Here are Optional Rules about Death Saving Throws to increase the Deadliness of 4E. If gamers have complained that 4E is too safe, here are rules that make it more dangerous.
This is especially a problem in late Paragon / Epic, since there is no point playing further if the Players don't feel any Sense of Danger. This is also a common complaint from Players of earlier Editions. Sure 4E is tactical, but you'd have to be really dumb and unlucky to die...
These Rules are probably most ideal if you don't already resort to Coup De Graces.
Coup De Grace is arguably enough, but not for all Encounters especially if like me, you like using Ranged Enemies, or if your Melee Brutes are already down by the time someone falls Unconscious. It may also be antagonistic to Players, and you may have to be artificially "forgiving" to not be obliged to kill someone prematurely.
So even if you do, these Optional Rules might help you.
Issues with Death Saving Throws
Issue #1 : No Need for Death Saving Throws
My Party (well, actually it was me, while I was the DM teaching the system) engineered a way around Death Saving Throws. If someone looked like he was going to go down, ie Bloodied, he simply delayed until after the Leader's Turn. If the Leader was the one going to go down, he delayed until after someone (typically a non-Striker) who could bring him back up with Second Wind had gone.
That way, if my Monsters reduced him to 0 HP, he would get healed before his Turn came up, typically stand up (they all have Acrobat Boots on) and carry on as if nothing happened. Apart from expending the Leader's resources and creating a sense of Drama, there isn't even much tactical advantage in downing the Hero.
To add insult to Injury, the Leader typically expends only a Minor Action, and can carry on with his Standard Action as normal. This was less of an issue in earlier Editions, where the Leader typically had to spend a full Turn to cast a Heal, at last taking 1-2 Party Members out of the fight, but with Minor Action Heals, it is different.
Eventually Players may feel that "Reduced to 0 HP? No big deal, happens all the time. Just part of Adventuring, no sweat."
Issue #2 : Unfailable Death Saving Throws
Disciple of Death aside, there are Heroic Feats taken by 1 Character that grant a party-wide +5 bonus to Death Saving Throws. To make things worse, there are items that increase this bonus further!
Not to mention, Items that totally negate the need for Death Saving Throws, or let you roll 2 Saves and take the better result. And Warforged Resilience, of course.
The List goes on...
Issue #3 : Revenant-Cheese
For those of you who don't know about it, here's how it works :
- Revenants can choose to stay Conscious but Dazed after they are reduced to 0 HP. Once they fail 1 Death Saving Throw, they fall unconscious as normal.
- They still take Death Saving Throws as per normal, but they can typically increase their Death Saving Throw Bonuses so that they only fail on a 1 (or maybe, not even on a 1). See Issue #2
- There are also Items and Epic Destinies that ensure you automatically pass a Death Saving Throw.
Meantime, while they are below 0 HP, they typically benefit from the following Feats, Items & Rules
- Revenant feats, notably at Epic, grant the Revenant Insubstantial and extra Move and Minor Actions while they're below 0 HP. Another Heroic Feat grants a Minor Action.
- Superior Will feat allows them to save against the Daze. Passing this returns them back their "lost" Move and Minor. All-in-all, they get 1 Standard, 2 Moves, 3 Minors, every turn, assuming they pass their Superior Will Save.
- Belt of Sonnlinor Righteousness, presumably meant to keep Characters from dying while unconscious, grants them Resist 20-30 to ALL damage while under 0 HP.
Effectively, the Revenant has to take an insane amount of damage before reaching Negative Bloodied, and it may be impossible to get the Revenant to fail a Death Saving Throw. This takes away a lot of excitement from the game.
Optional Rules
These rules are suggestions. They may be adopted in part or in full, or modified etc.
I tend to keep Rules and Fluff separate, but sometimes it may help in your explanations to your Players, so I've included some mention below.
1) Save against Death whenever Reduced to 0 or Less HP
Whenever you take damage that reduces you to 0 or less HP, you make a Death Saving Throw. Players are likely to be more cautious about going down. But of course, that is no big deal if you literally can't Fail a Death Saving Throw.
Fluff : "The Demon ripped a chunk out of Bolg the Barbarian that should have killed a normal person, but even as he fell to the ground his innate resilience stood him in good stead. He was still alive, albeit barely, as his guts spilled out around him."
2) Death Saving Throw Bonuses apply only for One Roll until End of your Next Turn
Yes, I know you have +9 to Death Saving Throws, +11 with Potion of Heroism. Yes, I know that you're a Disciple of Death serving the Raven Queen. Yes, I know you are a Warforged.
Since now with (1) you may take more than 1 Death Saving Throw per Round, this rule is that you only get to benefit on the FIRST Roll. Which means when it is time to take your Second Roll (or More, if you are hit by more attacks and take ongoing Damage), you have to take an Unmodified Death Saving Throw, passing only on a Natural 10 or more.
This Rule has a good advantage because it does not overly penalise non-Revenant Characters who stay "dead" or only become a viable target after they are Healed. For Revenants who are targeted by Enemies, after being hit the first time, they have about a 50-50 chance of failing the Death Saving Throw when hit. Not to mention, the Death Saving Throw they have to make at the End of their Next Turn. Put bluntly, it nerfs them hard.
Fluff : "Bolg being her servant, the Raven Queen had helped him survive the deadly blow, but now he had only his own inner reserves to turn to, and the whims of Fate..."
Edit ( 27 Nov 2012) : An alternate House-Rule that is easier to remember might simply be this - Death Saving Throw bonuses are capped at +5. So you always fail on a 4 or less. This would be a lot more elegant than what was originally proposed under Item 2), and makes Item 3) much more Optional.
3) No Other Saves while Unconscious
Apart from Death Saving Throws, how does a Character make a Saving Throw?
Well, RP wise, a Character would have to find some way to get rid of an effect, be it patting out the flames burning him, or stanching a bleeding wound, or shaking his head and trying to snap out of the Domination, etc.
Can a Character do any of these things while Unconscious? No, not at all.
Combined with 1) and 2), this makes ongoing damage an exceptionally useful way of killing off Characters with high bonuses to Death Saving Throws. Even with +9 to Death Saving Throws, the Ongoing Damage uses up the insanely high bonuses that they get initially, forcing them into an unmodified Save they could fail at the end of their Turn.
Note that when Stabilizing a Character under these Rules, it should grant a Save against all other Effects that a Save can End. Otherwise it would take at least 2 Standard Actions to Stabilise a Character taking ongoing damage - first to grant a Saving Throw against ongoing damage, second to Stabilise.
(Credit to Clement for this!)
Fluff : "As Bolg lay on the floor unconscious, the flames lapped at his battered body, and the smell of burning flesh clung thickly in the air."
Other Considerations
Monster Damage based on an average of Lv + 8 has been arranged so that it takes about 4-5 hits to reduce an Average Character gaining 5 HP per Level to 0 HP. Given that typically there are 5-6 Monsters facing off against a party of 5 Adventurers, it is not likely that 1 Character will be dropped in the 1st round.
However, Brutes do about 25% more damage, and can down a Character in only 3-4 Hits, and less if they use Encounter Powers.
By the Time a Character has failed 1-2 Death Saving Throws, it is possible the Character will be fleeing for the exit or repositioning to be hit less.
In terms of practical repercussions, if you want 4E to be just as "easy" (which kind of defeats the purpose if you ask me), you may wish to consider 1 or max 2 of the following
1) Reduce all Monster Damage by 4
2) Select Non-Brute Monsters
3) Use Monsters with Encounter Powers that do less Damage but to more Targets.
To prevent an unexpected TPK, you may wish to start at EL+0 or EL+1 with these Rules initially, and refrain from Knocking Out the Party Leader until you have some Feel for how the Rules impact the game.
Get a feel for your Party's capabilities before upping the Difficulty of the Encounters :)
Here's to a Better Game!
This is especially a problem in late Paragon / Epic, since there is no point playing further if the Players don't feel any Sense of Danger. This is also a common complaint from Players of earlier Editions. Sure 4E is tactical, but you'd have to be really dumb and unlucky to die...
These Rules are probably most ideal if you don't already resort to Coup De Graces.
Coup De Grace is arguably enough, but not for all Encounters especially if like me, you like using Ranged Enemies, or if your Melee Brutes are already down by the time someone falls Unconscious. It may also be antagonistic to Players, and you may have to be artificially "forgiving" to not be obliged to kill someone prematurely.
So even if you do, these Optional Rules might help you.
Issues with Death Saving Throws
Issue #1 : No Need for Death Saving Throws
My Party (well, actually it was me, while I was the DM teaching the system) engineered a way around Death Saving Throws. If someone looked like he was going to go down, ie Bloodied, he simply delayed until after the Leader's Turn. If the Leader was the one going to go down, he delayed until after someone (typically a non-Striker) who could bring him back up with Second Wind had gone.
That way, if my Monsters reduced him to 0 HP, he would get healed before his Turn came up, typically stand up (they all have Acrobat Boots on) and carry on as if nothing happened. Apart from expending the Leader's resources and creating a sense of Drama, there isn't even much tactical advantage in downing the Hero.
To add insult to Injury, the Leader typically expends only a Minor Action, and can carry on with his Standard Action as normal. This was less of an issue in earlier Editions, where the Leader typically had to spend a full Turn to cast a Heal, at last taking 1-2 Party Members out of the fight, but with Minor Action Heals, it is different.
Eventually Players may feel that "Reduced to 0 HP? No big deal, happens all the time. Just part of Adventuring, no sweat."
Issue #2 : Unfailable Death Saving Throws
Disciple of Death aside, there are Heroic Feats taken by 1 Character that grant a party-wide +5 bonus to Death Saving Throws. To make things worse, there are items that increase this bonus further!
Not to mention, Items that totally negate the need for Death Saving Throws, or let you roll 2 Saves and take the better result. And Warforged Resilience, of course.
The List goes on...
Issue #3 : Revenant-Cheese
For those of you who don't know about it, here's how it works :
- Revenants can choose to stay Conscious but Dazed after they are reduced to 0 HP. Once they fail 1 Death Saving Throw, they fall unconscious as normal.
- They still take Death Saving Throws as per normal, but they can typically increase their Death Saving Throw Bonuses so that they only fail on a 1 (or maybe, not even on a 1). See Issue #2
- There are also Items and Epic Destinies that ensure you automatically pass a Death Saving Throw.
Meantime, while they are below 0 HP, they typically benefit from the following Feats, Items & Rules
- Revenant feats, notably at Epic, grant the Revenant Insubstantial and extra Move and Minor Actions while they're below 0 HP. Another Heroic Feat grants a Minor Action.
- Superior Will feat allows them to save against the Daze. Passing this returns them back their "lost" Move and Minor. All-in-all, they get 1 Standard, 2 Moves, 3 Minors, every turn, assuming they pass their Superior Will Save.
- Belt of Sonnlinor Righteousness, presumably meant to keep Characters from dying while unconscious, grants them Resist 20-30 to ALL damage while under 0 HP.
Effectively, the Revenant has to take an insane amount of damage before reaching Negative Bloodied, and it may be impossible to get the Revenant to fail a Death Saving Throw. This takes away a lot of excitement from the game.
Optional Rules
These rules are suggestions. They may be adopted in part or in full, or modified etc.
I tend to keep Rules and Fluff separate, but sometimes it may help in your explanations to your Players, so I've included some mention below.
1) Save against Death whenever Reduced to 0 or Less HP
Whenever you take damage that reduces you to 0 or less HP, you make a Death Saving Throw. Players are likely to be more cautious about going down. But of course, that is no big deal if you literally can't Fail a Death Saving Throw.
Fluff : "The Demon ripped a chunk out of Bolg the Barbarian that should have killed a normal person, but even as he fell to the ground his innate resilience stood him in good stead. He was still alive, albeit barely, as his guts spilled out around him."
2) Death Saving Throw Bonuses apply only for One Roll until End of your Next Turn
Yes, I know you have +9 to Death Saving Throws, +11 with Potion of Heroism. Yes, I know that you're a Disciple of Death serving the Raven Queen. Yes, I know you are a Warforged.
Since now with (1) you may take more than 1 Death Saving Throw per Round, this rule is that you only get to benefit on the FIRST Roll. Which means when it is time to take your Second Roll (or More, if you are hit by more attacks and take ongoing Damage), you have to take an Unmodified Death Saving Throw, passing only on a Natural 10 or more.
This Rule has a good advantage because it does not overly penalise non-Revenant Characters who stay "dead" or only become a viable target after they are Healed. For Revenants who are targeted by Enemies, after being hit the first time, they have about a 50-50 chance of failing the Death Saving Throw when hit. Not to mention, the Death Saving Throw they have to make at the End of their Next Turn. Put bluntly, it nerfs them hard.
Fluff : "Bolg being her servant, the Raven Queen had helped him survive the deadly blow, but now he had only his own inner reserves to turn to, and the whims of Fate..."
Edit ( 27 Nov 2012) : An alternate House-Rule that is easier to remember might simply be this - Death Saving Throw bonuses are capped at +5. So you always fail on a 4 or less. This would be a lot more elegant than what was originally proposed under Item 2), and makes Item 3) much more Optional.
3) No Other Saves while Unconscious
Apart from Death Saving Throws, how does a Character make a Saving Throw?
Well, RP wise, a Character would have to find some way to get rid of an effect, be it patting out the flames burning him, or stanching a bleeding wound, or shaking his head and trying to snap out of the Domination, etc.
Can a Character do any of these things while Unconscious? No, not at all.
Combined with 1) and 2), this makes ongoing damage an exceptionally useful way of killing off Characters with high bonuses to Death Saving Throws. Even with +9 to Death Saving Throws, the Ongoing Damage uses up the insanely high bonuses that they get initially, forcing them into an unmodified Save they could fail at the end of their Turn.
Note that when Stabilizing a Character under these Rules, it should grant a Save against all other Effects that a Save can End. Otherwise it would take at least 2 Standard Actions to Stabilise a Character taking ongoing damage - first to grant a Saving Throw against ongoing damage, second to Stabilise.
(Credit to Clement for this!)
Fluff : "As Bolg lay on the floor unconscious, the flames lapped at his battered body, and the smell of burning flesh clung thickly in the air."
Other Considerations
Monster Damage based on an average of Lv + 8 has been arranged so that it takes about 4-5 hits to reduce an Average Character gaining 5 HP per Level to 0 HP. Given that typically there are 5-6 Monsters facing off against a party of 5 Adventurers, it is not likely that 1 Character will be dropped in the 1st round.
However, Brutes do about 25% more damage, and can down a Character in only 3-4 Hits, and less if they use Encounter Powers.
By the Time a Character has failed 1-2 Death Saving Throws, it is possible the Character will be fleeing for the exit or repositioning to be hit less.
In terms of practical repercussions, if you want 4E to be just as "easy" (which kind of defeats the purpose if you ask me), you may wish to consider 1 or max 2 of the following
1) Reduce all Monster Damage by 4
2) Select Non-Brute Monsters
3) Use Monsters with Encounter Powers that do less Damage but to more Targets.
To prevent an unexpected TPK, you may wish to start at EL+0 or EL+1 with these Rules initially, and refrain from Knocking Out the Party Leader until you have some Feel for how the Rules impact the game.
Get a feel for your Party's capabilities before upping the Difficulty of the Encounters :)
Here's to a Better Game!
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