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Old 12-26-2020, 01:11 AM   #1
JimmyPlenty
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Default GURPS style death checks

Anyone use GURPS' death checks?

0 ST or less - roll 3/ST or go unconscious

-1xST - roll 3/ST or die.



Since GURPS and TFT seems very similar, would this work well? Someone here had had to try it.
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Old 12-26-2020, 09:34 AM   #2
hcobb
 
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Location: Pacheco, California
Default Re: GURPS style death checks

I'd allow it for characters with toughness.
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Old 12-26-2020, 08:17 PM   #3
Kieddicus
 
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Default Re: GURPS style death checks

I actually make people roll 3/ST to avoid being knocked unconscious whenever they are left with 3 or less HP after being hit.
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Old 12-28-2020, 02:29 PM   #4
Oneiros
 
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Default Re: GURPS style death checks

I'm actually stealing the Death Saves concept from the current edition of That Other Fantasy Game.

Basically, if damage takes your ST below zero, you're not dead, but dying.

Roll 3d6 against a flat target number of 10 at the end of each turn (stage 6, same as determining Post Turn Damage), beginning with the same turn the character went below zero.

A total of three failed rolls and you're dead. Three successes and you're unconscious but stable. Normal double and triple results for critical rolls apply.

Additional damage while you are dying (like lying in a fire hex) automatically counts as a failed Death roll.

A Physicker can attempt to stabilize a dying character in combat. A successful roll doesn't heal any damage, but prevents the need for any further Death saves.

Why not make the Death Save vs ST? Because a higher ST keeps the character alive longer in the first place. Though I am considering applying a penalty to both the Death Save and any Physicker rolls to Stabilize as follows:
  • Negative ST = 1/2 (rounded up) base ST: -1 penalty
  • Negative ST = base ST: -2 penalty
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Old 12-28-2020, 04:12 PM   #5
JimmyPlenty
 
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Default Re: GURPS style death checks

Like it Oneiros. At first , I was disagreeing with the non-ST roll for death checks, but yeah, ST at 14+ would make it too much.

Should toughness apply though?
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Old 12-29-2020, 07:46 AM   #6
Oneiros
 
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Default Re: GURPS style death checks

Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyPlenty View Post
Like it Oneiros. At first , I was disagreeing with the non-ST roll for death checks, but yeah, ST at 14+ would make it too much.

Should toughness apply though?
Toughness reduces damage, just like armor, so it's function is to help keep a character from getting to zero ST in the first place. Once you're making the Death Saves, it wouldn't come into play.

The only time Toughness would interact with the Death Save would be additional damage when the character is already down. For instance, if a wizard created a fire hex in the same location as a dying character with two levels of Toughness, the Toughness would stop the initial 2 hits of damage, and so the character avoids the automatic failed Death Save. If the fire hex persists, hopefully the character has enough armor to resist the 4 hits taken for remaining in the hex.
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Old 12-29-2020, 09:01 AM   #7
Shostak
 
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Default Re: GURPS style death checks

I think Death Saves further diminish the importance of ST.
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Old 12-29-2020, 04:49 PM   #8
Skarg
 
Join Date: May 2015
Default Re: GURPS style death checks

I've used GURPS death checks... in GURPS. But GURPS damage is a bit different. Amounts tend to be higher, and get multipliers for sharp weapons and some hit locations (and I use the evil version of the bleeding rules), so full-negative is easier to reach in GURPS than in TFT. Full negative ST is harder to reach in TFT.

I think Legacy TFT could use some mechanic to make dying right away more possible, but I'd have the threshold lower than full ST.

The "Physicker Revival" article in Interplay is looking to me like a candidate for a starting place.
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