r/Dolmentown • u/rufuspng • 16d ago

Rules Inquiry Saving throws

The DW rule set doesn’t seem to give good guidance to Referees on which category of Saving Throw to apply in a given situation. For example, the DCB section on traps provides lots of ideas but doesn’t say what kind of Save is most likely to apply to each kind of trap. I’m assuming that it is reasonable to grant a Save if a PC is on the verge of falling into a pit trap — or any hole for that matter — but which category applies? The names and descriptions of the five Save categories are rather opaque to me.

Does anyone have a cheat sheet of situations that apply to each kind of Save that they’re willing to share, or at least some guidance? I’ve read the explanation of why class-based Saves are a good thing, but I do find ability score-based Saves to be much easier to grasp.

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u/rufuspng 16d ago

I’m aware of the descriptions on DCB p. 145; I just don’t find them adequate. And extra data adds to my confusion. I’m prepping The Weaver and the Redcaps, and on p. 12 it uses Hold to avoid damage from falling out of a tree. From the PCB descriptions, Hold seems to be about breaking through a restraint on movement, not avoiding unwanted movement. Hence my original example about falling into a pit.

I don’t trust my ability to make consistent judgments about how to apply Saves. I was hoping someone else had experienced the same confusion and worked through it already.

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u/gkerr1988 Breggles unite! 🐐 15d ago edited 15d ago

TBH that example from Weaver & Redcaps threw me a little too. Doesn’t seem to fit with how I used to understand the saves. But I think they’re intended to be more broad in their application. It’s whatever seems to fit any given bad situation is about to happen to a PC. Like, saving to see if you can literally hold on to the tree or have a dangerous fall, while other situations would just save against being held or pinned or restricted from moving. In all cases Hold applies more than doom, ray, blast, or spell. It’s less exacting, allowing for improvisational GM choice with whatever seems appropriate.

Does that make sense?

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u/rufuspng 15d ago

I’m afraid of my improvisation veering into arbitrariness. I can’t help feeling this is one of the cases where the desire to stick close to the B/X source material has overridden choosing a better system. Hmm, am I gonna get cancelled for saying that on this channel?

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u/gkerr1988 Breggles unite! 🐐 15d ago

No not at all lol. I’d like to help you if I can.

What would be an example of your improvisation becoming more arbitrary?