Hello fellow dungeon masters đź‘‹, I'm a relatively new dm and one of players made a slightly op homebrew magic item where part of its powers is that he can't become unconsciouss. Part of what happened last session is that they've been tricked into the prison of the town guard who they previously attacked and the guard now knocked them out. The only problem is that the magic item says they all can't fall unconscious.
Any way I can get around this? All help would be greatly appreciated, thanks
If you're OK with them keeping that Homebrew item, one way around that is to restrain them with rope or a large net, or even have a large cage drop on them. Use something that will restrict their movement that won't need to render them unconscious.
If you're OK with them keeping that Homebrew item, one way around that is to restrain them with rope or a large net, or even have a large cage drop on them. Use something that will restrict their movement that won't need to render them unconscious.
I like this idea a lot, +1 to that.
In D&D they might not be able to go unconscious, but they can still take lingering injuries from enough damage. They're invincible but they're not impervious to pain, which can cause them temporary or permanent disadvantages such as a limp, loss of a limb, or unsightly scars. Because they're up they may still be considered a threat in combat, and may draw more attention than if they were on the ground. How is this affecting their mind? Do they lust the power of the gods, thinking they're invincible (when they can still be killed by massive damage)? Does this affect their ability to sleep? How do others respond to it, is this character seen as having an undead nature (the magic item itself could have an aura of Necromancy for any zealots using Detect Badness)?
Rather than taking the item from the character, this is giving them an out: they can choose to get rid of it (or not, if it's Cursed: it won't take much of a salesman to sell a Ring of Red Bulls), knowing it has pros and contras.
You can of course say "I'm sorry, I messed up with this magic item. I'm going to have to remove this item (or effect) from the game, but I would like to compensate you with [something else]." It's OK to admit you screwed up if you feel you have. If your players are reasonable they should be able to appreciate that this is making the game difficult for you to run, or worse, taking away your enjoyment which runs the risk of the game collapsing, and accept the change. The players might feel the sting but at least the game can keep going, otherwise this player may have just 'won' D&D and has their character promoted to NPC, and is now required to roll up a new one. Hell, there's another out for them: they use this power for purposes beyond the party's motivations, or assist in a backseat capacity.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
I know this is no help, but this is the first thing that came to mind. Someday the party is going to get captured in some way, shape, or form that is the opportunity to take those magic items and let them go bye-bye. One of the captured noticed that these are special items and they are worth some gold, so off to the nearest magic item broker to make a sale.
Hello fellow dungeon masters đź‘‹, I'm a relatively new dm and one of players made a slightly op homebrew magic item where part of its powers is that he can't become unconsciouss. Part of what happened last session is that they've been tricked into the prison of the town guard who they previously attacked and the guard now knocked them out. The only problem is that the magic item says they all can't fall unconscious.
Any way I can get around this? All help would be greatly appreciated, thanks
First of all, welcome to the wonderful world of DMing! Don't worry, we've all done something like this. And we can help. There are some good ideas here already.
I think we need to know exactly where you ended the last session you played. Did you say the guard already knocked out the PCs? Is that how you ended the night? Then later the player said wait, I can't go unconscious? Or is the guard about to knock them out in the next session? Or has the PC been knocked out for some time already?
And for the item, how is it worded? When you say they can't go unconscious do you mean the condition specifically? What happens if they get dropped below 0 HP? Do they just keep walking around and fighting? Are they immune to the Sleep spell, which makes the target go unconscious? Or do you mean the item just let's them avoid getting knocked out by a blow to the head?
Because the solution will vary depending on how you left the scene, and how the item works.
I know this is no help, but this is the first thing that came to mind. Someday the party is going to get captured in some way, shape, or form that is the opportunity to take those magic items and let them go bye-bye. One of the captured noticed that these are special items and they are worth some gold, so off to the nearest magic item broker to make a sale.
or the mad archanist of the capturing group becomes fascinated with certain aspects of the player's items and extracts them into a weapon he presents to their boss. the items can keep their water walking only on tuesdays powers but now very specific things in the item's description are gone. EDIT: and, yes, they'll still have to break them out of the armory or track down the fense who bought them. maybe players will even be the appropriate level for the power of the items by the time they get their stuff back!
oh! and the boss's new powerful weapon with all the cheesy upgrades is made of obsidian which is all too likely to fall to the ground and shatter during a confrontation. can't handwave all the golden eggs into one basket without a contingency plan!
Hello fellow dungeon masters đź‘‹, I'm a relatively new dm and one of players made a slightly op homebrew magic item where part of its powers is that he can't become unconsciouss. Part of what happened last session is that they've been tricked into the prison of the town guard who they previously attacked and the guard now knocked them out. The only problem is that the magic item says they all can't fall unconscious.
Any way I can get around this? All help would be greatly appreciated, thanks
First of all, welcome to the wonderful world of DMing! Don't worry, we've all done something like this. And we can help. There are some good ideas here already.
I think we need to know exactly where you ended the last session you played. Did you say the guard already knocked out the PCs? Is that how you ended the night? Then later the player said wait, I can't go unconscious? Or is the guard about to knock them out in the next session? Or has the PC been knocked out for some time already?
And for the item, how is it worded? When you say they can't go unconscious do you mean the condition specifically? What happens if they get dropped below 0 HP? Do they just keep walking around and fighting? Are they immune to the Sleep spell, which makes the target go unconscious? Or do you mean the item just let's them avoid getting knocked out by a blow to the head?
Because the solution will vary depending on how you left the scene, and how the item works.
Thanks for your help, last session the PCs were tricked by the town guard to come to their fortress to give them a reward for their adventuring. Then as the players walked into the next room the guards hit them on the head rendering them unconscious and I ended the game. After the game was finished one of the players reminded me that they can't go unconscious and I'm now not sure what to do.
Hello fellow dungeon masters đź‘‹, I'm a relatively new dm and one of players made a slightly op homebrew magic item where part of its powers is that he can't become unconsciouss. Part of what happened last session is that they've been tricked into the prison of the town guard who they previously attacked and the guard now knocked them out. The only problem is that the magic item says they all can't fall unconscious.
Any way I can get around this? All help would be greatly appreciated, thanks
First of all, welcome to the wonderful world of DMing! Don't worry, we've all done something like this. And we can help. There are some good ideas here already.
I think we need to know exactly where you ended the last session you played. Did you say the guard already knocked out the PCs? Is that how you ended the night? Then later the player said wait, I can't go unconscious? Or is the guard about to knock them out in the next session? Or has the PC been knocked out for some time already?
And for the item, how is it worded? When you say they can't go unconscious do you mean the condition specifically? What happens if they get dropped below 0 HP? Do they just keep walking around and fighting? Are they immune to the Sleep spell, which makes the target go unconscious? Or do you mean the item just let's them avoid getting knocked out by a blow to the head?
Because the solution will vary depending on how you left the scene, and how the item works.
Thanks for your help, last session the PCs were tricked by the town guard to come to their fortress to give them a reward for their adventuring. Then as the players walked into the next room the guards hit them on the head rendering them unconscious and I ended the game. After the game was finished one of the players reminded me that they can't go unconscious and I'm now not sure what to do.
Okay, great! That's what it sounded like, but I wasn't sure. This actually works pretty well since you ended on a cliffhanger. It will make the start of the next game that much more exciting.
I would say to let the item work this time.
When you start the next game, summarize what happened before. Tell the players how they were all hit on the heads and knocked out. Except! You can then turn to the one player with the item and say something like 'Your vision went dark as you felt the unexpected blow. You hit the ground, ears ringing and head throbbing. You can feel yourself losing consciousness. But then... you feel the (item) pulsing with a warm glow, and the world starts to come into focus again. You are awake! Just in time to see the guards closing in on you.'
Let the item work. But the PC is now prone and surrounded by guards, alone. Let them try to fight their way out. Or try to negotiate with the guards. Or whatever they can think of. They still get to use the item you gave them. And they have a chance to try something because if it. But they're still at a big disadvantage. If you really need them to all be captured, it will probably happen just because of the odds. If you're okay with them escaping to try to break their friends out later, then great!
Players generally hate having things taken from them. Or being in no-win situations. This item will actually make the scene feel more fair to them. Like they have a fighting chance. And it will be dramatic.
Players are also usually understanding if you need to modify a homebrew item later. As long as you let them use it once as intended, they'll not feel cheated. You really do need to talk about how this item would work if they were killed in combat. They can't just fight forever. Maybe it works like the Orc ability to go to 1 HP instead of 0, once per day. But after that they can still be dropped. You can work that out with them in a way that feels good without making them invincible.
Hello fellow dungeon masters đź‘‹, I'm a relatively new dm and one of players made a slightly op homebrew magic item where part of its powers is that he can't become unconsciouss. Part of what happened last session is that they've been tricked into the prison of the town guard who they previously attacked and the guard now knocked them out. The only problem is that the magic item says they all can't fall unconscious.
Any way I can get around this? All help would be greatly appreciated, thanks
First of all, welcome to the wonderful world of DMing! Don't worry, we've all done something like this. And we can help. There are some good ideas here already.
I think we need to know exactly where you ended the last session you played. Did you say the guard already knocked out the PCs? Is that how you ended the night? Then later the player said wait, I can't go unconscious? Or is the guard about to knock them out in the next session? Or has the PC been knocked out for some time already?
And for the item, how is it worded? When you say they can't go unconscious do you mean the condition specifically? What happens if they get dropped below 0 HP? Do they just keep walking around and fighting? Are they immune to the Sleep spell, which makes the target go unconscious? Or do you mean the item just let's them avoid getting knocked out by a blow to the head?
Because the solution will vary depending on how you left the scene, and how the item works.
Thanks for your help, last session the PCs were tricked by the town guard to come to their fortress to give them a reward for their adventuring. Then as the players walked into the next room the guards hit them on the head rendering them unconscious and I ended the game. After the game was finished one of the players reminded me that they can't go unconscious and I'm now not sure what to do.
Amazing what an Anti-Magic field can do to magical weapons.
If the magic item prevents the player character from falling unconscious, how do they sleep during rests? (as a sidenote, that would be a fun cursed item; it sounds helpful but only serves to cause exhaustion)
Lots of good advice here on how to make the character captured even without the unconscious part. But I want to agree with hextherapy, you should tell the player you made a mistake in allowing them to have this item and tell them they can’t use it anymore. I mean, what happens when they hit 0 hp? They just get to stay up and keep fighting? This thing is way too strong. Maybe give them something else (from the DMG) to take the sting out of losing it. And I’d go further and say, as a new DM, don’t homebrew anything. Get a couple campaigns under your belt before you start in with that so you can understand how the game works. And never let your players homebrew; they’ll always come up with stuff that’s OP. Not always intentionally, but always OP.
Lots of good advice here on how to make the character captured even without the unconscious part. But I want to agree with hextherapy, you should tell the player you made a mistake in allowing them to have this item and tell them they can’t use it anymore. I mean, what happens when they hit 0 hp? They just get to stay up and keep fighting? This thing is way too strong. Maybe give them something else (from the DMG) to take the sting out of losing it. And I’d go further and say, as a new DM, don’t homebrew anything. Get a couple campaigns under your belt before you start in with that so you can understand how the game works. And never let your players homebrew; they’ll always come up with stuff that’s OP. Not always intentionally, but always OP.
+1 to your point about not homebrewing. I have a booklet with a few homebrew monsters from when I was just starting out and had no idea what I was doing. One of my monsters had a poison attack with a literal DC 2 Constitution save.
Being honest with your players is generally the best option. It does feel really bad to have made a mistake and ask to retcon it, but more often than not it's necessary.
Lots of good advice here on how to make the character captured even without the unconscious part. But I want to agree with hextherapy, you should tell the player you made a mistake in allowing them to have this item and tell them they can’t use it anymore. I mean, what happens when they hit 0 hp? They just get to stay up and keep fighting? This thing is way too strong. Maybe give them something else (from the DMG) to take the sting out of losing it. And I’d go further and say, as a new DM, don’t homebrew anything. Get a couple campaigns under your belt before you start in with that so you can understand how the game works. And never let your players homebrew; they’ll always come up with stuff that’s OP. Not always intentionally, but always OP.
I'm honestly surprised that so many people responded before this came up. Homebrew should generally be done one of three ways: (1) by the DM, (2) with the DM*, or (3) not at all. Letting players homebrew stuff can be dangerous, especially if you're a new DM. Also, as a starting DM, I would recommend giving fewer magic items, at least until you have a more secure grasp on running the game. Based on the fact that a normal guard knocked a PC unconscious, I would guess that the characters are still very low level (or you're just ignoring the HP they have for the sake of just knocking them out, which, to be clear, is fine). Lots of magic items at low levels can create difficult balancing problems. In general, do as little as you need to for (1) you to learn how to DM well while (2) your whole group is still having fun; don't give the characters so much stuff that you can't challenge them.
*That's not to say you have to be present when they make the thing, but you need to review it and have meaningful input into its creation and, likely, editing. If a DM isn't even allowed to change the function of a homebrew item, they're not really a dungeon master.
Thanks for your help, last session the PCs were tricked by the town guard to come to their fortress to give them a reward for their adventuring. Then as the players walked into the next room the guards hit them on the head rendering them unconscious and I ended the game. After the game was finished one of the players reminded me that they can't go unconscious and I'm now not sure what to do.
Honestly, not going unconscious is more of a curse than a benefit.
1) Folks mentioned long rests and the consequences of being unable to be unconscious - here are the rules:
"A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours "
Unless the character is an elf or a warforged (or something else that doesn't need sleep) this causes a problem.
"When you drop to 0 hit points, you either die outright or fall unconscious" - if you can't be unconscious at 0 hit points - does this mean that you are dead since there are only the two choices? :)
"While a creature sleeps, it is subjected to the unconscious condition." - if a creature can't be unconscious then it can't sleep.
"A long rest is never mandatory, but going without sleep does have its consequences. If you want to account for the effects of sleep deprivation on characters and creatures, use these rules. Whenever you end a 24-hour period without finishing a long rest, you must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion. It becomes harder to fight off exhaustion if you stay awake for multiple days. After the first 24 hours, the DC increases by 5 for each consecutive 24-hour period without a long rest. The DC resets to 10 when you finish a long rest." - if the character can't be unconscious, they can't sleep, so they can't take a long rest, as a result they will build up exhaustion and since they can't rest to get rid of it the character will die when their exhaustion reaches level 6.
At this point, I would have a chat with the player who created the homebrew item and ask them if they REALLY want to be immune to the unconscious condition.
2) However, even if you decide to ignore the above it really isn't much of an issue.
In combat - what happens when you hit zero hit points - assuming you allow them to be neither unconscious nor dead what happens if they get hit?
"Damage at 0 Hit Points. If you take any damage while you have 0 hit points, you suffer a death saving throw failure. If the damage is from a critical hit, you suffer two failures instead. If the damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum, you suffer instant death."
So - the still functioning character at 0 hit points will take a death saving throw failure every time they take damage. Since they are still up, the monsters will continue to attack them. Unless someone drops some sort of healing on them, every hit will be another failed death saving throw and three of them will kill the character outright. The only difference in this case between being conscious and unconscious is that the DM has no excuse for the NPCs to ignore the character in combat. Many DMs have creatures shift to another target when a PC goes down since they don't want to kill them and justify this on the basis of the character no longer being a threat because they are unconscious. Often the DM still chooses to have the NPCs attack someone else even if there is a character in the party who can cast a healing spell and get the character back up. This gives the downed character a chance to survive.
However, if the character doesn't fall unconscious then yes they may have an opportunity to do something on their turn that they might not otherwise be able to do. However, depending on the initiative order they are a glass cannon that will die as the NPCs continue to attack them and it only takes 3 hits to kill them outright.
On top of that, the character STILL has to make death saving throws on their turn when at zero hit points.
"Death Saving Throws: Whenever you start your turn with 0 hit points, you must make a special saving throw, called a death saving throw, to determine whether you creep closer to death or hang onto life."
Honestly, if they can't be unconscious in combat then their safest action might be to pretend to be unconscious and hope the deception works.
3) If you are ambushing the characters and stating that they are all unconscious then you can just tell this character that they are at 0 hit points but still conscious and cite the rules above describing them surrounded by guards. They could choose to take an action and probably die or they can submit to being tied up while the guards look at him wondering why he is still awake.
4) As mentioned, homebrewed content from players that the DM did not collaborate on and agree with is generally a bad idea. Sometimes, intentionally or not, the player slips something in that may have unexpected consequences. In this case, I don't know what the players goal with this ability was but going by RAW it really is more of a curse than a benefit and I wouldn't say it is overpowered unless there is an edge case where it would be useful. This is mostly because being at zero hit points is the trigger for most of the death conditions, NOT being unconscious.
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One side comment, scripted events where you take away the player agency and tell them they are now unconscious and in prison can make interesting story elements to read in a book but sometimes don't go over well in role playing games since it comes down to the DM telling the characters what happened, that they were incapable of using any of their skills or abilities to see the event happening and that they weren't able to use any of their abilities to avoid the outcome the DM recites. Depending on the NPCs and the PC levels, the stated events may be realistic and reasonable or unrealistic.
In a situation like this where one of the PCs can't be made unconscious and where the DM wants them all in prison, then I might have a volunteer guard lead them into a room with another guard at the front with the award. Once they are all in, a guard closes the door and some guards drop vials filled with a liquid that evaporates into a cloud when the vial breaks as it hits the floor. It would be some sort of stun gas intended for crowd control. High DC likely con save, with affected creatures stunned for 1 minute. Make the gas expensive, hard to get and made by one person with a secret formula. The gas dissipates quickly. The party is surprised, if any of the characters are not stunned at the end of the first round the guards above the roof toss another round at whoever is still standing. The guards rush in and tie up any of the characters that are stunned. If there is only one character still up after two rounds they can offer them the opportunity to surrender peacefully or die. It accomplishes much the same thing as just telling them they are captured, depending on their abilities, some of them might have a real chance to avoid capture which would add to the fun if they managed to escape, if they all fail, at least they know they had a chance and will perhaps be more wary of folks that they attacked previously being unexpectedly friendly.
Hello fellow dungeon masters đź‘‹, I'm a relatively new dm and one of players made a slightly op homebrew magic item where part of its powers is that he can't become unconsciouss. Part of what happened last session is that they've been tricked into the prison of the town guard who they previously attacked and the guard now knocked them out. The only problem is that the magic item says they all can't fall unconscious.
Any way I can get around this? All help would be greatly appreciated, thanks
If you're OK with them keeping that Homebrew item, one way around that is to restrain them with rope or a large net, or even have a large cage drop on them. Use something that will restrict their movement that won't need to render them unconscious.
I like this idea a lot, +1 to that.
In D&D they might not be able to go unconscious, but they can still take lingering injuries from enough damage. They're invincible but they're not impervious to pain, which can cause them temporary or permanent disadvantages such as a limp, loss of a limb, or unsightly scars. Because they're up they may still be considered a threat in combat, and may draw more attention than if they were on the ground. How is this affecting their mind? Do they lust the power of the gods, thinking they're invincible (when they can still be killed by massive damage)? Does this affect their ability to sleep? How do others respond to it, is this character seen as having an undead nature (the magic item itself could have an aura of Necromancy for any zealots using Detect Badness)?
Rather than taking the item from the character, this is giving them an out: they can choose to get rid of it (or not, if it's Cursed: it won't take much of a salesman to sell a Ring of Red Bulls), knowing it has pros and contras.
You can of course say "I'm sorry, I messed up with this magic item. I'm going to have to remove this item (or effect) from the game, but I would like to compensate you with [something else]." It's OK to admit you screwed up if you feel you have. If your players are reasonable they should be able to appreciate that this is making the game difficult for you to run, or worse, taking away your enjoyment which runs the risk of the game collapsing, and accept the change. The players might feel the sting but at least the game can keep going, otherwise this player may have just 'won' D&D and has their character promoted to NPC, and is now required to roll up a new one. Hell, there's another out for them: they use this power for purposes beyond the party's motivations, or assist in a backseat capacity.
Zero is the most important number in D&D: Session Zero sets the boundaries and the tone; Rule Zero dictates the Dungeon Master (DM) is the final arbiter; and Zero D&D is better than Bad D&D.
"Let us speak plainly now, and in earnest, for words mean little without the weight of conviction."
- The Assemblage of Houses, World of Warcraft
Stunned is a lesser form of Unconscious. If they take enough damage to be rendered unconscious, they instead are stunned.
How does the party sleep? Are they all elves that do not require the unconsciousness of sleep to allow them to function?
Edit: You might get some mileage from things like Dispel Magic or Antimagic Field that suppress or end a magical effect.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
I know this is no help, but this is the first thing that came to mind. Someday the party is going to get captured in some way, shape, or form that is the opportunity to take those magic items and let them go bye-bye. One of the captured noticed that these are special items and they are worth some gold, so off to the nearest magic item broker to make a sale.
First of all, welcome to the wonderful world of DMing! Don't worry, we've all done something like this. And we can help. There are some good ideas here already.
I think we need to know exactly where you ended the last session you played. Did you say the guard already knocked out the PCs? Is that how you ended the night? Then later the player said wait, I can't go unconscious? Or is the guard about to knock them out in the next session? Or has the PC been knocked out for some time already?
And for the item, how is it worded? When you say they can't go unconscious do you mean the condition specifically? What happens if they get dropped below 0 HP? Do they just keep walking around and fighting? Are they immune to the Sleep spell, which makes the target go unconscious? Or do you mean the item just let's them avoid getting knocked out by a blow to the head?
Because the solution will vary depending on how you left the scene, and how the item works.
or the mad archanist of the capturing group becomes fascinated with certain aspects of the player's items and extracts them into a weapon he presents to their boss. the items can keep their water walking only on tuesdays powers but now very specific things in the item's description are gone. EDIT: and, yes, they'll still have to break them out of the armory or track down the fense who bought them. maybe players will even be the appropriate level for the power of the items by the time they get their stuff back!
oh! and the boss's new powerful weapon with all the cheesy upgrades is made of obsidian which is all too likely to fall to the ground and shatter during a confrontation. can't handwave all the golden eggs into one basket without a contingency plan!
unhappy at the way in which we lost individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
tell them you don't like features disappeared quietly in the night: provide feedback!
Thanks for your help, last session the PCs were tricked by the town guard to come to their fortress to give them a reward for their adventuring. Then as the players walked into the next room the guards hit them on the head rendering them unconscious and I ended the game. After the game was finished one of the players reminded me that they can't go unconscious and I'm now not sure what to do.
Okay, great! That's what it sounded like, but I wasn't sure. This actually works pretty well since you ended on a cliffhanger. It will make the start of the next game that much more exciting.
I would say to let the item work this time.
When you start the next game, summarize what happened before. Tell the players how they were all hit on the heads and knocked out. Except! You can then turn to the one player with the item and say something like 'Your vision went dark as you felt the unexpected blow. You hit the ground, ears ringing and head throbbing. You can feel yourself losing consciousness. But then... you feel the (item) pulsing with a warm glow, and the world starts to come into focus again. You are awake! Just in time to see the guards closing in on you.'
Let the item work. But the PC is now prone and surrounded by guards, alone. Let them try to fight their way out. Or try to negotiate with the guards. Or whatever they can think of. They still get to use the item you gave them. And they have a chance to try something because if it. But they're still at a big disadvantage. If you really need them to all be captured, it will probably happen just because of the odds. If you're okay with them escaping to try to break their friends out later, then great!
Players generally hate having things taken from them. Or being in no-win situations. This item will actually make the scene feel more fair to them. Like they have a fighting chance. And it will be dramatic.
Players are also usually understanding if you need to modify a homebrew item later. As long as you let them use it once as intended, they'll not feel cheated. You really do need to talk about how this item would work if they were killed in combat. They can't just fight forever. Maybe it works like the Orc ability to go to 1 HP instead of 0, once per day. But after that they can still be dropped. You can work that out with them in a way that feels good without making them invincible.
Hope that helps!
Amazing what an Anti-Magic field can do to magical weapons.
If the magic item prevents the player character from falling unconscious, how do they sleep during rests? (as a sidenote, that would be a fun cursed item; it sounds helpful but only serves to cause exhaustion)
[REDACTED]
Lots of good advice here on how to make the character captured even without the unconscious part.
But I want to agree with hextherapy, you should tell the player you made a mistake in allowing them to have this item and tell them they can’t use it anymore. I mean, what happens when they hit 0 hp? They just get to stay up and keep fighting? This thing is way too strong. Maybe give them something else (from the DMG) to take the sting out of losing it.
And I’d go further and say, as a new DM, don’t homebrew anything. Get a couple campaigns under your belt before you start in with that so you can understand how the game works. And never let your players homebrew; they’ll always come up with stuff that’s OP. Not always intentionally, but always OP.
+1 to your point about not homebrewing. I have a booklet with a few homebrew monsters from when I was just starting out and had no idea what I was doing. One of my monsters had a poison attack with a literal DC 2 Constitution save.
Being honest with your players is generally the best option. It does feel really bad to have made a mistake and ask to retcon it, but more often than not it's necessary.
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I'm honestly surprised that so many people responded before this came up. Homebrew should generally be done one of three ways: (1) by the DM, (2) with the DM*, or (3) not at all. Letting players homebrew stuff can be dangerous, especially if you're a new DM. Also, as a starting DM, I would recommend giving fewer magic items, at least until you have a more secure grasp on running the game. Based on the fact that a normal guard knocked a PC unconscious, I would guess that the characters are still very low level (or you're just ignoring the HP they have for the sake of just knocking them out, which, to be clear, is fine). Lots of magic items at low levels can create difficult balancing problems. In general, do as little as you need to for (1) you to learn how to DM well while (2) your whole group is still having fun; don't give the characters so much stuff that you can't challenge them.
*That's not to say you have to be present when they make the thing, but you need to review it and have meaningful input into its creation and, likely, editing. If a DM isn't even allowed to change the function of a homebrew item, they're not really a dungeon master.
Paladin main who spends most of his D&D time worldbuilding or DMing, not Paladin-ing.
Honestly, not going unconscious is more of a curse than a benefit.
1) Folks mentioned long rests and the consequences of being unable to be unconscious - here are the rules:
"A long rest is a period of extended downtime, at least 8 hours long, during which a character sleeps for at least 6 hours "
Unless the character is an elf or a warforged (or something else that doesn't need sleep) this causes a problem.
"When you drop to 0 hit points, you either die outright or fall unconscious" - if you can't be unconscious at 0 hit points - does this mean that you are dead since there are only the two choices? :)
"While a creature sleeps, it is subjected to the unconscious condition." - if a creature can't be unconscious then it can't sleep.
"A long rest is never mandatory, but going without sleep does have its consequences. If you want to account for the effects of sleep deprivation on characters and creatures, use these rules. Whenever you end a 24-hour period without finishing a long rest, you must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion. It becomes harder to fight off exhaustion if you stay awake for multiple days. After the first 24 hours, the DC increases by 5 for each consecutive 24-hour period without a long rest. The DC resets to 10 when you finish a long rest." - if the character can't be unconscious, they can't sleep, so they can't take a long rest, as a result they will build up exhaustion and since they can't rest to get rid of it the character will die when their exhaustion reaches level 6.
At this point, I would have a chat with the player who created the homebrew item and ask them if they REALLY want to be immune to the unconscious condition.
2) However, even if you decide to ignore the above it really isn't much of an issue.
In combat - what happens when you hit zero hit points - assuming you allow them to be neither unconscious nor dead what happens if they get hit?
"Damage at 0 Hit Points. If you take any damage while you have 0 hit points, you suffer a death saving throw failure. If the damage is from a critical hit, you suffer two failures instead. If the damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum, you suffer instant death."
So - the still functioning character at 0 hit points will take a death saving throw failure every time they take damage. Since they are still up, the monsters will continue to attack them. Unless someone drops some sort of healing on them, every hit will be another failed death saving throw and three of them will kill the character outright. The only difference in this case between being conscious and unconscious is that the DM has no excuse for the NPCs to ignore the character in combat. Many DMs have creatures shift to another target when a PC goes down since they don't want to kill them and justify this on the basis of the character no longer being a threat because they are unconscious. Often the DM still chooses to have the NPCs attack someone else even if there is a character in the party who can cast a healing spell and get the character back up. This gives the downed character a chance to survive.
However, if the character doesn't fall unconscious then yes they may have an opportunity to do something on their turn that they might not otherwise be able to do. However, depending on the initiative order they are a glass cannon that will die as the NPCs continue to attack them and it only takes 3 hits to kill them outright.
On top of that, the character STILL has to make death saving throws on their turn when at zero hit points.
"Death Saving Throws: Whenever you start your turn with 0 hit points, you must make a special saving throw, called a death saving throw, to determine whether you creep closer to death or hang onto life."
Honestly, if they can't be unconscious in combat then their safest action might be to pretend to be unconscious and hope the deception works.
3) If you are ambushing the characters and stating that they are all unconscious then you can just tell this character that they are at 0 hit points but still conscious and cite the rules above describing them surrounded by guards. They could choose to take an action and probably die or they can submit to being tied up while the guards look at him wondering why he is still awake.
4) As mentioned, homebrewed content from players that the DM did not collaborate on and agree with is generally a bad idea. Sometimes, intentionally or not, the player slips something in that may have unexpected consequences. In this case, I don't know what the players goal with this ability was but going by RAW it really is more of a curse than a benefit and I wouldn't say it is overpowered unless there is an edge case where it would be useful. This is mostly because being at zero hit points is the trigger for most of the death conditions, NOT being unconscious.
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One side comment, scripted events where you take away the player agency and tell them they are now unconscious and in prison can make interesting story elements to read in a book but sometimes don't go over well in role playing games since it comes down to the DM telling the characters what happened, that they were incapable of using any of their skills or abilities to see the event happening and that they weren't able to use any of their abilities to avoid the outcome the DM recites. Depending on the NPCs and the PC levels, the stated events may be realistic and reasonable or unrealistic.
In a situation like this where one of the PCs can't be made unconscious and where the DM wants them all in prison, then I might have a volunteer guard lead them into a room with another guard at the front with the award. Once they are all in, a guard closes the door and some guards drop vials filled with a liquid that evaporates into a cloud when the vial breaks as it hits the floor. It would be some sort of stun gas intended for crowd control. High DC likely con save, with affected creatures stunned for 1 minute. Make the gas expensive, hard to get and made by one person with a secret formula. The gas dissipates quickly. The party is surprised, if any of the characters are not stunned at the end of the first round the guards above the roof toss another round at whoever is still standing. The guards rush in and tie up any of the characters that are stunned. If there is only one character still up after two rounds they can offer them the opportunity to surrender peacefully or die. It accomplishes much the same thing as just telling them they are captured, depending on their abilities, some of them might have a real chance to avoid capture which would add to the fun if they managed to escape, if they all fail, at least they know they had a chance and will perhaps be more wary of folks that they attacked previously being unexpectedly friendly.