New Article: Death and Dying

[Stormtalon]

My guess is that it's just poorly worded and that you do stabilize if you roll between 10-19.

Can't be. That means that dying would actually be far more infrequent than in the current system. Stating simply "no change" is really precise: you don't get better this time around, but you also don't get worse. It's not stabilized, it's just delaying the (potentially) inevitable. Otherwise, there's no real point to the "three strikes, you're dead" mechanic, as more often than not, you'll get one 10-19 before you get 3 1-9s.

I'm reasonbly certain that the only "stabilize" in this system is the Nat 20 "I think I'll go for a walk!" result. This certainly explains the actions of the Paladin in the last Biggie Smalls playtest report as he kept bouncing back up after the bugbears smacked him on the bean.

 

[HeinorNY]

Now, the excitement at the table of a player rolling a 20 and getting to rejoin a battle may be worth those rare moments of ridiculousness. I suppose I'll have to use the rule for a while to find out.

Whent this happens try this:
The orc really "healed" the fighter. Since in 4E HPs are also some kind of moral meter, consider that being beaten up buy a lousy orc activated the fighter's inner resourcers of adrenaline and self-preservation, bringing him back to fight even more dangerous.

A wounded cornered tiger can be much more dangerous than a healthy tiger just hunting its daily prey.

"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine"

 

[Lackhand]

Also, here's another pretty absurd corner case:

A fighter has 200 hit points at maximum, and is down to 5 HP. An orc stabs him for 6 points of damage, taking him down to -1. The next round, the fighter rolls a 20, and pops back up with 50 HP. So the orc just healed the fighter for 45 points by stabbing him in the gut.

I know that hit points are abstract, but that's pretty ridiculous.

Neh, the fighter's dirt nap was very invigorating

You don't want to hit some people, you'll just make them angry.

See also: Boromir.

 

[Peter LaCara]

There has to be some way to self-stabilize, if it's not rolling 10-19, it's going to be some other way.

There is. You roll a natural 20. You only have a 5% chance to self-stabilize instead of a 10% chance, but self-stabilization comes with extra bennies, so that's nice.

 

[Grog]

Neh, the fighter's dirt nap was very invigorating

You don't want to hit some people, you'll just make them angry.

See also: Boromir.

Yes, I get what happened from a flavor standpoint.

But there's no getting around the fact that, from a mechanics standpoint, the orc just healed the fighter of a good chunk of HP by stabbing him in the gut.

That bothers me (but, again, I'll have to use the rule for a while to find out how much of a problem it actually is).

 

[Lizard]

There has to be some way to self-stabilize, if it's not rolling 10-19, it's going to be some other way.

You roll a 20, you get healed, or you die. A roll of 11-19 is "stable for the moment".

 

[A'koss]

Can't be. That means that dying would actually be far more infrequent than in the current system. Stating simply "no change" is really precise: you don't get better this time around, but you also don't get worse. It's not stabilized, it's just delaying the (potentially) inevitable. Otherwise, there's no real point to the "three strikes, you're dead" mechanic, as more often than not, you'll get one 10-19 before you get 3 1-9s.

It's possible, but as I said in my last post I'm sure that if it's not 10-19, there'll be some other way to stabilize yourself (other than a N20, which seems too small a chance).

I'm reasonbly certain that the only "stabilize" in this system is the Nat 20 "I think I'll go for a walk!" result. This certainly explains the actions of the Paladin in the last Biggie Smalls playtest report as he kept bouncing back up after the bugbears smacked him on the bean.

I took the Paladin example as being stunned for one round, not actually being knocked out.

 

[Gryffyn]

Combine these rules with most or all classes having some sort of healing in 4e -- I'm wondering if death is going to be almost impossible for PCs now.

 

[Grog]

Combine these rules with most or all classes having some sort of healing in 4e -- I'm wondering if death is going to be almost impossible for PCs now.

Did you actually read the article? Andy Collins specifically stated that the threat of death still exists in 4E.

 

[rkanodia]

I don't get why they need to keep in negative hit points. Seems like extra bookkeeping, especially since they count towards dying but not towards healing. Why not just have any damage inflicted on a dying PC force another 'save versus death'?