Saving Throws, as broken out in the traditionalĬategories provide an important rules mechanic that is different from and Into character statistics (after all is resisting poison is a measure of healthĪnd endurance, shouldn’t it be effected by Constitution?), but in doing so one Swords and Wizardry) with modifications by race or class, or to tie Saving Throws When examining the classic Saving Throw system to create a single save (as in One of the halfling’s best abilities in Basic and similar systems for example). The distinction here isn’t really between type of risk, it’s between theĬharacter class taking that risk and so a Saving Throw table can become anĮxcellent additional mean of distinguishing a class (great saving throws are Rename them, “Stone” can become “Wyrd” and “Poison” become “Natural Physical” If one doesn’t like the ‘silly’ names, perhaps Of creating class difference in a system with very few other distinctions. Fighters on the other hand are best against Breath and worst against Magic-Users are susceptible to Poison and Wands while Clerics are more resistant,īut Magic-Users have the best ability to withstand being turned to Stone andĪre good at mitigating spell damage. Stone, Breath and Spell are silly names, but they aren’t required to be exactingĬategories, what they really model are different character classes ability to (though I use a separate death save – but that’s a different story), Wand, The Saving Throw effectively creates a greatĭeal of the character risk in a mid-level game. Sorts of effects become more common, as monstrous opposition increases in potencyĪnd right around the time that normal melee become less immediately dangerous. Petrification (wand, stave or otherwise) result in immediate death or removal Greater than 1D6 damage, and can be quite catastrophic in this system. Attacks like dragon breath (apparently inflicting the full HP of theĭragon), lightning bolt and fire ball are some of the few attacks that do Levels with damage slowly wearing down HP (unlike first level when fighter haveĢ-7 HP) – another resource to track. Games like this melee may be dangerous, but it’s a predictable danger at higher Stingy with HP compared to later editions) and normal attacks do 1D6 damage, including Where one has 5D6+1 HP (A 5 th level LBB fighter – and the LBBs are Mid-level characters, but it’s not as much an immediate danger as in a game This isn’t to say physical Hit Point damage isn’t a danger in games with Become terribly important in Mid-Level games, especially in systems with higher

System shock d&d 5e table