Groovy Death & Dismemberment Table

Groovy Death & Dismemberment Table

This is not a unique or revolutionary idea, but it works really well in my game and I wanted to share the specifics. 

Not everyone appreciates the lethal disregard for a PC's well being in classic D&D like we do, but needs to be an ever-present risk of death or at least permanent injury for me to care about a game. If my PC loses his Hit Points I want to be afraid for his life, but I also want a chance for the dramatic scene I see in the movies! 

That said, here is my take on the oft-adapted Death & Dismemberment table!

When a Player's Character is reduced to 0 Hit Points or below, they will make a Saving Throw vs. Death. If the roll fails, the PC is dead. If it succeeds, the result is applied to the chart below, the PC gains the stated effect permanently, and is set at 1 HP.

d20        Result                         Effect                                                                                  

20 Adrenaline surge     Regain 1d6 HP

19 Badass scar     Looks cool

18 Tooth fairy     Lose 1d6 teeth

17 Yarrr!!!             Lose an eye

16 Disfigured     Lose 1d6 CHR

15 KO             Knocked out for 1d6 turns

14 Shattered             Held item is broken

13 Sundered             Worn armor is broken

12 Hobbled             Lose 1d6 DEX

11 Disfingered     Lose 1d6 fingers

10 Haunted             Lose 1d6 WIS

9 Addled             Lose 1d6 INT

8 Heroic demise     Deal full HD in damage to nearby enemy, then die

7 Flesh wound     Lose a leg

6 Disarmed     Lose an arm

5 Battered             Lose 1d6 CON

4 Crippled             Lose 1d6 STR

3 Divine intervention     Full HP, saddled with divine debt

2 Dwarf died again!     Die anyway (sorry)

I like the way this plays out in game. It is a single die roll for both the "Do I die?" and "What happened?" questions. I also like that higher level characters (with lower requirements to pass a Save vs. Death) are open to greater injury than lower level characters. If a fresh level 1 fighter were to lose an arm, that might as well be a death, because the player is unlikely to stick with them if a new PC can easily be rolled up. If your 10th level fighter loses an arm, well, they have the means to consider getting back into the dirty work themselves or hire others to do it for them, or (hopefully) retire in luxury.

Oh and that result of 2 is really only available to Dwarves in my game. Only a level 10+ Dwarf will ever pass a Save vs. Death with a 2, in which case, they would die anyway. Maybe rude... but under these rules, a level 10+ Dwarf has only a 15% chance of death after being reduced to 0 HP. Which I think is pretty cool when paired with the 70% chance they have to receive a grievous permanent injury.