I rolled a 20 on my Save vs. Death!

[Amy Kou'ai]

So on Sunday, I was in a game in which my wizard, Lei-Fang, was battling with a hobgoblin mage on top of a ledge, while melee combat happened below her. The warlock had set up a zone of Hunger of Hadar below and around one of the entrances, which was terribly useful for deterring people from entering.

Unfortunately, it also turned out to be horribly bad for me, because I was knocked down off the ledge, and then the mage pulled me into the zone, causing Lei-Fang to drop to -3 instantly. Things were looking grim.

And then, when my turn came around and ended, the GM said, "Roll me a save versus death." And so I rolled -- 19! With the +1 to saving throws from Human Perseverance, that made a 20 -- which meant immediately spending a healing surge, giving me a chance to barrel out of there and heal up. A wonderfully dramatic moment, which totally made the night for me.

How'd this rule go over in your games?

 

[deadplayer]

A very interesting rule. What game do u play?

 

[greyscale1]

I love that rule!

(He is playing 4e, and no, that is not a house rule, it is RAW and I'm betting RAI)

 

[fba827]

We have yet to see the 20+ on save vs. death come up.. but everytime we roll it we do anxiously hope for it!

 

[MerricB]

Happened last session to our dwarf fighter who really, really needed it (as did the party). It's a great, great rule.

I didn't realise that it didn't have to be a natural 20. Cool!

Cheers!

 

[Stalker0]

Wow, I didn't know it didn't need to be a natural 20 either! Our party's warlock is going to be even happier with his new human feat

But I think our party's warlock might have a record right now. In one fight he rolled a natural 20 3 times on death saves and got back into the fight.

3 times!!

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Wow, I didn't know it didn't need to be a natural 20 either! Our party's warlock is going to be even happier with his new human feat

But I think our party's warlock might have a record right now. In one fight he rolled a natural 20 3 times on death saves and got back into the fight.

3 times!!

Natural 20s are required for most PCs, though - save bonuses are rare.

 

[AtomicPope]

Sadly, my players aren't nearly as lucky. They can't even remain stable. But there's two leaders in the group so they manage.

 

[Foundry of Decay]

Oddly we've seen it happen a couple of times so far. Lucky player dice rolls in this group.

One player actually has a history of having paladins die early, and in the most gruesome ways in the games I run. I don't specifically single out the paladins he plays, but somehow everything within ten feet of him seems to roll a crit. We've actually jokingly 'banned' him from playing paladins.

This time, however, the rule actually let him play his pally for more than a session. He was critted twice and I think hit twice despite the attacks being against his best defense. He dropped and the next round rolled a 20. He got up, hit something, then immediately got critted yet again and one more hit dropped him once more (He was saved by the cleric).

So we're very favorable to the rule. If *anything* can keep a paladin character alive for this player, its one hell of a rule. Plus it just adds a great deal of cinema to the whole game for us.

 

[Old Gumphrey]

My group's been playing 4e since June 12th, once a week, and we've seen the 20 on a death save happen six times (twice was because of items like the symbol of hope and powers like divine mettle). What a great rule. It adds so much to the cinematics of a fight.

 

[Henry]

It just came up this past weekend. THe party ranger was fighting a half-dozen pirates by himself on a ship, and they surrounded him and cut him down. He failed his first save, the pirates had picked him up and were carrying him to "string his body up by the yardarm" from the forward mast. He rolled a 20 on his save next round, triggering a healing surge, which gave him enough hit points to be conscious... He played dead until the last moment, then sucker punched two of them ("HOLY ****! HE'S STILL ALIVE!!!!") and managed to take the remainder down with a scant handful of hit points, looking the bloody mess in the end.

I love sessions like that.

 

[ThirdWizard]

I've DMed several games, and I play in another weekly game, and I haven't seen it happen yet.

 

[Foxen]

Happened twice to my Dhalia (human pally)...although I'm eventually going to get the Human Perseverance feat for her JUST for that +1 to Death Saves.

Actually, a lot of her character concept depends on natural 20s...she carries a +1 Vicious Great Axe (thus dubbe Lerissa the Blood Oath) for that oh so sweet +2d12 crit damage. She pulled it off several times...even on a Paladin's Judgment which was a bit overkill.

Fox

 

[Badgerish]

It's happened with one of my players.

He was a dragonborn paladin, fighting off two undead, he was weakened(save ends), taking 5 necrotic(save ends) and had 3 HP left

Start of his turn, he takes his damage and drops. looks like he's going to be food for a zombie dog now. I tell him to roll three saving throws for death, then weakened, then necrotic. 20! 16! 14!

On his next turn, the Paladin was back up and fighting again, it certainly changed the course of the battle



(i'm not sure if a nat 20 on your death-throw counts as a nat-20 on a saving-throw, for saving vs all effects)

 

[Nebulous]

We had a player down for 6 rounds in a row, desperately hoping for a 20 each time. Didn't happen. He survived the encounter anyway, but only barely.

 

[Aexalon]

He rolled a 20 on his save next round, triggering a healing surge, which gave him enough hit points to be conscious...

Healing always starts at a minimum of 0hp ... if your char has 60 hit points total, but is at -5 at the moment, and s/he triggers a healing surge, s/he ends up at 15 hit points, not 10 (source: PH1 p295, 'Healing A Dying Character').

(i'm not sure if a nat 20 on your death-throw counts as a nat-20 on a saving-throw, for saving vs all effects)

There is no 'natural 20' save effect in 4E, not for regular saves (the 'cure all aliments'), nor for death saves (it's '20 or higher' to be allowed to use a healing surge). Might be a mixup with the D&D miniatures game (sources: PH1 p279, 'Saving Throws'; PH1 p295, 'Death And Dying').