Fort saves to stabilize

[reveal]

In d20 Modern, you make a Fort save DC 20 to stabilize if dying. I really like this as I think it makes more sense to have a hardier person stabilize easier. I have house ruled this into my regular D&D game (Eberron specifically). I just like it better than the 10% rule.

Am I alone in this? Anyone else use this, or a different method, for stabilizing? Anyone like the 10% rule better and why?

 

[Jdvn1]

There's a skill that helps you Stabilize. I dont' know why no one takes it.

Oh, right, people hate Psionics. Their loss.

Resist Dying: You can attempt to subconsciously prevent yourself from dying. If you have negative hit points and are losing hit points (at 1 per round, 1 per hour), you can substitute a DC 20 Autohypnosis check for your d% roll to see if you become stable. If the check is successful, you stop losing hit points (you do not gain any hit points, however, as a result of the check). You can substitute this check for the d% roll in later rounds if you are initially unsuccessful.

 

[Crothian]

I like the fort save as well, and players respond to it much better then a flat percentage that never ever changes

 

[Liquidsabre]

Though this means non-fighter types die while fighter-types live, don't the non-fighter types have it rough enough with low-HPs now they have to be resigend to death while the fighter leaps in blindly into combat asured that death will not find him?

It's a little lopsided since fighter-types get their Fort saves so high as they advance.

 

[MadBlue]

Though this means non-fighter types die while fighter-types live, don't the non-fighter types have it rough enough with low-HPs now they have to be resigend to death while the fighter leaps in blindly into combat asured that death will not find him?

It's a little lopsided since fighter-types get their Fort saves so high as they advance.

Well, DC 20 means a 5% chance if you have no bonus to your Fort save at all. However, even with a bad Fort Save, a 1st level character with a 12 Con or a 3rd level character with a 10 Con already has a 10% chance to make a DC 20 Fort save (which is what the chances of stabilizing are now). So they're no more "resigned to death" than they are now, and are even less so at higher levels. Besides, what kind of Fighter would be prompted to leap blindly into combat by the fact that they'd be less likely to fail a stabilize check when unconscious? :\

Not to mention that everyone has a -10 HP limit. A Fighter at 1 HP taking a hit that does 11+ damage is just as dead as a non-Fighter in the same situation. Death is the great equalizer.

I think d20 Modern handles it differently because healing magic isn't as common in that setting. Whereas, having a party member who is able to cast Cure X Wounds on a fallen comrade is pretty much a standard presumption in D&D. Still, I like the Fort Save idea because it lessens the chance of death just for a bad roll, while the character will still be out of the fight until somebody tends to him.

MadBlue

 

[Jeph]

We've used a DC 19 Constitution check instead of the 10% chance for some time now. Works out the same way for Con 10-11 characters, a bit better for tougher characters and a bit worse for more frail ones... plus it feels like your character has more influence on the roll.

 

[iwatt]

DC 20 Fort Save.

Also took it from modern. The only difference is that stabilizing is really easy for anyone in DnD (even elf wizards above lev 3). In my experience, players will take penalties to stats in 2 stats to get a bonus in Con. IME a wizard will more likely put a low score in Wis than in Con.

 

[Darkness]

If you're worried that a Fort save will make it too easy for fighter-types, use a Con check instead.

In any case, save DC 20 sounds about right: Using the Commoner standard (i.e., a typical human has around +0 in everything), a save DC of 19 would give the commoner the same chance for stabilization as the 3.5 system gives him.

 

[iwatt]

Anyways, it's just strange that they kept the % check in the edition change (we used the 10% in 2e), since almost everything else was changed to a d20 check. As sacred cows go, I don't think anybody would have minded sacrificing this rule.

 

[Roman]

I like this idea, but I will modify it to Constitution check DC 20 to stabilize.