Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Dec 07, 2004 13:23:02	One of my 2nd level fighter NPCs got the crap hugged out of him by an Owlbear for 2d8 damage......after taking a couple hits this knocked him down to -12 hit points......I divided his stuff among the remaining adventurers and threw him away How far do you go.....DMG says -10 he's history......
#2 kengar Dec 07, 2004 14:12:10	I'd say that fighter was pretty dead. In my games, zero HP is unconscious and negative one HP is dead. I play Basic/Expert D&D though, not 1e, so YMMV.
#3 Thailfi Dec 07, 2004 15:48:44	We use the optional bandaging rules so -11 equals death. Bandaging involves a d10 roll equal to the character's negative total to successfully bandage the character. Clerics get +1 to their roll and the healing proficiency also gives +1 (so a very lucky -12 character can get bandaged by a cleric with healing). The Unearthed Arcana spell Death's Door (brings a character from -1 to -9 to zero hit points) is a staple spell for all clerics in our campaign.
#4 varl Dec 07, 2004 20:14:31	One of my 2nd level fighter NPCs got the crap hugged out of him by an Owlbear for 2d8 damage......after taking a couple hits this knocked him down to -12 hit points......I divided his stuff among the remaining adventurers and threw him away How far do you go.....DMG says -10 he's history...... Ouch. That guy got pulped in that bear hug. Crunching and other sordid sounds. Ick. Anyway, I have characters die at negative Con and unconsciousness at 0.
#5 zombiegleemax Dec 07, 2004 20:18:35	I figure anything below 0 the character is unconcious. He/she loses 1hp per round someone isn't trying to bandage/heal/amputate/whatever the character. Every round someone is doing that, the character goes up 1hp until they're at 1 hp, at which time they can fend for themselves (more or less). At -11, the clerics in the party are either casting Speak With Dead to find out how you want your items divided. You get the idea. I do allow a cleric (or anyone else with the Healing profeciency) to try a roll, success indicates they've managed to "heal" 2hp instead of 1, allowing a slightly quicker recovery. Nothing prevents a cleric from dumping off one of the Cure spells either.
#6 zombiegleemax Dec 07, 2004 22:23:03	I do the negative CON then your worm food. Unconcious at zero and below. You keep losing one hit point every round until you're bandaged. Rarely does someone die though (had too many times that were close)
#7 zombiegleemax Dec 07, 2004 22:56:50	One of my 2nd level fighter NPCs got the crap hugged out of him by an Owlbear for 2d8 damage......after taking a couple hits this knocked him down to -12 hit points......I divided his stuff among the remaining adventurers and threw him away How far do you go.....DMG says -10 he's history...... What edition do you play? I use the 1E by the book method. If you take damage and go from a positive number to anywhere between 0 and -3 you are unconscious. If you take damage and go from a positive HP total to -4 or lower, you are dead. If you are unconscious, you lose 1 HP/round until either somebody applies first aid, or you reach -10 and die. To this I've added the house rule that any time you reach 0 or lower, you need to pass a system shock roll or die immediately. Scott
#8 failhelm Dec 07, 2004 23:50:40	What edition do you play? I use the 1E by the book method. If you take damage and go from a positive number to anywhere between 0 and -3 you are unconscious. If you take damage and go from a positive HP total to -4 or lower, you are dead. If you are unconscious, you lose 1 HP/round until either somebody applies first aid, or you reach -10 and die. To this I've added the house rule that any time you reach 0 or lower, you need to pass a system shock roll or die immediately. Scott ohhh you are mean Mr. ScottyG Good for you. P.S. I exactly use what ScottyG uses, inlcuding sys. shock (just not the part about sys. shock check after 0 hp)
#9 zombiegleemax Dec 08, 2004 0:09:26	I play 1st ed. .... the reason I ask is that I have never had a character get so trounced in 2 ounds..went from like 10 hps to -12!!!!!!!! Classic!!!
#10 cymric Dec 08, 2004 1:28:09	We play dead at minus 10. 10% chance stabilize each round and of course you can stop the bleeding with a heal check DC15. Also see cure minor wound of the cleric (or higher spell)
#11 robertfisher Dec 08, 2004 9:42:49	Most DMs I've played under have used -10 & have never really enforced dropping below zero requiring as much recovery time as it should. Next time I DM, which will probably be classic D&D, I intend to play it zero = dead. Although, I've got an idea for a variant in which dropping below zero typically results in a serious injury that is going to take lots of time to recover from. (With a small chance of it not be too serious & a small chance of dying.) I prefer to stay away from tracking negative hp, though.
#12 failhelm Dec 08, 2004 10:59:50	For those of you that don't use neg. hp or allow pcs to go neg. Is it safe to assume that you all do not use the UA or any class that go to neg. hp. Same question regarding monsters that can go neg. or do only players die at 0?
#13 zombiegleemax Dec 08, 2004 12:17:31	Good question, I guess you could say that below zero anyone or anything is unconsscious...so an unconscious monster could be regarded as dead...unless the dm keeps track of them and they come back several rounds later totally ****** off......
#14 cerebus Dec 09, 2004 8:06:28	I've always done the -10hp is dead dead for PCs and NPCs who are "named." Mooks and most monsters just die at 0hp. In other words, the BBEG and probably his major bodyguard don't die until -10, like the PCs. The exception is if a monster's desription specifically states otherwise, such as the Boar or Wolverine.
#15 robertfisher Dec 09, 2004 9:02:11	For those of you that don't use neg. hp or allow pcs to go neg. Is it safe to assume that you all do not use the UA or any class that go to neg. hp. Same question regarding monsters that can go neg. or do only players die at 0? These days, it's a pretty safe bet that I'm not using much from the UA, even if I'm playing OAD&D. But that's neither here nor there. If a particular class or monster description has something about negative hp, then its a judgement call. I have no problem having special rules for special cases, especially monsters; so I might allow negative hp for that character/monster. Or I might ignore the negative hp stuff for that character/monster. Or I might make up something different but similar. Since I prefer classic D&D, though, the issue hasn't come up. Though, it might sometime, since I'd happily use AD&D & C&C monsters & adventures. (Although, I've currently sworn off using published adventures.)
#16 Thailfi Dec 09, 2004 9:59:58	I've always done the -10hp is dead dead for PCs and NPCs who are "named." Mooks and most monsters just die at 0hp. Our party bandages our oppenents frequently. We don't go out of our way to do it (we don't bandage them during the fight like we would with a PC), but once we are done we bandage some opponents. So everyone gets the -10 rule. We use a bleeding rule, -1 hp per round until bandaged and you have to make a check based on the negative total of the creature you are bandaging as described in my above post, so it isn't often the "mooks" get bandaged, but it happens.
#17 zombiegleemax Dec 10, 2004 18:01:51	Our house rule uses -CON (fitness, for those Players' Option users) instead of -10 for dead. Of course, 0 in unconscious. For monsters without easy-to-guess CON scores I use 10 + HD. - Bill Rathman
#18 zombiegleemax Dec 10, 2004 18:58:37	excuse my ignorance...what is , bbeg, con and ua??
#19 cerebus Dec 10, 2004 21:47:37	excuse my ignorance...what is , bbeg, con and ua?? Big Bad Evil Guy CONstitution Unearthed Arcana
#20 zombiegleemax Dec 16, 2004 11:49:07	We play dead at minus 10. 10% chance stabilize each round and of course you can stop the bleeding with a heal check DC15. Also see cure minor wound of the cleric (or higher spell) *snicker he said DC thats funny
#21 gomezy3k Dec 17, 2004 19:50:39	We also do the zero PC unconcious...-11 toast... However depending on what the situation is...sometimes the PC's body is taken to a high level cleric and the PC is resurrected or reIncarnated... making the PC and the party VERY beholding to the cleric. (Read this as the Cleric's slaves till he is paid off)... We also allow the use of first aid/healing (non-magical) to stop the slow progression towards death... Sometimes DM's have a sense of humor also... In one game, one of the Mage's had a Fairy Dragon familiar that was killed. After much whining and complaining from the player, the DM being the devious evil minded son of a gun that we all know and fear allowed to creature to be Reincarnated. It came back as a Centaur...with a Fairy Dragon's mind... It was interesting watching the Mage try to out run a centaur who wants to perch on his shoulder... Some times death can be very entertaining...
#22 zombiegleemax Dec 18, 2004 14:23:12	Zero=Unconcious, -1 to -9 = comatose and Dungeon Master's Guide rules for recuperation apply (excepting use of the death's door spell). -10=dead
#23 failhelm Dec 18, 2004 14:27:14	I forgot to mention that I use System shock, by the book - no resurrection, no reincarnation, not even a wish - nothing, you be dead.
#24 zombiegleemax Dec 21, 2004 11:29:23	in OD&D, 0 = dead. but when players get all teary-eyed i give in and let them go to -10.
#25 protonik_dup Dec 21, 2004 19:45:07	I tend to let players make a saving throw vs. death (fort in 3.x) if they get hit to the negative hp to let them fall at -5, if they fail, they die and if the negative is greater than 25 (dc for my fort save vs. death in 3.x) then they still die. Jason