“Well,” he said. “I’m back.”
It’s been a crazy couple weeks in the world, hasn’t it? Hopefully you and yours are doing well.
Anyway, I figured an appropriate thing to talk about would be player character resurrection.
The way 5E in particular is designed means that death is kind of … not a big deal. Just keep your buddy’s pinky finger around and wait til you get a lot of money and then you can have him back.
That’s not inherently a bad thing, of course. It means the PCs get to cheat death all the time, as befitting great and magical heroes. Raising the dead, for good or ill, is a part of the game.
But it’s worth being aware of.
If you want to run a campaign where dropping to 0 hit points and failing death saves is a Bigger Deal, you might need to make some tweaks. Some dungeon masters, for example, like to limit resurrection magic using rituals or skill checks or what have you to make death more important and dramatic and a Bigger Deal. It’s up to you how you want to deal with character death and resurrection at your table—and keep in mind that “I like it how it is” is perfectly reasonable!—but whatever you choose, choose it deliberately and intentionally, and your game will be better for it.
And now to several weeks of links! Not really. Just a few highlights that stand out to me, and mostly focusing on this past weekend or so.
Glad to be back! Thanks kindly to the many replies I received after my last email. I’ve missed y’all 🙂 <3
How to Homebrew: Clickbait Worldbuilding – The Angry GM
Seven Samurai, the Perfect D&D Adventure – Sly Flourish
Tired Tavern: 25 Alternatives To Taking The Table In The Corner – Roleplaying Tips
Of Handwaves and Compasses – Dyson’s Dodecahedron
Handling Imperfect Information – Merric’s Musings
Writing Tabletop Prophecies – Justice Arman
Player’s Handbook (plus XGtE, MToF, and Out of the Abyss)– Official ERRATA 2020! – WotC
D&D Monster Monday: Firenewt Warrior – Dungeon Solvers
Don’t Be Afraid to Change Your D&D World – RJD20
The Great Magic Item Analysis: How to Price an Item – The Angry GM
Way of the Owlbear – DMsGuild – PWYW
Volo’s Guide to Getting Murdered – DMsGuild – $4.95 (I don’t normally link to adventures, but it’s a glorious name by two amazing authors)
Volo’s Guide to Ghosts – DMsGuild – $3.95
Legendary Bestiary: Legendary Actions for Low-Level Monsters – DMsGuild – $4.95
Now get out there and tell a story!
Peace,
Maximilian Hart