These three tips are meant to help add some weight to death saving throws during a D&D session. When a PC is at 0 HP and making death saves it can feel like their turn was a loss because they just roll a die and move on. The first two tips are meant to make them more fun and the last one will make it easier for everyone.
Every Death Saving Throw Comes With A Memory
Have the player give a memory from when they were younger or with other party members. You can have the player give a memory and then roll afterward. Or have them roll first, with a success being a good memory, and a failure a bad memory. By giving the players time to think and providing a memory they are having more of a full turn rather than just rolling the dice and moving on.
Ask the Player If They Want To Roll In Secret
The player can roll behind the DM screen or hidden from the other players so only the 0 HP player and DM know the result. This way the other PCs have more choices because they don’t know if their friend is doing ok. I’ve seen a whole party’s tactics change because they didn’t know if their friend is going to make it.
Use an Action to Help a Downed Character
This is from Baldur’s Gate 3 and is great for one-shots and new players. Allow a character to use a help action to bring a downed character to 0 HP and stable or 1 HP. If your players are death averse, this is a great way to have stakes while keeping the character alive. You could even have an NPC risk their life to save a downed PC to add some drama and suspense to a scene.
Let me know if you have any questions. As always, good luck on your next session, I believe in you, see you in the future.
Recent Posts
- Free Resources, Holiday Gift Guide, and Celebrating 100 Posts – Experience Points Vol. 4
- 5 DnD Resources So Good they Should Be Illegal – Experience Points Vol. 3
- Experience Points Vol. 2
- Experience Points Vol. 1
- June Updates for CraigofInspiration
Support the Blog
- Support me on Ko-fi! Ko-fi.com/craigofinspiration
- Dice Envy: support the page when you make a purchase at https://bit.ly/3Rmr4tT
- As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases https://amzn.to/4bg50tj
Points of Inspiration 