Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Xeviat-DM 11-28-04, 03:15 PM	Since UA first came out, I have been using the HD-Based Massive Damage Threshold, the alternate Death and Dying rules, and the All Players Roll the Dice method. I have found that these changes have made the game more entertaining for us (especially since my players' barbarian has regularly done 100+ damage with scythe criticals ...). While creating a number of characters for a fighting tournament, I came across the Die Hard feat, and realized that it needed some adressing. Here is the original feat: DIEHARD [GENERAL] Prerequisite: Endurance. Benefit: When reduced to between –1 and –9 hit points, you automatically become stable. You don’t have to roll d% to see if you lose 1 hit point each round. When reduced to negative hit points, you may choose to act as if you were disabled, rather than dying. You must make this decision as soon as you are reduced to negative hit points (even if it isn’t your turn). If you do not choose to act as if you were disabled, you immediately fall unconscious. When using this feat, you can take either a single move or standard action each turn, but not both, and you cannot take a full round action. You can take a move action without further injuring yourself, but if you perform any standard action (or any other action deemed as strenuous, including some free actions, such as casting a quickened spell) you take 1 point of damage after completing the act. If you reach –10 hit points, you immediately die. Normal: A character without this feat who is reduced to between –1 and –9 hit points is unconscious and dying. Here are the reprecussions and ingame benefits of taking this feat: When reduced to -1 through -9 HP, you can play dead and not risk dying from blood loss. When reduced to -1 through -9 HP, you can take a standard action each round, loosing 1 HP, and hopefully disable your opponent before you are hit again (because any hit of 9 damage or more will kill you at this point). Here is the feat translated point for point into the new Death and Dying rules: DIEHARD [GENERAL] You are extremely difficult to kill. Prerequisite: Endurance. Benefit: When you are reduced to 0 hp and you fail your Fortitude save and are now dying, you do not have to make a fortitude save each round to see if you die. When you are reduced to 0 hp and you fail your Fortitude save and are now dying, you may choose to act as if you were disabled, rather than dying. You must make this decision as soon as you are reduced to the dying state (even if it isn’t your turn). If you do not choose to act as if you were disabled, you immediately fall unconscious. When disabled, you can take either a single move or standard action each turn, but not both, and you cannot take a full round action. You can take a move action without further injuring yourself, but if you perform any standard action (or any other action deemed as strenuous, including some free actions, such as casting a quickened spell) you must make a Fortitude save (DC 10, +1 per turn in which a strenuous action was taken) or die. Normal: A character without this feat who is reduced to 0 hp and who fails their Fortitude save is unconscious and dying. Here are the reprecussions and ingame benefits: When you are reduced to 0 HP, you are disabled unless you fail your save by 10 or more. Since the save is 10+2/10 damage dealt, you are not likely to die unless you horribly botch a save against a large amount of damage (since without a fort save bonus, you'd still have to be dealt 50 damage or more to really risk death). While disabled, you cannot be reduced to the dying status. This means that every attack against you causes you to make a Fort save (DC equals 2/10 damage dealt; this takes into account the fact that you have to fail by more than 10 to die). You also must make a save every time you take a strenuous action: This is the part that needs to be addressed. In the standard rules, this DC is equal to the DC of the attack which reduced you to 0 hp. I have two options for this DC for the Die Hard feat: Either it will be the DC of the last attack against you, or it should be a DC which grows as time progresses as I have done it (Or maybe both). Die Hard should make a character hard to kill, but not immune to death. With Die Hard, while fighting while disabled, one point of nonlethal damage will take you down since you have 0 hp. This is an issue which should be adressed too; I think the nonlethal damage states of staggered and unconscious should be converted into a Fort save mechanic as the Death and Dying system has done. What do you think? How should I address this issue?
Xeviat-DM 12-08-04, 12:38 AM	:bump: