5e House Rules

Home brew or house rules for my 5e games

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Dying

Dying

Goals

  • encourage characters to leave a fight when they get low on health
  • maintain characters choice and agency and gameplay
  • provide opportunities for interesting choices and narrative

Falling unconcious is good because it takes a player out of the fight and raises a clear concern. It is also bad because it removes the players ability to fix the problem, play the game, or have any fun. The rules below will keep the good and get rid of the bad. They will produce more cinematic deaths in which a character rapidly degrades while screaming for their life and grasping for straws. The rules encourage a player to leave a fight when they are hanging by a thread but still permit them to act and attempt to save themselves.

Summary

  • Death Saving Throws are no longer used
  • Drop to 0 HP: you are Dying, suffer +1 Exhaustion level
  • End of turn: suffer +1 Exhaustion level
  • Take Damage: suffer +1 Exhaustion level
  • Suffer Level 6: level 6 of exhaustion is Death
  • Stabilized: actions to stabilize restore 1 HP to the Dying creature. you can stabalize yourself
  • First Aid: Medicine check to stabalize any creature you can touch DC = 10 + targets exhaustion level
  • Regain any HP: no longer Dying, however Exhaustion remains
  • Heroic Death: while Dying use an action to secure grand Heroic Death for great impact
  • see below for ideas around removing exhaustion levels faster

Dropping to 0 Hit Points

When a creature drops to 0 hit points, it either dies outright due to the extreme amount of damage (PHB ch9) or becomes Dying, as explained in the following sections.

Dying Condition

Dying is a special condition that simply means a creature has 0 hit points and is not dead yet. A creature obtains the **Dying **condition immediatly when they drop to 0 hit points and looses the condition as soon as they gain any hit points.

The Dying condition causes the creature to suffer +1 Exhaustion level 1) immediatly, 2) at the end of their turn, 3) when they take damage.

Dying creatures are conscious. As such spells like Sleep will still affect them.

As per the exhaustion rules if a creature gains the sixth level of exhaustion it is dead. Players should consult with their DM about generating a new character.

A characters declared deity may offer the passing spirit a final bargain in order to return to life with one hit point and 1d4 levels of exhaustion. Beware, however, as this bargain will also contain a major disability such as blindness or permanent exhaustion, in addition to a curse or a looming expiration date.

Exhaustion gained from Dying does not end when the Dying condition is lost unless the healing method specifically describes also removing levels of exhaustion. Exhaustion gained from Dying is like all other exhaustion. See Exhaustion in Conditions for information on removing levels of exhaustion.

This informs a character they are on their way to death and grants multiple rounds to either stop the death or go out with a bang. Urgency is created without removing the characters ability to do something about it. In combination with existing rules about removing level of exhaustion this creates a scenario where the closer you got to death to longer your character takes to recover from the shock of that situation, possibly multiple days. During that time the character will have some disadvantage on checks and reduced speed (as per the exhaustion levels) and this represents a bit of shell shock or PTSD being suffered by the character.

Falling Prone Instead

When the Dying condition imposes suffering +1 Exhaustion levels the player may choose that their character instead falls prone. This option is only available if the character has not already been prone this turn.

Damage while Dying.

If you take any damage while you are Dying, you suffer +1 Exhaustion level. If the damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum, you suffer instant death.

Stabilizing a Dying Creature.

Effects that stabalize a Dying creature now do so by healing for one hit point. Stabalization via first aid can be done on any creature you can touch and requires a successful Wisdom (Medicine) check with a DC of 10 + targets exhaustion level.

Creatures that have been stabalized from Dying have been at deaths door. Thats a very traumatic situation. It may be appropriate to roll on the “Lingering Injuries Table” (DMG ch9) for the creature.

Optional: Boromirs Heroic Death

If you are Dying, as an action you can have a Heroic Death. Consult with the DM the effects of this Heroic Death. The goal is to go out in guts and glory possibly swaying the tide of battle. The result will be at least your death of which you cannot be revived or resurrected. You have willingly departed this realm and will not return.

Consider the final moments of Boromir (LOTR) where, filled with arrows, he makes multiple resurgances killing many more Orcs and setting up Lurtz to be ambushed. Or consider Leslie Coffelt (IRL) who was shot 3 times and limping along returned fire killing his assailant and successfully defending President Truman from assassination before passing out and dying.

Optional: Removing Exhaustion Faster

I have been floating ideas on making the effects of the Dying condition not last so long. Here are some of the ideas: