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Should D&D Have an Alternate Death Mechanic?
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<blockquote data-quote="SteveC" data-source="post: 3620449" data-attributes="member: 9053"><p>Once again, I must invoke the old chestnut "it depends on the campaign."</p><p></p><p>I'm currently running the Shackled City Adventure path, so in that game I have a rule where characters die at Con + level, and can use Action Points to heal themselves up. That game has still had one death in it, and several near deaths.</p><p></p><p>In a campaign where I expected to give the characters the opportunity to see things all the way to the end, I would most likely use the rule where "dead = disabled" and allow characters to raise a "death flag," to gain extra action points in scenes that were particularly intense.</p><p></p><p>The thing is, it really depends on what you want your campaign to be. A meatgrinder campaign where advancing even a single level is a badge of honor can be fun, but at the same time, a GM that runs one of them shouldn't expect characters to go out and be heroic very often.</p><p></p><p>If I had to update the D&D rules, though, I'd suggest going back to the Final Fantasy Tactics rules where death is something that can be remedied within a short period (say, 1D10 rounds), so there is an opportunity cost associated with it (in that a character has to spend an action stabilizing the character), but the only way the whole group is sure to go down is if everyone drops unconscious, and there is a total party kill.</p><p></p><p>--Steve</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SteveC, post: 3620449, member: 9053"] Once again, I must invoke the old chestnut "it depends on the campaign." I'm currently running the Shackled City Adventure path, so in that game I have a rule where characters die at Con + level, and can use Action Points to heal themselves up. That game has still had one death in it, and several near deaths. In a campaign where I expected to give the characters the opportunity to see things all the way to the end, I would most likely use the rule where "dead = disabled" and allow characters to raise a "death flag," to gain extra action points in scenes that were particularly intense. The thing is, it really depends on what you want your campaign to be. A meatgrinder campaign where advancing even a single level is a badge of honor can be fun, but at the same time, a GM that runs one of them shouldn't expect characters to go out and be heroic very often. If I had to update the D&D rules, though, I'd suggest going back to the Final Fantasy Tactics rules where death is something that can be remedied within a short period (say, 1D10 rounds), so there is an opportunity cost associated with it (in that a character has to spend an action stabilizing the character), but the only way the whole group is sure to go down is if everyone drops unconscious, and there is a total party kill. --Steve [/QUOTE]
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