Alexander Macris wrote “Every campaign is a law unto itself”. This isn’t a gamer version of “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”. It means that every RPG campaign should establish its own setting, house rules and style. Lethality is one of the knobs you fiddle with when setting up your campaign.
Lethality in this case means the likelihood that a player character will die. I haven’t much experience with fantasy RPGs other than Dungeons & Dragons but D&D and its clones dominate the market to such an extent that it’s the game most people are going to play. The lethality of D&D has changed over the years. I’m going to compare a first level fighter with a Constitution of 15.
Original D&D (0e) – 1974
Note: Because the 1974 booklets are difficult to use I’m also looking at Matt Finch’s excellent Swords & Wizardry, a 0e clone.
- Hit points range from 2 to 9
- Dead at -1 hit point
- Heals 1 hit point per day of rest
B/X D&D (Basic/Expert) – 1981
- Hit points range from 2 to 9
- Dead at 0 hit points (same for 1978’s First Edition D&D)
- Heals 1 to 3 hit points per day of rest
5th Edition D&D – 2014
- 12 hit points (13 with the +1 bonus for humans)
- Dead at -12 (-13 with bonus for humans)
- Heals 3 to 12 hit points with 1 hour rest. Heals all hit points with 8 hour rest.
The information above covers regular damage though combat. The other way characters can die is failing a saving throw. Poison, magic and other things can kill a character without regard for hit points. The comparison below is for the same level 1 fighter being instantly turned to stone after encountering a medusa. Powerful magics exist that can restore a character from this but many player groups won’t know those spells.
- 0e – 65% chance of dying
- 1e – 70% chance of dying
- B/X – 65% chance of dying
- 5e – 35% chance of dying but 55% of failing the roll, if the roll is failed twice in a row the character is stone
Clearly, older editions had higher lethality. I believe there were two reasons for this. First, it created a heightened sense of danger. Die rolls during a game had more dramatic punch. Second, it simulated reality by making things dangerous. Anyone who rushed into danger was taking a big risk. People who planned ahead, put their heads together and avoided risks survived longer. Higher lethality encouraged strategic and tactical play styles (more on that here). It trained players, not their characters, to play the game a certain way. A benefit of this is it introduced these play styles to many players who found they enjoyed them. A shortcoming was people who didn’t enjoy those play styles drifted away from D&D without realizing the game could be played differently.
The 1978 cover for the first edition Players Handbook is a great example of tactical and strategic play. There are two guys towards the top prying the gemstone out of the idol. One guy is getting maximum leverage while the other makes sure the gem doesn’t fall and shatter. The two in the lower left are looking at a map and planning their next step. One of the guys in the lower right is maintaining his weapon so it won’t fail him in the hours ahead.
Newer editions reflected changes in the RPG audience’s tastes. The lethality went down as people became attached to their characters and the epic quests that depended on those characters surviving. They wanted more heroic and story-oriented play styles (more on that here). Newer editions of the game assumed the importance of the player characters in a story and encouraged players to devise more personality and background. The positive effects of this were the players had an easier time seeing higher levels. Some players are too timid to try anything adventurous but after a few sessions with low lethality they feel free to try new things.
Lower lethality also brought unintended consequences. Lessening the sense of danger encouraged foolish risks, thoughtless play and, for many groups, lowered the dramatic tension to the point that adventures felt artificial. Some players don’t suffer from a lower lethality but many players become less careful, less creative and then complain of dull game sessions. Preventing people from learning old school player skills from the School of Hard Knocks is a shame.
Dealing With Loss
Some gamemasters deal with character death by avoiding it. They fudge rolls, change enemy stats during a fight, etc. Some make it clear to their players that as long as they aren’t a problem at the game table they will make sure the player characters don’t die. I’ve read posts online decrying these “wimpy” gamemasters but we should keep in mind that some people are reacting against the terrible experiences they’ve had in games run by “killer” gamemasters. Others want to encourage roleplaying and an easy-going atmosphere. I’ve played at these tables and if done well it’s great. If done poorly it’s awful. The difference between doing it well and doing it poorly is hard to define. It’s mostly about finding mature, cooperative players who really like the idea of working through a story you’ve set for them.
Most gamemasters choose from a variety of methods to handle character death. I’ve heard of many gamemasters who hand the rule book to the player whose character just died and ask them to create a new character while the rest of the group proceeds. I don’t recommend this. Players feel punished for missing a die roll and stress out about finishing quickly. It’s better to have pre-generated characters to hand out or ask the players to create 3 characters before play begins. Later editions of D&D require more time to create characters (is it any wonder they made character death more rare?). One old school solution is to have NPC characters with full stats and equipment who are hirelings of the party. When a player character dies the NPC’s sheet is handed to the unlucky player and they don’t have to miss any action.
When players lose a character and pick up with another one level mismatch may be an issue. The surviving characters are above level one but the new addition is right there. An adventure planned for higher level characters can get a first level character killed quickly. Possible solutions include handing the new addition magic items or superior gear. Letting the new addition start at a level that matches the party is another idea. These can feel artificial to the unlucky player but there’s a compromise:
Down But Not Out
When a player’s character is hurt enough to be unconscious but not dead they are taken out of play. The player continues for a while with an NPC or secondary character. The player is assured that the character they sank so much time into will be back. Most players still learn the consequences of their foolish actions but the consequences don’t have to sting so much. Having to switch to another character can be liberating for players. The change of pace can liven things up. Having to care for the wounded character is a burden for the party and can motivate them to avoid in future the errors that caused it.
How is this unconscious state handled in game rules? You can follow 5th edition’s lead and put death at or lower than negative hit points. -10 hit points, negative Constitution hit points, or negative character levels in hit points are other options. Savings throws can be in two or even three stages. Perhaps failing only the first save leaves the character paralyzed or dazed. Instead of death when failing a save you could push the character to -1 hit points and unconscious.
Another compromise that was built into the game from the earliest days is resurrection. Higher level spell casters can resurrect party members or the gamemaster may allow a nearby temple to hold a cleric that can perform the ritual. Early editions of D&D put limits on the number of resurrections a character could have and removed a point of Constitution or a character level. A roll had to be made to survive the ritual but they usually weren’t difficult. These early editions also put a high price on items used (and lost) during the ritual. Fifth edition made resurrection cheaper and easier.
Something to consider is changing gears and running a game where lethality isn’t a show stopper. A light-hearted game with a funhouse dungeon to explore or similar gonzo theme can show players a different side of the hobby. In these games character death is frequent but nothing to get broken up about. Hand them a fresh character sheet after each disaster and keep the snappy one-liners flowing. If you’d like an example look to Goodman Games’ Dungeon Crawl Classics.
What’s best for your next campaign? One thing to consider is if your plan leans more towards sandbox exploration, where story isn’t a big influence on the game, or more of a story focus. Also, what kind of players do you have? Do they blunder foolishly into trouble or do they run from every sound they hear? Rather than pick the edition with the lethality that sounds best, adjust the lethality in the edition you want to play. 5th edition has suggestions on page 266 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for altering healing rules. Altering where death occurs and saving throws completes your picture.
For most of my campaigns I set the dial about halfway between old school and new school. I use resurrection only on rare occasions so I let characters survive more punishment. With newer or younger players I would consider higher lethality to give them the old school training ground. Players are usually tougher than we think.
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