So whenever I imagined character death, it was always very dramatic with a couple of last words, a clear moment when they die, etc... But none of that makes sense if it's not instant death. For example with most instant deaths, you could still have a couple of seconds before your character is dead (ex: getting stabbed, it might take a few seconds to die where you can choke out something cliche like "avenge me" or smth) and you can use those seconds to make it dramatic. But if you're knocked unconscious and fail your saves (the way pretty much everyone dies), you just kinda... pass away in your sleep. Your party might not even know you're dead until a couple of rounds later when they reach you. Character deaths are a big deal and I want them to have an impact on my players and their characters. How can I make character deaths dramatic and give players roleplay opportunities, even when they die from failing death saves?
Make a player conscious while knocked down and making death saves, and they only fall unconscious stabilized or die after the battle is over.
Mechanically it'd be identical to unconsciousness, of course, though with the added benefit of being able to whisper a few words and observe what's going on.
The fight itself is the drama that makes Death powerful. The tension of the Death Saves. Where the party is and how they can try to save the one that fell. This is the drama that lives and breathes action and suspense into Death... not words at a bedside or dramatic actions before keeling over. Save those for NPCs that matter as they transfer power to the player characters. The players themselves create the drama from what is happening to their characters without much extra help. Feel free to draw it out by describing the action, the pain, the slow motion fall to the stones of the unconscious character. Embellish every stroke an NPC makes against a downed character and the glistening blood on their blades. And when they fail their last death saving throw, the drama doesn't end. That player generally doesn't speak during the ensuing fight as they wait to see if the party can revive them or not. And if you want to embellish the revives after combat is resolved, look into Matt Mercer's group play on a character death... much drama can happen there.
The unfortunate thing of D&D 5e is that many parties adopt a mentality of getting back into the fight, not healing damage. I mean, initially, most of us clerics try to heal the damage and you spend all your time running around trying to heal people. Soon you change tactics and begin to keep people in the fight... because most of the time you can't heal enough to make a significant difference (and the ones that help the most require touch), but at range you can pop them back up with a small heal and get them back into the fight. When they fall down again if they can't get to safety, you just pop them back up again. Until the point where an NPC decides it has had enough jack-in-the-boxes and deliberately tries to kill PCs. So if you go for the dramatic route... they gasp out their final words, make two death saving fails and then my cleric rushes by and Healing Words them again for 4 HP, you resume... and make some attacks dealing some damage, make poor choices and end up falling again gasping out some more final words... then my cleric runs by again or the ranger hits you with a healing spirit that runs over you and gets you back up. Knowing when to make the "dramatic last words" because it is the last time you will say them is VERY hard to predict in 5e. So yeah, I would do it in the descriptions and increase the tension in the encounters and save dramatic last words for NPCs... but that's IMHO and YMMV...
The loneliness of death is what makes it so terrifying. Don't take away from that. Instead - use it.
Death is inevitable. We all know that. Some accept it better than others, but at some level we all understand that we (and our RP equivalents) are mortal creatures. I know I'm going to die someday, just as I know my character is going to die in-game someday. That's normal. That's natural. That doesn't scare me. The question is not "if" I will die, but "how"? Will it be on my own terms or will it be some random fluke? Will my death have meaning or will it be in vain? Will I have a chance to say goodbye...? If everyone had the ability to schedule their demise to allow them to say their final words and to tie off this life all nice and neat with a little bow on top, then death would not frighten anyone.
During a combat scene, if a character drops to zero hit points, the other players at the table will likely know that. They'll see that player rolling death saves. They'll know that their comrade has been struck down by the enemy and is bleeding out on the floor in full view of the party. PLAY THAT UP! Focus on that. After each failed death saving throw, describe how that character is choking on their own blood, or how their hands suddenly go limp, or how they seem to be trying to reach out to a fellow party member with fear in their eyes, trying to form words but too weak to speak. Drive home the fact that each party member has a choice to make each turn - keep fighting, or break off the attack to try to save their comrade. They may suffer an attack of opportunity, they may prolong the battle by not dealing damage, heck - they may simply be prolonging the inevitable tpk. But give them that choice. Make clear to them that their decisions and their actions have consequences. If Death comes for that character, make Death EARN that character. Then, if someone saves that character, it will be a great bonding moment between players. And if that character dies, the rest of the party will at least be comforted by the fact that they did everything they could to save them. But in the end - we all die alone. I'm sorry if that sounds morbid, and this advice is clearly intended only for a table of adult players, but the threshold of death is one journey that we each must take on our own.
101 years ago, when former President Theodore Roosevelt died in his sleep, then-current Vice President Thomas Marshall was quoted as saying, "Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight."
The loneliness of death is what makes it so terrifying. Don't take away from that. Instead - use it.
.....
101 years ago, when former President Theodore Roosevelt died in his sleep, then-current Vice President Thomas Marshall was quoted as saying, "Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight."
Wow, this is one of the best comments I've ever read.
I am quite new as DM and DnD in general and phased that situation lately with my group, so I am very interested in that topic, too.
A few months ago in an pracise game with an experienced DM he gave the oportunity of an last action from the character, lets say as an adrenalin rush.
How do you guys think about last actions before death...I know this is not realistic, but might avoid an TPK or just make it easier for an new group in this game.
Make a player conscious while knocked down and making death saves, and they only fall unconscious stabilized or die after the battle is over.
Mechanically it'd be identical to unconsciousness, of course, though with the added benefit of being able to whisper a few words and observe what's going on.
The loneliness of death is what makes it so terrifying. Don't take away from that. Instead - use it.
Death is inevitable. We all know that. Some accept it better than others, but at some level we all understand that we (and our RP equivalents) are mortal creatures. I know I'm going to die someday, just as I know my character is going to die in-game someday. That's normal. That's natural. That doesn't scare me. The question is not "if" I will die, but "how"? Will it be on my own terms or will it be some random fluke? Will my death have meaning or will it be in vain? Will I have a chance to say goodbye...? If everyone had the ability to schedule their demise to allow them to say their final words and to tie off this life all nice and neat with a little bow on top, then death would not frighten anyone.
During a combat scene, if a character drops to zero hit points, the other players at the table will likely know that. They'll see that player rolling death saves. They'll know that their comrade has been struck down by the enemy and is bleeding out on the floor in full view of the party. PLAY THAT UP! Focus on that. After each failed death saving throw, describe how that character is choking on their own blood, or how their hands suddenly go limp, or how they seem to be trying to reach out to a fellow party member with fear in their eyes, trying to form words but too weak to speak. Drive home the fact that each party member has a choice to make each turn - keep fighting, or break off the attack to try to save their comrade. They may suffer an attack of opportunity, they may prolong the battle by not dealing damage, heck - they may simply be prolonging the inevitable tpk. But give them that choice. Make clear to them that their decisions and their actions have consequences. If Death comes for that character, make Death EARN that character. Then, if someone saves that character, it will be a great bonding moment between players. And if that character dies, the rest of the party will at least be comforted by the fact that they did everything they could to save them. But in the end - we all die alone. I'm sorry if that sounds morbid, and this advice is clearly intended only for a table of adult players, but the threshold of death is one journey that we each must take on our own.
101 years ago, when former President Theodore Roosevelt died in his sleep, then-current Vice President Thomas Marshall was quoted as saying, "Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight."
This is brilliant. It is easy to get caught up in that frenetic activity surrounding things that should have more consequence... and taking the time to put stillness and separation into this mad dash of survival simply takes my breath away. And you nailed it on your opening statement. The essence distilled into a usable tabletop tactic. Thank you.
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So whenever I imagined character death, it was always very dramatic with a couple of last words, a clear moment when they die, etc... But none of that makes sense if it's not instant death. For example with most instant deaths, you could still have a couple of seconds before your character is dead (ex: getting stabbed, it might take a few seconds to die where you can choke out something cliche like "avenge me" or smth) and you can use those seconds to make it dramatic. But if you're knocked unconscious and fail your saves (the way pretty much everyone dies), you just kinda... pass away in your sleep. Your party might not even know you're dead until a couple of rounds later when they reach you. Character deaths are a big deal and I want them to have an impact on my players and their characters. How can I make character deaths dramatic and give players roleplay opportunities, even when they die from failing death saves?
Make a player conscious while knocked down and making death saves, and they only fall unconscious stabilized or die after the battle is over.
Mechanically it'd be identical to unconsciousness, of course, though with the added benefit of being able to whisper a few words and observe what's going on.
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
The fight itself is the drama that makes Death powerful. The tension of the Death Saves. Where the party is and how they can try to save the one that fell. This is the drama that lives and breathes action and suspense into Death... not words at a bedside or dramatic actions before keeling over. Save those for NPCs that matter as they transfer power to the player characters. The players themselves create the drama from what is happening to their characters without much extra help. Feel free to draw it out by describing the action, the pain, the slow motion fall to the stones of the unconscious character. Embellish every stroke an NPC makes against a downed character and the glistening blood on their blades. And when they fail their last death saving throw, the drama doesn't end. That player generally doesn't speak during the ensuing fight as they wait to see if the party can revive them or not. And if you want to embellish the revives after combat is resolved, look into Matt Mercer's group play on a character death... much drama can happen there.
The unfortunate thing of D&D 5e is that many parties adopt a mentality of getting back into the fight, not healing damage. I mean, initially, most of us clerics try to heal the damage and you spend all your time running around trying to heal people. Soon you change tactics and begin to keep people in the fight... because most of the time you can't heal enough to make a significant difference (and the ones that help the most require touch), but at range you can pop them back up with a small heal and get them back into the fight. When they fall down again if they can't get to safety, you just pop them back up again. Until the point where an NPC decides it has had enough jack-in-the-boxes and deliberately tries to kill PCs. So if you go for the dramatic route... they gasp out their final words, make two death saving fails and then my cleric rushes by and Healing Words them again for 4 HP, you resume... and make some attacks dealing some damage, make poor choices and end up falling again gasping out some more final words... then my cleric runs by again or the ranger hits you with a healing spirit that runs over you and gets you back up. Knowing when to make the "dramatic last words" because it is the last time you will say them is VERY hard to predict in 5e. So yeah, I would do it in the descriptions and increase the tension in the encounters and save dramatic last words for NPCs... but that's IMHO and YMMV...
Instead of unconscious, you can say the PC is bleeding out. Mechanically the same but allows last words.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
The loneliness of death is what makes it so terrifying. Don't take away from that. Instead - use it.
Death is inevitable. We all know that. Some accept it better than others, but at some level we all understand that we (and our RP equivalents) are mortal creatures. I know I'm going to die someday, just as I know my character is going to die in-game someday. That's normal. That's natural. That doesn't scare me. The question is not "if" I will die, but "how"? Will it be on my own terms or will it be some random fluke? Will my death have meaning or will it be in vain? Will I have a chance to say goodbye...? If everyone had the ability to schedule their demise to allow them to say their final words and to tie off this life all nice and neat with a little bow on top, then death would not frighten anyone.
During a combat scene, if a character drops to zero hit points, the other players at the table will likely know that. They'll see that player rolling death saves. They'll know that their comrade has been struck down by the enemy and is bleeding out on the floor in full view of the party. PLAY THAT UP! Focus on that. After each failed death saving throw, describe how that character is choking on their own blood, or how their hands suddenly go limp, or how they seem to be trying to reach out to a fellow party member with fear in their eyes, trying to form words but too weak to speak. Drive home the fact that each party member has a choice to make each turn - keep fighting, or break off the attack to try to save their comrade. They may suffer an attack of opportunity, they may prolong the battle by not dealing damage, heck - they may simply be prolonging the inevitable tpk. But give them that choice. Make clear to them that their decisions and their actions have consequences. If Death comes for that character, make Death EARN that character. Then, if someone saves that character, it will be a great bonding moment between players. And if that character dies, the rest of the party will at least be comforted by the fact that they did everything they could to save them. But in the end - we all die alone. I'm sorry if that sounds morbid, and this advice is clearly intended only for a table of adult players, but the threshold of death is one journey that we each must take on our own.
101 years ago, when former President Theodore Roosevelt died in his sleep, then-current Vice President Thomas Marshall was quoted as saying, "Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight."
Anzio Faro. Protector Aasimar light cleric. Lvl 18.
Viktor Gavriil. White dragonborn grave cleric. Lvl 20.
Ikram Sahir ibn-Malik al-Sayyid Ra'ad. Brass dragonborn draconic sorcerer Lvl 9. Fire elemental devil.
Wrangler of cats.
Wow, this is one of the best comments I've ever read.
I am quite new as DM and DnD in general and phased that situation lately with my group, so I am very interested in that topic, too.
A few months ago in an pracise game with an experienced DM he gave the oportunity of an last action from the character, lets say as an adrenalin rush.
How do you guys think about last actions before death...I know this is not realistic, but might avoid an TPK or just make it easier for an new group in this game.
I might consider that for Nat 1 Death Saves.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
I second this
This is brilliant. It is easy to get caught up in that frenetic activity surrounding things that should have more consequence... and taking the time to put stillness and separation into this mad dash of survival simply takes my breath away. And you nailed it on your opening statement. The essence distilled into a usable tabletop tactic. Thank you.