# Death, Dying, Death Moves, and Swan Song (v1) ## Private Death Saves Death saving throws are rolled **privately** between the player and the DM. The DM narrates a brief cue but does not disclose numbers. The DM can ask the player what memories or flashbacks they have, if any regrets weigh on their hearts, any moments yet experienced, etc. ## Dying (Condition) A creature becomes **Dying** when it is reduced to **0 hit points** and isn’t killed outright. While **Dying**, you are: - **[[prone|Prone]]**. - **[[incapacitated|Incapacitated]]**. - **Unable to move** (except via Desperate Actions). - **Barely conscious**: you can speak only in a whisper and only in short phrases. - You **automatically fail Strength and Dexterity saving throws**. - **Attack rolls** against you have **advantage**. - If an attacker is within **5 feet** of you, any hit is a **critical hit**. ### Death Saves (private) At the start of each of your turns while Dying, you make a **death saving throw** (rolled privately). Standard rules for successes/failures apply unless replaced by an explicit rule below. ### Stable at 0 Hit Points A Dying creature can become **Stable** (e.g., via a Medicine check, Spare the Dying, or similar effects). While **Stable**: - You stop making death saves. - You remain **Dying** (prone, incapacitated, etc.). - You cannot take Desperate Actions (see below). **Breaking stability (optional rule):** - If you take a Desperate Action while Stable, you immediately become unstable, gain **1 failed death save**, and resume death saves on your next turn. --- ## Desperate Actions (Dying Moves) After you roll your (private) death save on your turn, you may take **one** Desperate Action. ### Desperate Actions - You have 3 uses of **Dying Actions** per time you become Dying. - Each Desperate Action costs **1 use.** - If you have **0 uses left**, you can still take a Desperate Action, but it costs **1 failed death save** (in addition to any failures you already have). **Desperate Actions:** - **Crawl.** Move up to **5 feet** (no opportunity attacks). You remain prone. - **Brace.** Until the start of your next turn, you gain **half cover**. - **Call for Help.** Choose one creature you can see/hear within 15 ft. It gains **advantage** on its next Medicine check to stabilize you, and gains an **Inspiration Die**. --- ## Death Moves A Death Move is a dramatic option that occurs on the brink of death. ### Trigger When you would die due to: - accumulating **3 failed death saves**, or - an effect that kills you at **0 hit points** You may choose **one** Death Move (if you have any available). ### Death Move: Avoid Death (Scar) You do not die. Instead: - You become **Stable** at 0 hit points. - You are removed from the fight narratively (incapacitated, unable to meaningfully act). - You gain a **permanent Scar**. **Scar types (choose one):** - **Physical Scar:** lasting wound, impairment, or disfigurement with a concrete narrative/mechanical hook. - **Psychological Scar:** recurring fear, fixation, nightmares, or changed bond; use as a roleplay lever and (optionally) a mechanical complication tied to a specific trigger. > // NOTE: If you want scars to matter mechanically, tie them to specific triggers (certain monsters, environments, or moral choices) rather than constant penalties. --- ## Swan Song (Final) **Swan Song** is a rare Death Move that turns a dying character into a short-lived legend. ### Prerequisite You can declare Swan Song only if: - You are **Dying**, and - you have **2 failed death saves**. ### Timing At the **start of your turn**, before rolling any death save, you may declare Swan Song. ### Finality When Swan Song ends, your death is **permanent**: - You cannot regain hit points. - Normal resurrection magic fails. - Only **wish**, direct **divine intervention**, or major quests to restore your mind, body and soul can bring you back. ### Duration Swan Song lasts a number of rounds equal to: - **2 rounds**, or - **3 rounds** if your **Proficiency Bonus is 5 or 6**. The turn you activate Swan Song counts as the first round. ### On Activation When you declare Swan Song: - You stand up and end the prone condition prone without using any movement speed. - You end **all additional conditions** affecting you. - You **ignore all levels of exhaustion** for the duration (treat your exhaustion level as 0 for all effects). - You gain **temporary hit points equal to half your maximum hit points**. - You gain **resistance to all damage**. - Swan Song does **not stack** with **Haste** or similar effects that grant extra actions: - If you are under Haste, it ends when Swan Song begins. - You cannot benefit from Haste’s extra action while Swan Song is active. ### Extra Actions On each of your turns during Swan Song, you gain a number of **extra actions** equal to Your Proficiency Bonus / 2 rounded down. These actions can be used to take any action. You can take the **Attack** action multiple times on your turn, subject to the attack cap below. ### Weapon and Unarmed Attack Cap During your turn, the total number of **weapon attacks and unarmed strikes** you can make is limited to: **Attack Cap = ( A × 2.5 )** Where **A** is the maximum number of attacks you can normally make **with one Attack action** (for example: via Extra Attack, a Fighter at Level 20 can make 4 attacks as part of the Attack action. In this scenario, they would be able to make **10 total** attacks per turn). This cap applies to attacks made using actions, bonus actions, and any other source during your turn. > // NOTE: This cap will reduce very bonus-attack-heavy builds (for example, some Monk and PAM/TWF patterns). If that’s unwanted, replace the cap with an “extra attacks above baseline” cap instead. ### Perfect Execution While Swan Song is active: - You cannot roll lower than **10** on a d20 Test (treat 1–9 as 10). - Your critical hit range **expands by 2**, to a maximum of **16–20**. ### Mythic Resistance (Action Cost) When you fail a saving throw, you can choose to succeed instead by **expending one action**. **How it works at the table:** - You choose this immediately after you fail, before resolving the effect. - If it is not your turn, you still can use it, but you **lose one action** at the start of your next turn (including one of your extra Swan Song actions, if any remain). ### Song Verses (Actions) While Swan Song is active, you can take the following special actions. Each costs **1 action**. #### Verse of Wrath Make one weapon attack or unarmed strike. On a hit, add extra damage equal to **your Proficiency Bonus in d6s** (damage type matches the attack). **SUBJECT TO CHANGE** #### Verse of Respite Choose a number of allies you can see within 30 feet up to your Proficiency Bonus. Each chosen ally gains **temporary hit points equal to your Proficiency Bonus** and can immediately move **10 feet** (no opportunity attacks). #### Verse of The Valiant Choose a number of allies you can see within 30 feet up to your Proficiency Bonus. Each chosen ally can immediately move up to **half its speed** without provoking opportunity attacks. Until the start of your next turn, the first time each enemy you can see targets a creature other than you with an attack, it has **Disadvantage** on its attack roll. ### Multiple Leveled Spells During Swan Song, you may cast more than one spell of 1st level or higher on your turn: - The first leveled spell you cast on your turn costs its normal casting time. - Each additional leveled spell you cast on that same turn costs **2 actions** (and must have a casting time of **1 action**). - You can’t cast more than **2 leveled spells** per turn. - If you cast a leveled spell as a **bonus action**, it counts as your **first** leveled spell for the turn. ### Action-to–Bonus Action Conversion On your turn during Swan Song, you can exchange **2 actions** to gain **1 bonus action**. - This conversion is **not reversible** (you cannot exchange bonus actions for actions). ### Doomed If your Swan Song temporary hit points are reduced to **0**, you do not immediately fall unconscious. Instead: - Your Swan Song temporary hit points refresh to **half the previous value** (½ max → ¼ max → ⅛ max → 0 gained). - You gain one stack of the **Doomed** condition - At 3 stacks of Doomed, you immediately drop to prone and follow the rest of the mechanics of the **Dying** condition **Stacks of Doom** **1 Stack (first time you hit 0 temp HP)(½ Max Health):** - Lose **1 extra action** from your total each turn (minimum 0). - Lose the **Swan Song crit-range expansion** (you return to your normal crit range) and the extra bonus to your base movement speed. **2 Stacks (second time you hit 0 temp HP)(¼ Max Health):** - Lose **1 additional extra action** (if you still have any). - Lose **resistance to all damage**. **3 Stacks (third time you hit 0 temp HP)(⅛ Max Health):** - Lose the last remaining extra action (if any). - Lose the **minimum-10** d20 floor. - You can no longer use **Song Verses**. ### End of Swan Song (The Last Words) At the end of Swan Song’s final round: - You immediately drop back to **Dying**, but you are **Stable**. - You cannot regain hit points. - You can choose to **pass on at any moment**. - Otherwise, you can cling to life until the **end of the encounter**, at which point you die. - If combat does not end within **1 minute**, you die at that time. While lingering, you can speak in short phrases (a last word, a name, a request), at the DM’s discretion. --- ## Optional Criteria: Vow of Songs To make Swan Song feel “earned,” each character writes a **Vow of Songs** trigger (one sentence) at character creation or between arcs. I’m not fully sold on this yet but if it can be changed somewhat frequently, I think it should be okay? I think narratively this feels good but in the moment if the arc is at an end and a character would reasonably sacrifice themselves but it’s not in their Vow, why would you prevent that? Probably needs tweaking at some point idk. Example triggers: - “*If my death can buy the party’s escape, I will take it.*” - “*If the relic is about to be lost, I will burn my life to keep it.*” - “*If an ally is about to die to save me, I will take their place.*” **Rule:** Swan Song can be declared only when the trigger is clearly relevant in the current scene.