Save-or-die spell modifications

[Tiberius]

Hi, all!

After having played a wizard in a recent D&D campaign, I've become reacquainted with how unfun it is to be on the recieving end of save-or-die spells. I don't want to remove them completely from my upcoming campaign; they're neat spells, but I do want to tone them down to not be immediate funkillers while still being credible threats and useful spells that, on a failed roll, take the target out of a combat with damage that is difficult/annoying to get rid of. Do the rules I've come up with below have any glaring flaws in them?

Spells and magical effects that cause instant death upon a failed saving throw (e.g. Slay Living, a bodak’s gaze, Finger of Death) instead reduces the target to -1 hit points. All positive hit points are considered to be lost to vile damage. If the character dies while any such damage persists, any secondary effects that accompany the initial attack (e.g. rising as a bodak, complete incineration of the corpse from Destruction) take effect. If, for some reason, two such effects would activate, only the most severe does. Deathknell and similar effects that prey upon the weak/dying are exempted from this house rule. Vile damage is converted into normal damage upon death.

Vile damage, originally introduced in the Book of Vile Darkness and slightly modified for this effect, is damage that may only be healed within the confines of a consecrated/desecrated or hallowed/unhallowed area.

The capabilities of Reincarnate, Raise Dead, Resurrection, and True Resurrection (as well as any spells emulating these) are expanded as follows:

All may be targeted on living creatures with vile damage. When used to heal vile damage, the subject suffers no level or Constitution loss. Further, Reincarnate and Raise Dead may be used to heal vile damage regardless of whether that damage was inflicted by a death effect or spell with the [Death] descriptor.

Reincarnate will heal all vile damage a creature has, but the conflicting natural and utterly unnatural energies warp the subject in the process. The subject must roll on the Reincarnation table for a new form.

Raise Dead will convert all vile damage to normal damage and, if the target has fewer than 1 hit point remaining, will restore the subject to 1 hit point.

Resurrection and True Resurrection will heal all vile damage a creature has.

Wish and Miracle may replicate the effects of Resurrection.

As was already pointed out to me, someone with the Diehard feat is able to keep functioning after having been hit with one of these, but they would be reduced to effectively having the hp of a first level character; I'm not overly concerned with that one case, though would appreciate any similar and/or obscure circumstances being pointed out to me. As a note, we only use the WotC books, so if there's a wacky circumstance from a third-party book I'm not terribly concerned about it at this moment. Thank you!

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

For the Assasin's death attack, I use the following.

Fail the save = 0 HP
Fail by 5+ = -1 HP
Fail by 10+ = -9 HP

You might try something similar.

 

[Jack Simth]

Well, you've got an issue in that your Good Cleric has now inflicted Vile Damage, and the Paladin was watching.

There's some slight questions with the spells that don't technically leave you dead (Flesh to Stone) and ones that simply deal massive damage (Disintigrate).

 

[airwalkrr]

Well, you've got an issue in that your Good Cleric has now inflicted Vile Damage, and the Paladin was watching.

If the DM wants to decide that all spells with the death descriptor or all spells that instantly cause death are, by nature, evil, then this is actually quite appropriate. Maybe good clerics shouldn't be using such dark magic. However, you could go the other way and simply say it functions LIKE vile damage, but isn't vile damage.

There's some slight questions with the spells that don't technically leave you dead (Flesh to Stone) and ones that simply deal massive damage (Disintigrate).

Actually, my suggestion would be to simply make these spells like disintegrate, which used to be a save-or-die. Maybe finger of death works the same way, but requires a touch attack (which is why it is lower level than disintegrate). Slay living and destruction could work the same way.

On another note, there are ways to get around these save-or-die effects as a player. Death ward protects you from all death effects (like gazes, finger of death, or slay living). A good touch AC will help protect you from slay living and disintegrate, as will spell resistance, and there are many ways to boost that.