D&D 5E Let's Talk About Yawning Portal

[jimmytheccomic]

So, in case anyone is interested, while doing my final Tomb prep today I decided today how I'm going to handle characters getting knocked to 0 HP by a trap.

My initial thought was that hitting 0 HP from a trap would cause instant death. But, I've decided it's a bit more fun to preserve some sort of death save mechanic- those tend to be exciting moments, and there's not a ton of opportunities for dice rolling during this dungeon in general. But, I do want Tomb to feel more deadly than normal.

So, a few adjustments due to the Tombs curse:

-One failed death save = death, but it still requires 3 successes to be stabilized.

-When a PC hits 0, the players instantly make a death save

-If that save is a success, initiative is rolled to determine if another character is able to stabilize the PC before they have to roll again.

I think this should keep things pretty tense, while also making the players feel like they've got a shot.

 

[Prakriti]

-When a PC hits 0, the players instantly make a death save

-If that save is a success, initiative is rolled to determine if another character is able to stabilize the PC before they have to roll again.

I like this, in general, but this part is a little wonky. IMO, an incapacitated player should never be rolling for initiative. And if they do their dexterity bonus certainly shouldn't apply. ("Your character is really agile, so they die faster.")

Instead, I would do this:
- When a PC hits 0, have the other players roll initiative.
- Every round, at initiative count 20, the PC must make a death saving throw.

If you want to guarantee that the PC always makes a death saving throw before the other characters can react, then change it to initiative count 25 or 30.

 

[jimmytheccomic]

I like this, in general, but this part is a little wonky. IMO, an incapacitated player should never be rolling for initiative. And if they do their dexterity bonus certainly shouldn't apply. ("Your character is really agile, so they die faster.")

Instead, I would do this:
- When a PC hits 0, have the other players roll initiative.
- Every round, at initiative count 20, the PC must make a death saving throw.

If you want to guarantee that the PC always makes a death saving throw before the other characters can react, then change it to initiative count 25 or 30.

Ooh, good call, I think you're right on. The initiative count 20 thing opens up the idea of someone potentially being fast enough to stabilize before the death save is made, which I think can make for some good drama. Thank you!

 

[Luz]

So, in case anyone is interested, while doing my final Tomb prep today I decided today how I'm going to handle characters getting knocked to 0 HP by a trap.

My initial thought was that hitting 0 HP from a trap would cause instant death. But, I've decided it's a bit more fun to preserve some sort of death save mechanic- those tend to be exciting moments, and there's not a ton of opportunities for dice rolling during this dungeon in general. But, I do want Tomb to feel more deadly than normal.

So, a few adjustments due to the Tombs curse:

-One failed death save = death, but it still requires 3 successes to be stabilized.

-When a PC hits 0, the players instantly make a death save

-If that save is a success, initiative is rolled to determine if another character is able to stabilize the PC before they have to roll again.

I think this should keep things pretty tense, while also making the players feel like they've got a shot.

While this sounds good in theory, I don't think it will be very practical. Most of the damage dealing traps in ToH do not do enough damage to knock a 14th level PC down to 0 hp, so unless the same PC keeps getting hit by traps and doesn't bother to heal I just can't see it ever happening. Also, I'm not sure what the exact odds are of making three death saves against one fail are, but I imagine they're very slim odds (not a mathematician, so couldn't say). So I think this all but ensures a PC death anyway.

Are you planning to use these Tomb adjustments for insta-kill traps (such as area #6 or #23A)? These traps don't inflict hp damage, so there shouldn't be any death rolls involved, but I wasn't sure if that was your intention.

Have you thought about (as a result of the curse of the Tomb) any character who is reduced to 0 hp must stabilize by death rolls alone? That is, no amount of healing (magical, regeneration, natural, or otherwise) will have any effect on an unconscious character unless the character successfully stabilizes on his/her own first. This puts the character's fate entirely in the hands of the player's dice rolls and not by outside intervention. Just a thought.

 

[jimmytheccomic]

While this sounds good in theory, I don't think it will be very practical. Most of the damage dealing traps in ToH do not do enough damage to knock a 14th level PC down to 0 hp, so unless the same PC keeps getting hit by traps and doesn't bother to heal I just can't see it ever happening. Also, I'm not sure what the exact odds are of making three death saves against one fail are, but I imagine they're very slim odds (not a mathematician, so couldn't say). So I think this all but ensures a PC death anyway.

Are you planning to use these Tomb adjustments for insta-kill traps (such as area #6 or #23A)? These traps don't inflict hp damage, so there shouldn't be any death rolls involved, but I wasn't sure if that was your intention.

Have you thought about (as a result of the curse of the Tomb) any character who is reduced to 0 hp must stabilize by death rolls alone? That is, no amount of healing (magical, regeneration, natural, or otherwise) will have any effect on an unconscious character unless the character successfully stabilizes on his/her own first. This puts the character's fate entirely in the hands of the player's dice rolls and not by outside intervention. Just a thought.

My players and I settled on 9th level characters, so I think there's potential of trap damage (combined with monster damage) knocking a player down to 0.

In terms of the logic on the 1 death save is, there's a strong potential of instant death, but then there is a chance of the other players reviving if they are able to roll high on initiative and scramble. (I'm imagining situations where, for example, a player is in danger of having to roll another death save while at the bottom of a pit). I do want to keep the other players involved in reviving, but the thing I was struggling with was the idea of having so many rounds to do it, I want it to be something tense and fast.

I'm keeping the insta-death traps as insta-death.

I do want to keep the outside intervention, because I like having the players involved, and it's an opportunity to have them burn some heal spel slots, but I do like where your head is at.

Thanks to all for the feedback, this time tomorrow I'll be running this puppy!

 

[Luz]

My players and I settled on 9th level characters, so I think there's potential of trap damage (combined with monster damage) knocking a player down to 0.

In terms of the logic on the 1 death save is, there's a strong potential of instant death, but then there is a chance of the other players reviving if they are able to roll high on initiative and scramble. (I'm imagining situations where, for example, a player is in danger of having to roll another death save while at the bottom of a pit). I do want to keep the other players involved in reviving, but the thing I was struggling with was the idea of having so many rounds to do it, I want it to be something tense and fast.

Ah, gotcha. The tomb's traps should be considerably deadlier for 9th level PCs, and it sounds like you've got a good finger on the pulse of your players (pun intended!) so it should be a good, scary ride.

I'm keeping the insta-death traps as insta-death.

Good to hear!

I do want to keep the outside intervention, because I like having the players involved, and it's an opportunity to have them burn some heal spel slots, but I do like where your head is at.

Thanks to all for the feedback, this time tomorrow I'll be running this puppy!

Cheers. Would love to hear how it goes, hope your players enjoy Tomb of Horrors D:

 

[jimmytheccomic]

Cheers. Would love to hear how it goes, hope your players enjoy Tomb of Horrors D:

So, I don't want to take over the thread with a full play by play thing, but I do want to say, this dungeon is absolutely a blast for modern players, they had a ton of fun. We played for about two and a half hours, they made it through the first thirteen rooms. I went in ready to call the Dungeon off if it turned out to be frustrated and having a bad time, but they were laughing and cheering repeatedly.

Since they came in knowing the dungeon expectation, they were incredibly precise, smart, and detail oriented. In the first "fake entrance", I wanted to adjust them to the style of the game, so I was sure to ask very probing questions.
"I inspect the webs".
"Howso? Like a poke? A jab?"
"I'm slowly scraping my pole along it...I'd like to try to gather it like cotton candy to carefully tug it down".
"That would take hours, it's pretty thick".
"Can we burn it away? Lets burn it away?"
-Collapsible ceiling found, and they leave the tunnel entirely.

They also found the poem (the rogue was thinking maybe walking on the red runes kept them away from traps, so he followed that path), they're enjoying trying to decipher it. (That kept them away from the infamous devil mouth) Mage hand has been the most useful spell so far- they open treasure chests from as far away as they can. My favorite thing they've done is, they've tied a rope around the rogue in front, and the rest hold it so they can brace if he starts to fall down a pit, they're walking around the dungeon like a kindergarten class on a field trip.

Succesfully setting off the traps from a distance makes the game a ton of fun, because they still see the desired effect, which really gets across how much of a troll Acecerak is- they HATE this guy, and are desperate to put him in his place. The seven secret doors in a row really cemented their dislike of him. (Reading "the next room is empty, and has no apparent exit" in a monotone over and over again really hits home the nature of the dungeon.) They laughed really hard at that sequence, and at the gargoyle crushing gems (which they figured out.)

They just went through two of the crawlspaces in the tapestry room, and we ended as one player is crawling through the third. The rest of the party is convinced this is the tunnel that's going to collapse on them, but one player is insistent they should check it out, so he's crawling through himself. As he started to open the door, I called the session off on the player created cliffhanger. Everyone is having a ton of fun so far, it's a great time if everyone goes in knowing what to expect from it.

 

[Ilbranteloth]

Didn't see this in the thread, but it would be nice if they released updated player art books for Hidden Shrine... and Tomb of Horrors as free downloads.

 

[Luz]

[MENTION=6875326]jimmytheccomic[/MENTION]: sounds like it was a great game! Glad to hear your players are so invested in it, especially the riddle and their dislike for Acererak. The riddle is likely to trip them up at some point (its incredible ambiguous and cryptic), which will only add fuel the fire.

Just trying to follow your party's progress...the tapestry room? I'm guessing by the three crawlspaces you described, you're referring to area 10 Great Hall of Spheres? Just curious.

 

[jimmytheccomic]

[MENTION=6875326]jimmytheccomic[/MENTION]: sounds like it was a great game! Glad to hear your players are so invested in it, especially the riddle and their dislike for Acererak. The riddle is likely to trip them up at some point (its incredible ambiguous and cryptic), which will only add fuel the fire.

Just trying to follow your party's progress...the tapestry room? I'm guessing by the three crawlspaces you described, you're referring to area 10 Great Hall of Spheres? Just curious.

Oh yeah, they're super invested. I went to the aquarium with two of my players and our kids today, and they spent a little bit of time trying to press me for clues and poem clarification. I stayed mum, of course, but it's always a good sign when they're still invested outside of game night.

Yeah, most of the party is in area 10 now- they just explored 11 and 13 (The gargoyle and the three chests), and the game ended as the player who crawled out by himself is about to enter area 14, the chapel. We're picking it up again next Monday, it's gonna feel like a long week!