D&D General Stealing Death Moves from Daggerheart for 5e

[Charlaquin]

Ok, did the math so I can give players more information if they’re uncertain whether they should take the risk of Putting Their Life in Fate’s Hands.

Here’s the approximate percentage chance of survival, rounded to the nearest whole number, based on number of “scars” (permanent death save failures) accumulated and whether or not you spend Heroic Inspiration for one auto-success. Assuming you don’t have advantage on death saves, and you ride it out until you stabilize naturally or die.

Number of Scars	Without Heroic Inspiration	With Heroic Inspiration
0	~60%	~74%
1	~42%	~57%
2	~21%	~33%
3	0%	0%

Following up with the same table but assuming advantage on all death saves (potential sources: Beacon of Hope spell, Foresight spell, Reborn lineage, etc).

Number of Scars	Without Heroic Inspiration	With Heroic Inspiration
0	~95%	~97%
1	~84%	~90%
2	~56%	~66%
3	0%	0%

 

[Charlaquin]

Yeah what i said seems very clear to me, even just reading your quote reply, so idk.

No worries, i just dont feel like arguing with someone i like about something like this.

Not trying to argue, just to understand. But, it’s all good, I’ll drop the point if you prefer.

 

[Horwath]

Why do you want there to be resurrection, out of curiosity?

we have all kinds of reality altering magics, why not resurrection.

it's common mythology, maybe you like the character concept so you want to keep the character.
without going to; this is my twin brother, trope.

 

[Vael]

I like it. My concern is that the way damage works in 5e compared to Daggerheart ... there's more uncertainty in 5e given damage is unbounded and that in-combat healing is generally considered ineffective, which is not what happens in Daggerheart.

I do like Daggerheart's death move system, so I'd be interested to see how this plays out at the table, though.

 

[Charlaquin]

I like it. My concern is that the way damage works in 5e compared to Daggerheart ... there's more uncertainty in 5e given damage is unbounded and that in-combat healing is generally considered ineffective, which is not what happens in Daggerheart.

Oh, I should mention, my intent is for this to replace 5e’s instant death by massive damage rule. Also, while it’s true that in 5e Classic, in-combat healing is generally considered inefficient, but I’ll be running this with the 2024 rules, which doubled the dice on all healing spells and made potions a bonus action to use. So hopefully those factors will mitigate these potential issues.

I do like Daggerheart's death move system, so I'd be interested to see how this plays out at the table, though.

I’d be happy to update you with how it goes! I’ll probably be starting the campaign I’m using this in very soon. I’ll follow up after the first few KOs of the campaign.

 

[Clint_L]

I really like the concept behind death moves, but I simplify it to allowing a player to choose to have their character die with a heroic success or just do death saves as normal.

Usually players just go for death saves which, let's face it, means they will almost always survive. But I did have one instance where a player chose a heroic death by dragon that allowed the party to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. He was pretty pleased about it; it was a huge moment and he was kind of tired of playing a cleric.

 

[Charlaquin]

I really like the concept behind death moves, but I simplify it to allowing a player to choose to have their character die with a heroic success or just do death saves as normal.

Usually players just go for death saves which, let's face it, means they will almost always survive. But I did have one instance where a player chose a heroic death by dragon that allowed the party to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. He was pretty pleased about it; it was a huge moment and he was kind of tired of playing a cleric.

So, part of the reason I decided to try this is that one of the PCs in this campaign is a 10-year old child (the character, not the player). And while I generally prefer death to be on the table, I also, frankly, don’t want to risk killing a child character randomly. But I also don’t want to just give this one PC plot armor. So, one of the things I really liked about Daggerheart’s death moves is that there are the three options - a heroic sacrifice, guaranteed survival at a cost, or leaving it up to chance. I also really liked that the guaranteed survival at a cost option has a soft limit, and as you approach that limit, you are more and more encouraged to consider either taking the heroic sacrifice, or letting the character move on to a peaceful retirement. So, the “avoid death” option is essential for my purposes. Even if nobody chooses to take it, it’s important to me that the option be there.

 

[Reynard]

we have all kinds of reality altering magics, why not resurrection.

it's common mythology, maybe you like the character concept so you want to keep the character.
without going to; this is my twin brother, trope.

Right, but my point is that if PC death is entirely up to the player, then you don't need to have resurrection magic for any of those purposes -- they are already built into the system.

"I want to survive with a scar, but can we say that I have to negotiate with the raven Queen and become her champion in order to survive?"