make a Death Save [see Death Saves]. A Dying creature with more Death Save failures than Successes is unconscious. A Dying creature that is still conscious is Dazed, and can only take an Action, Bonus Action, or move (crawl) on their turn. The only actions a Dying creature can take are the Attack, Cast a Spell, or Use an Object Actions, but they cannot cast any spells with a concentration duration or a casting time longer than 1 Action. The Dying creature suffers Disadvantage on any Strength or Dexterity based ability checks or saving throws, and on any attack they make.
Dazed. A dazed creature can only take an Action or Bonus Action or move its Speed on its turn. It cannot take Reactions.
Death Saves
A creature at 0 Hit Points is Dying [see Dying Condition]. At the beginning of each of its turns it must make a Death Save, which is an unmodified d20 roll against DC 10. If the Dying creature earns 3 successful Death Saves, they are stabilized. If the Dying creature earns 3 Death Save failures, they die. If at any time the Dying Creature has more Death Save failures than successes they fall Unconscious (and can wake back up if this ratio changes).
If the Dying creature rolls a natural '20' on their Death Save, it automatically stabilizes and gain 1 Hit Point. If they roll a natural '1', this counts as 2 failures. A Hero Die can be spent to make a failed Death Save you earned this turn into a success.
If you take any damage while Dying, you automatically suffer two failed Death Saves.
Stabilizing
If you stabilize while conscious, you still suffer the penalties for the Dying condition until you've had 1d4 hours of rest. The DM makes this roll in secret. If you participate in even light activity, you must begin the rest again. If you are unconscious, you remain that way for 1d4 hours. After this time, you regain 1 Hit Point. During this time you no longer have to make Death Saves unless you take damage again. You cannot begin an effective Short or Long Rest unless you have at least 1 Hit Point.
Failed Death Saves
Failed Death Saves stay with you. If you fall to 0 Hit Points, earn a failed Death Save, are healed, and then fall to 0 Hit Points and are Dying again, you begin with 1 failed Death Save. All failed Death Saves are removed after a Long Rest. They can also be removed with the Lesser and Greater Restoration spells. [note: the former removes 1 failed Death Save. The latter removes all].
