D&D Introduces New Rules For Dying

Early in the design process, we identified a number of ways that we were unsatisfied with D&D’s current death and dying rules. For example, we strongly disliked the inability of 3rd Edition D&D’s negative-hit-point model to deal with combat at higher levels—once the monsters are reliably dealing 15 or 20 points of damage with each attack, the chance of a character going straight from “alive and kicking” to “time to go through his pockets for loose change” was exceedingly high; effectively, the -1 to -9 “dying” range was meaningless. Ask any high-level fighter whether he'd prefer the second-to-last attack from a monster to leave him at 1 hp or -1 hp; I’d put odds on unconsciousness, and how lame is that?

In the new system, characters still use a negative hit point threshold to determine when they move from “unconscious and dying” to “all-the-way-dead,” but now that threshold scales with their level (or more specifically, with their hit point total). A character with 30 hit points (such as a low-level cleric) dies when he reaches -15 hit points, while the 15th-level fighter with 120 hp isn't killed until he’s reduced to -60 hit points.

That may seem like an unreachable number, but it’s important to remember that in 4th Edition D&D, monsters, like characters, aren't piling on as many attacks on their turn as in 3rd Edition. At 15th level, that fighter might face a tough brute capable of dishing out 25 or 30 points of damage with its best attack… or nearly twice that on a crit. The threat of “alive-to-negative-everything” on a single hit remains in play, but it’s much less common than in the previous edition. That puts that bit of tension back where it belongs.

If you want to try out a version of this system in your current non-4th Edition game, try the following house rules. It’s not quite the 4th Edition system, but it should give you an idea of how it will feel:

1) At 0 hp or less, you fall unconscious and are dying.
Any damage dealt to a dying character is applied normally, and might kill him if it reduces his hit points far enough (see #2).

2) Characters die when their negative hit point total reaches -10 or one-quarter of their full normal hit points, whichever is a larger value.
This is less than a 4th Edition character would have, but each monster attack is dealing a smaller fraction of the character’s total hit points, so it should be reasonable. If it feels too small, increase it to one-third full normal hit points and try again.

3) If you’re dying at the end of your turn, roll 1d20.
Lower than 10: You get worse. If you get this result three times before you are healed or stabilized (as per the Heal skill), you die.
10-19: No change.
20: You get better! You wake up with hit points equal to one-quarter your full normal hit points.

4) If a character with negative hit points receives healing, he returns to 0 hp before any healing is applied.
In other words, he’ll wake up again with hit points equal to the healing provided by the effect—a cure light wounds spell for 7 hp will bring any dying character back to 7 hp, no matter what his negative hit point total had reached.)

5) A dying character who’s been stabilized (via the Heal skill) doesn’t roll a d20 at the end of his turn unless he takes more damage.

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Serous Wounds
     Sneak Attacks or Confirmed Critical
           Effect:      After 6 rounds take -1 on all checks and DC’s
                 
           Treatments of: (-1 penalty)
                 DC 15 heal check
                 Cure Serous Wounds spells or greater (or two of lower degree)
                 Bed rest                  
Critical Wounds
Dropping Blow (dropped to -1 hit points or more)
     Effect: Fort save (DC 19 + negative hit points) or go unconscious
                Lose 1 hit point per round until dead
                -2 on all checks and DC’s

       Treatments of: (unconsciousness)
             Bring hit points to zero or above
     
       Treatments of: (hit point loss)
             Fort save (DC 16 + rounds dieing)
           DC 20 heal check
           Cure Critical Wounds spell or greater, or two of lower degree
           (No hit points are magically gained, until magically stabilized)
                 
        Treatments of: (-2 penalty and re-injury threat)
              One night of bed rest starting at 0 hit points or above
     
       Taking a full round action after stabilization causes hit point to continue dropping again      
           
Coup De Grace
     Effect:      Fort save (DC 10 + damage dealt by the critical) or die

       Treatment:
              If survived treat as Dropping Blow
              Hit points are at -1, if not already negative
              (Blow might cause physical damage dependent on attack)
                 
     Massive Damage
           Effect:      Fort save (DC 15 + 1 per 10 damage past 50) or receive Dropping Blow
                 
Instant Death Spells (Save-or-die spells)
     Effect: Dropped too -1 hit points
                 Become unconscious
                  Lose 1 hit point per round until dead
                 -4 on all checks and DC’s
           
     Treatment of: (hit point lose)
           Cure Critical Wounds spell or greater
           
     Treatment of: (unconsciousness)
           The passage of one day’s time and a total of 0 hit points or more is required.
           (Hit points can not be raised too zero until awake)
           
     Treatment of: (-4 on all checks and DC’s)
           Two nights of bed rest starting at 0 hit points or above