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<blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 8208041" data-attributes="member: 12731"><p>The first question to ask is: what is any instant death rule hoping to achieve?</p><p></p><p>The answer would be: to add danger to every combat - to remove the game from "routine" combats where there is practically no risk. (And the reason for this would be to have players hesitate to solve problems with combat).</p><p></p><p><em>But is this really appropriate for S&S?</em></p><p></p><p>I would argue, no, it isn't. It might be appropriate for a low fantasy game such as Warhammer. But S&S is not that genre!</p><p></p><p>I'll circle back to this later in this post. Let's now instead examine the printed motivation of the player's guide:</p><p></p><p>But the instant death rule as given adds <strong>nearly zero</strong> insta-kill chance, once characters are off the very lowest levels. All it does is add a <em>considerable</em> risk of not just dropping unconscious from losing all your hp, but never waking up again. While that is a worthwhile goal in itself (and indeed is strived for by many rules systems), it is arguably not appropriate for S&S <em>games</em> (as opposed to novels), and it is not what the stated design intent says.</p><p></p><p>I would argue the way to achieve the stated design goals would instead to feature a constant small probability of "killing blow" to every attack. For instance, make a Fortitude save after each time you've been hit by a large attack (where "large" is defined by your constitution and level). But of course that's just loads of more rolling. There already exists a suitable criteria: critical hits.</p><p></p><p>A more functional instant rule would say:</p><p></p><p>This would be a rule in line with its design intent.</p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p>That said, the overarching question remains: is really instant death appropriate for a S&S game?</p><p></p><p>I would argue that no, it isn't. During any D&D campaign (S&S themed or no) player characters have many many combats. There really is no way to avoid them, and indeed, D&D is predicated on the assumption that combat is an exciting reward and centrepiece of any campaign, not some very risky business best avoided.</p><p></p><p>So I would suggest instant death should only apply to non-notable NPCs. Mooks.</p><p></p><p>But there already exists a sufficient mechanism to distinguish NPCs from heroes - the basic fact that (most) NPCs are simply considered dead at 0 hp and removed from play.</p><p></p><p>I would highly recommend that the thinking behind instant death ideas are instead redirected towards magic use. I would argue "constant risk of usage" is much more thematic and appropriate for the Sorcery halve of Sword & Sorcery.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CapnZapp, post: 8208041, member: 12731"] The first question to ask is: what is any instant death rule hoping to achieve? The answer would be: to add danger to every combat - to remove the game from "routine" combats where there is practically no risk. (And the reason for this would be to have players hesitate to solve problems with combat). [I]But is this really appropriate for S&S?[/I] I would argue, no, it isn't. It might be appropriate for a low fantasy game such as Warhammer. But S&S is not that genre! I'll circle back to this later in this post. Let's now instead examine the printed motivation of the player's guide: But the instant death rule as given adds [B]nearly zero[/B] insta-kill chance, once characters are off the very lowest levels. All it does is add a [I]considerable[/I] risk of not just dropping unconscious from losing all your hp, but never waking up again. While that is a worthwhile goal in itself (and indeed is strived for by many rules systems), it is arguably not appropriate for S&S [I]games[/I] (as opposed to novels), and it is not what the stated design intent says. I would argue the way to achieve the stated design goals would instead to feature a constant small probability of "killing blow" to every attack. For instance, make a Fortitude save after each time you've been hit by a large attack (where "large" is defined by your constitution and level). But of course that's just loads of more rolling. There already exists a suitable criteria: critical hits. A more functional instant rule would say: This would be a rule in line with its design intent. --- That said, the overarching question remains: is really instant death appropriate for a S&S game? I would argue that no, it isn't. During any D&D campaign (S&S themed or no) player characters have many many combats. There really is no way to avoid them, and indeed, D&D is predicated on the assumption that combat is an exciting reward and centrepiece of any campaign, not some very risky business best avoided. So I would suggest instant death should only apply to non-notable NPCs. Mooks. But there already exists a sufficient mechanism to distinguish NPCs from heroes - the basic fact that (most) NPCs are simply considered dead at 0 hp and removed from play. I would highly recommend that the thinking behind instant death ideas are instead redirected towards magic use. I would argue "constant risk of usage" is much more thematic and appropriate for the Sorcery halve of Sword & Sorcery. [/QUOTE]
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