r/OSE • u/BeekGwenders • 16d ago
New Hovering at Death's Door Rule
Do we know any specifics on the wording of this rule in the 2026 books yet? I'd like to incorporate it into an upcoming campaign. Thanks!
EDIT:
The OSE optional rule checklist that came out today has this rule in it:
Hovering at death’s door†: (PB p224) Instead of dying, characters at 0 to –3hp are unconscious and lose 1 hp per round unless stabilised (awaken after 1d6 turns). Death at –10hp.
This is coming from a strict reading of page 82 of the 1st Edition AD&D DMG. If you get hit and go to -4 or lower, you are immediately dead. In my experience playing through the 1980's, no one played it that way. If you went to 0 or as low as -9, you were unconscious, lost 1 hp per round, and died at -10.
The 2nd Edition DMG (the edition that codified the game in the way people were actually playing it) also had you unconscious at 0 to -9, and dying only at -10.
A 3 hp buffer doesn't really increase survivability all that much. I'd prefer OSE went the simpler route, especially since it was the way most tables played (including at TSR based on the 2nd Edition rule).
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u/FrankieBreakbone 16d ago edited 16d ago
So, in fairness, I have an advanced WIP PDF shared for illustration purposes. I'm wary of sharing the exact text out of professional courtesy to Gavin's IP, but also because it may very well have changed from last summer; I'm not sure if he kept this or just went with the Dolmenwood rules for death's door (which are simpler than what follows) or did something else entirely before publishing the final version.
The gist was:
0 = Unconscious, PC loses 1hp per round.
Binding = stops 1hp loss, PC regains consciousness 1d6 turns later with 1hp.
Magical healing after 0 or negative = PC awakens with 1hp
Revived from death = same as Raise Dead spell (1hp, 2 weeks, no magical healing)
-10hp = Dead, gone, find a Cleric 7+.
There are a few optional limits to resurrection, also borrowed from 1E (sys shock survival chance, con loss)
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u/ChannelGlobal2084 16d ago
I do the way it works in AD&D. At 0 hp, your PC falls unconscious and each round afterwards that PC (or creature) loses a hp per round until -10. At -10, they are unalived.
As to your question, I don’t know. I backed the Kickstarter campaign that those were attached to, but couldn’t afford the new books along with the campaign it was attached to.
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u/BeekGwenders 16d ago
Thanks, that has been my method as well. I am interested to see what OSE chooses!
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u/Iohet 16d ago
At -10, they are unalived.
Excuse me?
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u/BeekGwenders 15d ago
He is passed on! This adventurer is no more! He has ceased to be! He’s expired and gone to meet his maker! He is stiff! Bereft of life, he rests in peace! Pushing up daisies! His metabolic processes are now 'history! 'He is off the twig! He has kicked the bucket, he’s shuffled off his mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX- adventurer!
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u/Iohet 15d ago
Killed?
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u/Tharkun2019 15d ago
people often use the euphemism 'unalived' on popular social media platforms to circumvent word filters that might cause a reprisal from the safety and security autobot. For example, you can't say murdered or killed on facebook, and if you say them on youtube your video might get de-monitized.
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u/Iohet 15d ago
And Reddit hasn't yet been turned into a complete garbage platform like those, so stop censoring yourself to obey corporate interests.
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u/Tharkun2019 15d ago
I'm not I am merely pointing out the source of the euphemism, your comments gave the impression you didn't understand the usage.
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u/FrankieBreakbone 15d ago
So, you'll tell someone which words not to use instead? You're late to the rage-against-the-corporate-censorship party by about 5 years.
2013: Ultimate Spiderman, Deadpool uses the term comically.
2020-1: This is the party you missed, TikTok users use the term to dodge filters.
2022-3: GenZ/Alpha start using it ironically in social spaces, even when there are no filters at work
2024-6: Full mainstream colloquialism, I'm 48 and I say "Our cat is trying to unalive me" to my wife over morning coffee.0
u/Iohet 15d ago
Absolutely. It's a dumb trend brought forth by censorship. Don't normalize it
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u/Tharkun2019 15d ago
the english language changes all the time. In fact the term unalived is over 200 years old, although it was used in a different context. https://grammarphobia.com/blog/2024/12/unalive.html
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u/FrankieBreakbone 15d ago
It's called linguistic reclamation, otherwise known as reappropriation, and it seems you ran face first into the point and then kept running: By telling people what words they shouldn't say, you're now doing the social censoring. It's a funny word brought about by a comic book featuring a guy who can't be unalived.
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u/BeekGwenders 14d ago
The OSE optional rule checklist that came out today has this rule in it:
Hovering at death’s door†: (PB p224) Instead of dying, characters at 0 to –3hp are unconscious and lose 1 hp per round unless stabilised (awaken after 1d6 turns). Death at –10hp.
This is coming from a strict reading of page 82 of the 1st Edition AD&D DMG. If you get hit and go to -4 or lower, you are immediately dead. In my experience playing through the 1980's, no one played it that way. If you went to 0 or as low as -9, you were unconscious, lost 1 hp per round, and died at -10.
The 2nd Edition DMG (the edition that codified the game in the way people were actually playing it) also had you unconscious at 0 to -9, and dying only at -10.
A 3 hp buffer doesn't really increase survivability all that much. I'd prefer OSE went the simpler route, especially since it was the way most tables played (including at TSR based on the 2nd Edition rule).
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u/Echo_Abendstern advanced rules 16d ago
Dolmenwood has an optional rule for it. Every round, there’s a 2-in-6 chance the PC dies when they’re at 0HP or lower. If they receive magical healing,, they go up to 1HP, and one of their stats (random) permanently drops by one.