Fortitude Save DC Versus Massive Damage?

[MadMaxim]

When I look at the massive damage rules in the DMG, I don't seem to be able to find the calculations for the Fortitude save needed to avoid death from massive damage. This has come up a couple of times in my current campaign, as one of my players have been making a lot of critical hits with his over-sized greataxe, and it often gets above 50 points of damage. Can anyone point me to a page number in the DMG, where it is stated how you calculate the DC for the Fortitude save to avoid death from massive damage, or if it's clarified any other places? Thanks for your help, people.

 

[AGGEMAM]

It's because you're looking in the wrong book. Massive damage isn't a variant rule so that in the PHB.

Massive Damage: If you ever sustain a single attack deals 50 points of damage or more and it doesn’t kill you outright, you must make a DC 15 Fortitude save. If this saving throw fails, you die regardless of your current hit points. If you take 50 points of damage or more from multiple attacks, no one of which dealt 50 or more points of damage itself, the massive damage rule does not apply.

 

[argo]

Its in the PHB not the DMG and there is no formula it is a static DC.

Massive Damage: If you ever sustain a single attack deals 50 points of damage or more and it doesn’t kill you outright, you must make a DC 15 Fortitude save. If this saving throw fails, you die regardless of your current hit points. If you take 50 points of damage or more from multiple attacks, no one of which dealt 50 or more points of damage itself, the massive damage rule does not apply.

Just remember that a saving throw, like an attack roll, always fails on a one.


If you don't like static DC's for massive damage and would like to actually reward your player for his awsome display of martial might then I would suggest as a house rule
DC = 15 + (damage - 50)
That starts massive damage at the same level as it currently is but allows it to scale upward for really really tremendous hits.

Hope that helps.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

If you don't like static DC's for massive damage and would like to actually reward your player for his awsome display of martial might then I would suggest as a house rule
DC = 15 + (damage - 50)
That starts massive damage at the same level as it currently is but allows it to scale upward for really really tremendous hits.

Just remember that this variant rule is likely to bite the PCs in the rear more than the NPCs...

 

[AGGEMAM]

Just remember that this variant rule is likely to bite the PCs in the rear more than the NPCs...

Yeah. I wouldn't recommend it either. If anything add one point for every 10 hps of damage exceeding 50 (or whatever is appropriate for the size if you use the size variant rule).

Imagine at say level 15 you can survive a 100 hp hit easily but how are you going to survive the 65 DC fort save? A DC 20 would be more "realistic".

 

[hong]

I just dumped MD saves. Life is already plenty dangerous enough when you're taking 50+ points of damage per hit; I don't see the need to add another die roll.

 

[UltimaGabe]

There's a variant rule in the DMG where creatures of sizes larger than Medium have a different Massive Damage Threshold- for example, Large creatures aren't subject to Death from Massive Damange until they take 100 points of damage in a single hit, and Huge creatures must take 150, and so on. That makes it so that the Barbarian can't kill the Great Wyrm Red Dragon in one hit just because he rolled a natural 1 on his save.

 

[MadMaxim]

Thanks for the feedback, people. I appreciate it.