Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Hit Points and Constitution damage System
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Charlaquin" data-source="post: 7594319" data-attributes="member: 6779196"><p>So, I have employed almost this exact house rule. In my version, at 0 HP you remain conscious as long as you maintain concentration (as if concentrating on a spell), you had disadvantage on attack rolls, and your exhaustion level was treated as 1 higher (this insured you would at least have disadvantage on ability checks, and might have more penalties if you already had one or more exhaustion level). And you were considered dying, so any damage you took would lead to failed death saving throws, as well as forcing you to make a Constitution save to maintain your concentration.</p><p></p><p>I loved this in theory, but in practice, it was never utilized. The first time one of my players dropped to 0 with this house rule in play, they immediately got hit by a goblin, passed his Con save, but took a failed death save for the hit. He said, “do I have to keep concentrating?” I told him no, so he dropped concentration so as not to present an active target. After that, everyone always dropped concentration immediately after falling to 0, and it was as if the house rule didn’t exist.</p><p></p><p>I think if I were to try this house rule again, I’d change it so a conscious character with 0 hp was not considered dying, and taking a hit would only force a concentration save (and of course present a greater risk of death by massive damage.)</p><p></p><p>As for the critical hits dealing damage to a separate pool equal to the character’s Con score... Too much bookkeeping for me, but if you don’t mind the extra work, it’s not too bad an idea. The trouble is that the risk of instadeath by critical hit increases as you gain levels, which seems counter-intuitive. Maybe increase this pool by your Con mod every time you gain a level? I don’t think that would entirely solve the problem, but it might at least help mitigate it some.</p><p></p><p>If you haven’t read it, I recommend taking a look at the Angry GM’s <a href="https://theangrygm.com/fighting-spirit/" target="_blank">Fighting Spirit</a> hack. It accomplishes a lot of what you’re trying to do here. I haven’t tested it (again, the extra book keeping isn’t worth it for me personally), but it might suit your needs well, or at least give you some ideas. It’s where I got the disadvantage on attack rolls and +1 fictional exhaustion level idea from.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Charlaquin, post: 7594319, member: 6779196"] So, I have employed almost this exact house rule. In my version, at 0 HP you remain conscious as long as you maintain concentration (as if concentrating on a spell), you had disadvantage on attack rolls, and your exhaustion level was treated as 1 higher (this insured you would at least have disadvantage on ability checks, and might have more penalties if you already had one or more exhaustion level). And you were considered dying, so any damage you took would lead to failed death saving throws, as well as forcing you to make a Constitution save to maintain your concentration. I loved this in theory, but in practice, it was never utilized. The first time one of my players dropped to 0 with this house rule in play, they immediately got hit by a goblin, passed his Con save, but took a failed death save for the hit. He said, “do I have to keep concentrating?” I told him no, so he dropped concentration so as not to present an active target. After that, everyone always dropped concentration immediately after falling to 0, and it was as if the house rule didn’t exist. I think if I were to try this house rule again, I’d change it so a conscious character with 0 hp was not considered dying, and taking a hit would only force a concentration save (and of course present a greater risk of death by massive damage.) As for the critical hits dealing damage to a separate pool equal to the character’s Con score... Too much bookkeeping for me, but if you don’t mind the extra work, it’s not too bad an idea. The trouble is that the risk of instadeath by critical hit increases as you gain levels, which seems counter-intuitive. Maybe increase this pool by your Con mod every time you gain a level? I don’t think that would entirely solve the problem, but it might at least help mitigate it some. If you haven’t read it, I recommend taking a look at the Angry GM’s [url=https://theangrygm.com/fighting-spirit/]Fighting Spirit[/url] hack. It accomplishes a lot of what you’re trying to do here. I haven’t tested it (again, the extra book keeping isn’t worth it for me personally), but it might suit your needs well, or at least give you some ideas. It’s where I got the disadvantage on attack rolls and +1 fictional exhaustion level idea from. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Hit Points and Constitution damage System
Top