I recently started a level seven campaign, and one of the characters is a wizard with negative 2 constitution, who has 15 hitpoints. When I send any enemy that can't one hit kill him, the entire party obliterates them. Anything else will one shot him. I want to be careful about killing a character on session two or three, but like... he has 15 hitpoints, and if there is any amount of challenge in the combat, he will probably die. What am I supposed to do here?
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I will protect those I hate. Even ... even if the one I hate most ... is ... myself.
sounds like they need a wheelchair. or a plastic bubble of pure air. are you keeping them away from stiff breezes? how are their allergies doing with the cedar trees in the forest and all this fatty camp food? and the smoke! the dust! i guess what i'm saying is that they don't sound like the adventuring type. like, heroes are just a little stronger and more robust than level-0 persons, right? if any tubby tavern keep of peasant-stock could beat them in a foot race, what right have they to be ship sailing, cliff climbing, expanse exploring, and branch brachiating? what is the player's justification?
because the player, oh, they're having fun being 'outside the box' and clever. let them, why not? and then next time ask them politely to use the point buy system and in the future reel in their more burdensome quirks until after the party is fully comfortable with each other and their cohesion as a party. as for the current character? that character is obviously on a suicide mission. they're off to die in glorious fashion to show their mother/teacher/betrothed what they're worth... or else stumble ass-backwards into a fortune. as one does on an adventure. if they're playing it without fear then perhaps they lean into that too. ask them privately to think about how the character themselves might have gotten into this position. perhaps they begin assuming the party members will protect them if they open a goblin's door first. don't these filthy people know he's a noble?? (the goblins i mean. nice shield, friend. good lad.)
just ask them to own their creation (and prepare a spare). let the party and the character decide how that plays out.
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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: providefeedback!
Let him die as an object lesson of why not to dump con.
Seriously though, I’d not design encounters around keeping one pc alive, you’re doing a disservice to the other characters and likely making the game boring for those players. I wouldn’t go out of my way to kill the character, either. No special treatment. I’d be really curious how he managed to live to level 7 like that. I know you’re starting there, it just seems unrealistic he’d last that long. Seems like he’s always one failed save away from instant death. I mean, 30 hp in one hit and he’s gone, no death saves, by RAW.
Your task is to challenge the party, not a particular PC. Allow the *party* to solve this problem. Feed them all of the info that they might need to make an informed decision about who to engage, and whom to protect.
This has more to do with the party's priority management, and less to do with your encounter balancing abilities.
"Skin that smoke wagon and get to work."
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“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 recently started a level seven campaign, and one of the characters is a wizard with negative 2 constitution, who has 15 hitpoints. When I send any enemy that can't one hit kill him, the entire party obliterates them. Anything else will one shot him. I want to be careful about killing a character on session two or three, but like... he has 15 hitpoints, and if there is any amount of challenge in the combat, he will probably die. What am I supposed to do here?
Sometimes killing a PC early on is a good way to set a mood, and the player has clearly volunteered.
because the player, oh, they're having fun being 'outside the box' and clever.
That was my thought, too. It really smacks of someone thinking they have a quirky role play idea for an interesting character, without thinking through how it will just end up being a huge drain on the rest of the party since they're going to be the ones to bail him out. And he'll spend so much time unconscious he probably won't do much in fights but make death saves.
Granted, I don't know the person, and I could be completely wrong.
because the player, oh, they're having fun being 'outside the box' and clever.
That was my thought, too. It really smacks of someone thinking they have a quirky role play idea for an interesting character, without thinking through how it will just end up being a huge drain on the rest of the party since they're going to be the ones to bail him out. And he'll spend so much time unconscious he probably won't do much in fights but make death saves.
Granted, I don't know the person, and I could be completely wrong.
this whole mess could be a lot of fun, honestly. it's a not-un-interesting niche to explore. whether the party agrees or not, as long as a few people are in character it could be a decent story. especially if this guy seemingly digging his own grave steps up to explore. could this player try to convince the party? bribe them? threaten? tug on their heartstrings? complain to their temple elders and loan sharks?? how are you still here??? play it out! at a fun table it's not the dm shaping the story so much as the characters just living the best they know how. i have a lot of respect for someone who can see what they've done and own it going forward. and as long as they're fully prepared for the dice gods to treat them impartially.
...edit: although, i imagine it would become tiresome if the constantly rerolled characters became the gag. that's a conversation to have sooner than later, dm. :D
Characters with a 2 in con don't survive to go adventuring. It's surprising they lived to adulthood and a miracle they lived to level 7, dying at any time is the expected outcome, it's not on you to keep them alive.
Just because they hit 0 HP doesn't mean that they are dead - it means that they start making death saving throws. There will be sufficient time for one of the other PCs to come over and heal them back to safety. Maybe the other PCs will also do a bit more to avoid this PC getting targeted by the enemy.
I assume you mean a CON of 6 or 7, which has a -2 CON modifier (rather than having an actual CON of 2).
Just because they hit 0 HP doesn't mean that they are dead - it means that they start making death saving throws. There will be sufficient time for one of the other PCs to come over and heal them back to safety. Maybe the other PCs will also do a bit more to avoid this PC getting targeted by the enemy.
I assume you mean a CON of 6 or 7, which has a -2 CON modifier (rather than having an actual CON of 2).
But if they hit their negative hp max, they’re dead. So hit once for 14 and a second time for 16, and there’s no death saves. Or take a fireball for 30, no death saves. It’s not hard to take that kind of damage at level 7.
Is this a new player? Because I had no idea CON was important when I rolled up my first character and I also had a negative CON modifier (9 in CON as a ranger...ouch). When I was making the build, I thought, "Okay, I'll dump Constitution because there's no skills for that stat." I learned very quickly I'd done The Big Stupid and used my first ASI possible to fix my error.
A quick convo with the player is probably the easiest thing, here, especially if you haven't played yet.
Elric of Melniboné is one of my favourite characters in fantasy literature: an antihero of very poor constitution, requiring no small amount of drugs to keep him alive and careful diplomacy for his rulership of Melniboné. His sword, Stormbringer, is the only thing that keeps him alive when his supply of drugs wanes on his travels and that means thrusting himself into battle with a sentient blade which hungers for souls. If I were to play a low CON character, that would be my go-to inspiration: someone who wants to adventure and can bring something to the party, but understands their condition makes them a liability. I'd also have to appreciate that unlike Elric, I'm not the main character of this campaign, I'd have to up my roleplaying ability, I'm not protected by plot armour.
That said, if they're quite sure they want to play this character, they must let the dice fall where they may. The character's probably a visibly easy target, barring their magic (which only makes them a higher priority for intelligent characters). If he dies, it's tough luck but that's D&D. It's not punishing the player or 'teaching them a lesson', it's playing the game. Character incapacitation and death puts a strain on the party's resources, so the importance of Constitution and hit points needs to be discussed when they inevitably have to roll up their next character.
In short, let the dice decide their fate. People die in D&D. It matters not to Lord Arioch whence the blood and souls come.
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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."
Them being a wizard, they might have plans to use Shield, Sanctuary, and other spells to keep themselves alive. The whole reason wizards have less HP is because they can do more things!
Run the combat as normal. Don't go out of your way to avoid them, nor to target them - just let combat happen naturally. If the character roleplays trying to be subtle and appear as less of a threat to try and get by without being attacked, then reward the roleplay with lenaincy. If they instead open combat by running forward and casting fireball, then expect anyone with arrows and half a brain to shoot that the guy who just nuked the rest of the lads with one word, and who's stood up front in robes.
They might surprise you and pull out tricks to survive that you never thought of. But the world doesn't owe them an easier time just because they are squishy, otherwise what's the point of them being squishy?
Might be they use death wards and all sorts to keep popping back up!
Find out the players thought process. If they just wanted a dump stat, explain that they're going to get knocked out very easily and often, and probably die. Don't pull your punches.
If they're interested in the role play opportunities and want to play a character similar to Elric of Melniboné or Raistlin Majere, then I'd be inclined to reward that and lean into it a bit more. I'd say fine... but your character knows they're frail, so they'd be heavily investing in protective spells. I may even give them a quest to find some sort of protective magic item to boost their AC or CON.
Treating that particular player character differently will likely be an overall less fun experience for all involved including you. If you're worried about the fairness of potentially killing them, let the dice decide which party member the monster attacks. I have 7 players. Roll a d8 unless someone did something very clearly antagonistic. Number on the d8 determined by initiative order. On an 8, it either gets re-rolled or AOE.
If the PC dies, he dies. It will still be a memory and adventure. Also the potential to bring the character back as an NPC ghost!
As a wizard a CON modifier of -2 also means that they aren't going to be concentrating on spells for very long (unless they have a sure-fire way of avoiding being hit).
Maybe they are hoping to find an amulet of health very soon.
assuming this player isn't a new player who made a mistake (in which case allow them to change their character, either a complete re-roll or just switich stats from something else ot Con) I would treat them exactly the same as a wizard with +1 or +2 in con. If there is a cleric, druid or celestial worlock in the party they will have access to reivivy so if the wizard gets killed he can be revivied providing they have access to diamonds. If they have an artificer or paladin I would give them a scroll of revivify and if it is used allow them a route to buy a replacement. If the wizard dies requently enogh that the cost of scrolls / diamonds is preventing them by other things that is an issue for the party, wpould they suggest the wizard goes back to his tower and studies in the lab rather than the field?
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I recently started a level seven campaign, and one of the characters is a wizard with negative 2 constitution, who has 15 hitpoints. When I send any enemy that can't one hit kill him, the entire party obliterates them. Anything else will one shot him. I want to be careful about killing a character on session two or three, but like... he has 15 hitpoints, and if there is any amount of challenge in the combat, he will probably die. What am I supposed to do here?
I will protect those I hate. Even ... even if the one I hate most ... is ... myself.
sounds like they need a wheelchair. or a plastic bubble of pure air. are you keeping them away from stiff breezes? how are their allergies doing with the cedar trees in the forest and all this fatty camp food? and the smoke! the dust! i guess what i'm saying is that they don't sound like the adventuring type. like, heroes are just a little stronger and more robust than level-0 persons, right? if any tubby tavern keep of peasant-stock could beat them in a foot race, what right have they to be ship sailing, cliff climbing, expanse exploring, and branch brachiating? what is the player's justification?
because the player, oh, they're having fun being 'outside the box' and clever. let them, why not? and then next time ask them politely to use the point buy system and in the future reel in their more burdensome quirks until after the party is fully comfortable with each other and their cohesion as a party. as for the current character? that character is obviously on a suicide mission. they're off to die in glorious fashion to show their mother/teacher/betrothed what they're worth... or else stumble ass-backwards into a fortune. as one does on an adventure. if they're playing it without fear then perhaps they lean into that too. ask them privately to think about how the character themselves might have gotten into this position. perhaps they begin assuming the party members will protect them if they open a goblin's door first. don't these filthy people know he's a noble?? (the goblins i mean. nice shield, friend. good lad.)
just ask them to own their creation (and prepare a spare). let the party and the character decide how that plays out.
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!
Let him die as an object lesson of why not to dump con.
Seriously though, I’d not design encounters around keeping one pc alive, you’re doing a disservice to the other characters and likely making the game boring for those players. I wouldn’t go out of my way to kill the character, either. No special treatment.
I’d be really curious how he managed to live to level 7 like that. I know you’re starting there, it just seems unrealistic he’d last that long. Seems like he’s always one failed save away from instant death. I mean, 30 hp in one hit and he’s gone, no death saves, by RAW.
Your task is to challenge the party, not a particular PC. Allow the *party* to solve this problem. Feed them all of the info that they might need to make an informed decision about who to engage, and whom to protect.
This has more to do with the party's priority management, and less to do with your encounter balancing abilities.
"Skin that smoke wagon and get to work."
“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
Sometimes killing a PC early on is a good way to set a mood, and the player has clearly volunteered.
That was my thought, too. It really smacks of someone thinking they have a quirky role play idea for an interesting character, without thinking through how it will just end up being a huge drain on the rest of the party since they're going to be the ones to bail him out. And he'll spend so much time unconscious he probably won't do much in fights but make death saves.
Granted, I don't know the person, and I could be completely wrong.
this whole mess could be a lot of fun, honestly. it's a not-un-interesting niche to explore. whether the party agrees or not, as long as a few people are in character it could be a decent story. especially if this guy seemingly digging his own grave steps up to explore. could this player try to convince the party? bribe them? threaten? tug on their heartstrings? complain to their temple elders and loan sharks?? how are you still here??? play it out! at a fun table it's not the dm shaping the story so much as the characters just living the best they know how. i have a lot of respect for someone who can see what they've done and own it going forward. and as long as they're fully prepared for the dice gods to treat them impartially.
...edit: although, i imagine it would become tiresome if the constantly rerolled characters became the gag. that's a conversation to have sooner than later, dm. :D
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!
Characters with a 2 in con don't survive to go adventuring. It's surprising they lived to adulthood and a miracle they lived to level 7, dying at any time is the expected outcome, it's not on you to keep them alive.
Just because they hit 0 HP doesn't mean that they are dead - it means that they start making death saving throws. There will be sufficient time for one of the other PCs to come over and heal them back to safety. Maybe the other PCs will also do a bit more to avoid this PC getting targeted by the enemy.
I assume you mean a CON of 6 or 7, which has a -2 CON modifier (rather than having an actual CON of 2).
But if they hit their negative hp max, they’re dead. So hit once for 14 and a second time for 16, and there’s no death saves. Or take a fireball for 30, no death saves. It’s not hard to take that kind of damage at level 7.
Well, this is 7th level; there are plenty of attacks that do 30+ in one shot.
Is this a new player? Because I had no idea CON was important when I rolled up my first character and I also had a negative CON modifier (9 in CON as a ranger...ouch). When I was making the build, I thought, "Okay, I'll dump Constitution because there's no skills for that stat." I learned very quickly I'd done The Big Stupid and used my first ASI possible to fix my error.
A quick convo with the player is probably the easiest thing, here, especially if you haven't played yet.
Elric of Melniboné is one of my favourite characters in fantasy literature: an antihero of very poor constitution, requiring no small amount of drugs to keep him alive and careful diplomacy for his rulership of Melniboné. His sword, Stormbringer, is the only thing that keeps him alive when his supply of drugs wanes on his travels and that means thrusting himself into battle with a sentient blade which hungers for souls. If I were to play a low CON character, that would be my go-to inspiration: someone who wants to adventure and can bring something to the party, but understands their condition makes them a liability. I'd also have to appreciate that unlike Elric, I'm not the main character of this campaign, I'd have to up my roleplaying ability, I'm not protected by plot armour.
That said, if they're quite sure they want to play this character, they must let the dice fall where they may. The character's probably a visibly easy target, barring their magic (which only makes them a higher priority for intelligent characters). If he dies, it's tough luck but that's D&D. It's not punishing the player or 'teaching them a lesson', it's playing the game. Character incapacitation and death puts a strain on the party's resources, so the importance of Constitution and hit points needs to be discussed when they inevitably have to roll up their next character.
In short, let the dice decide their fate. People die in D&D. It matters not to Lord Arioch whence the blood and souls come.
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
Them being a wizard, they might have plans to use Shield, Sanctuary, and other spells to keep themselves alive. The whole reason wizards have less HP is because they can do more things!
Run the combat as normal. Don't go out of your way to avoid them, nor to target them - just let combat happen naturally. If the character roleplays trying to be subtle and appear as less of a threat to try and get by without being attacked, then reward the roleplay with lenaincy. If they instead open combat by running forward and casting fireball, then expect anyone with arrows and half a brain to shoot that the guy who just nuked the rest of the lads with one word, and who's stood up front in robes.
They might surprise you and pull out tricks to survive that you never thought of. But the world doesn't owe them an easier time just because they are squishy, otherwise what's the point of them being squishy?
Might be they use death wards and all sorts to keep popping back up!
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Find out the players thought process. If they just wanted a dump stat, explain that they're going to get knocked out very easily and often, and probably die. Don't pull your punches.
If they're interested in the role play opportunities and want to play a character similar to Elric of Melniboné or Raistlin Majere, then I'd be inclined to reward that and lean into it a bit more. I'd say fine... but your character knows they're frail, so they'd be heavily investing in protective spells. I may even give them a quest to find some sort of protective magic item to boost their AC or CON.
Treating that particular player character differently will likely be an overall less fun experience for all involved including you. If you're worried about the fairness of potentially killing them, let the dice decide which party member the monster attacks. I have 7 players. Roll a d8 unless someone did something very clearly antagonistic. Number on the d8 determined by initiative order. On an 8, it either gets re-rolled or AOE.
If the PC dies, he dies. It will still be a memory and adventure. Also the potential to bring the character back as an NPC ghost!
As a wizard a CON modifier of -2 also means that they aren't going to be concentrating on spells for very long (unless they have a sure-fire way of avoiding being hit).
Maybe they are hoping to find an amulet of health very soon.
assuming this player isn't a new player who made a mistake (in which case allow them to change their character, either a complete re-roll or just switich stats from something else ot Con) I would treat them exactly the same as a wizard with +1 or +2 in con. If there is a cleric, druid or celestial worlock in the party they will have access to reivivy so if the wizard gets killed he can be revivied providing they have access to diamonds. If they have an artificer or paladin I would give them a scroll of revivify and if it is used allow them a route to buy a replacement. If the wizard dies requently enogh that the cost of scrolls / diamonds is preventing them by other things that is an issue for the party, wpould they suggest the wizard goes back to his tower and studies in the lab rather than the field?