RQ2/Quickstart Healing to stop death

[flynnkd]

Had a game last night where I noticed something I had never noticed before, which is that if your total HPs drops to 0 you die at the end of the round unless healed, same in the QS.

The problem is with how on earth you would get healed by the end of the round if you use statements of intent? You would need to be sitting behind the lines with a statement of "I heal anyone who gets hurt". With statements of intent + die in the same round at the end of the turn it is not possible to save anyone? 

So either you say 'you die if you go to 0 hps' or you delay death one round to allow characters to make a last ditch effort to save them (which is what we have done).

Myself, I have become pretty disenchanted with statements of intent, they are too rigid for a free form game, and they are too hard to recall the more players you have. There can be 20 mins between your statement and actually doing your turn (in my games).  It has become increasingly difficult to use them (with 6 players) due to the mental attitude of the group (they are there to relax and have fun bashing things). YGMV.

 

[styopa]

RAW the only way it's going to happen is if someone was already planning on healing you that round.

For YEARS we used statement of intent and were happy with it, but it led to a pile of convoluted rules for reaction time and changing your intent.

After playing some D&D5e, honestly, I bagged it.  It doesn't detract materially from the realism, and is a crapton smoother to run.  We 

- roll random initiative (we go backwards down from high to low; long story...)

- as we count down, people state what they're doing

 

FWIW we've ruled too that if you're at a "die at the end of the round", you actually DIE on that same SR in the next round.  Otherwise it's actually better to hold action and whack someone at the end of the round to prevent their healer having a chance to move/cast heals, which is a little gamey.

My players have, after doing this for probably 6 months, agreed that we'll never go back to SoI.

[soltakss]

We always allow an intent to be changed, at a Strike rank cost, depending on the change of circumstances.

For example, "I attack and parry the wizard" is a valid statement of intent until the wizard teleports away on SR1. You can stand dumbfounded for the whole round or change your statement of intent and attack the suprised bodyguard instead.

Healing is always something that should be allowed, unless all the PCs have run out of actions. Even then, a dying action might be OK to cast a healing spell, or allow the PC to be Heroic and hang on for another round.

I'm with Styopa, dead Next round makes more sense.

[Psullie]

Aye, if there is a remote chance an ally can get to the character, and actually makes a good attempt at doing so I generally fudge this. However I also make it clear that the character is stable and not dying, still out of action etc. unless major magic is involved.