Saves

Overview

When To Save

There are three common scenarios in which a player character should save:

• When avoiding the negative outcome of a risky action.
• When acting in opposition to another player character, NPC, or creature.
• When aiding one or more characters in a risky action.

Save Principles

• When in doubt, ask whether the party has the time, resources, skills, or advantage to overcome a problem. If the answer is “no,” then a save is usually warranted. If the answer is “I don’t know,” then a roll with the Die of Fate may be necessary.
• Feel free to say “no,” but remember to offer an alternative. If the party cannot proceed due to circumstances beyond their control, give them another option to consider.
• Character death should never come as a surprise. If the risk is so great that the outcome might be fatal, make sure the player understands what they’re getting into.
• Always provide multiple viable options for the PCs to choose from. The more choices, the more interesting the situation becomes.
• The outcome of a save need not be a simple binary. You can tailor the results based on the totality of input: the effort, forethought, resources, and skill that went into the roll.
• Be transparent with players. This doesn’t mean revealing all of the world’s secrets, but provide each player with the maximum information their character might have.
• Avoid requiring a dice roll whenever possible. If a PC can solve a problem using purely narrative components, do not ask for a roll.
• Replace multiple dice rolls with a single dice throw. Simplifying results to a single roll can increase tension while maximizing player input.

Traditional Saves

Strength

Wolfram dashes through the underground jail cell, a bundle of cloth held tightly to his chest. Lucius and Freya are right behind, fighting off a very large guard and his pet wolf.

Wolfram: “Remember, they are innocents! They don’t need to die!”

Freya: “Sorry, I can’t hear you through the barks and snarling!”

Warden: “Suddenly, the guard stops and whistles, recalling his pet. He then pulls on a lever behind him, and a loud grating sound starts emanating from the other side of the hallway to the East. Then you see what he’s done: a thick iron gate is coming down from the ceiling. If it closes, you’ll be locked in this section of the jail! Wolfram, you can probably make it through without any risk. Lucius and Freya will need to each make DEX saves in order to make it.”

Wolfram: “I’m going to stop and hold the gate for as long as I can. What do I risk?”

Warden: “The gate is strong. It might break your bones, or you might get stuck underneath.”

Wolfram: “I toss the bundle through to the other side, then take up a position to grab onto it. Lucius, Freya, you two run ahead. I’ve got this.”

Lucius and Freya agree, and Wolfram rolls a 13: a success!

Warden: “You groan as the iron bars press down against your arms and shoulders. Just as you feel like the gate might crush you in two, Lucius and Freya jog past and into safety. You step back and the gate collapses onto the stone floor with such force that the mechanism itself breaks. There is no going back now! The large guard isn’t getting through either, though.”

Wolfram: “It’s just as I’ve always said: ‘Through strength, there is virtue.’ Or was it, ‘There is virtue in strength?’ Ah, anyway… Hey, wait for me!”

Dexterity

Freya crouches atop the rafters of a decrepit tavern, spying on a gang of heavily-armed thugs below.

Warden: “After twenty minutes of cramped discomfort, the care and caution you put into this venture are finally rewarded as one of the men below speaks aloud the location of their hideout. Your mission is complete! What do you do now?”

Freya: “I need to skedaddle without these jokers knowing I was ever here. Does it look like they are nearly finished?”

Warden: “Actually, one of them is pulling out a deck of cards, and the others are nodding in approval. It looks like they’ll be here for a while yet.”

Freya: “Rats. Well, no time like the present, right? I’m going to sneak back the way I came.”

Warden: “That’s fine, but when you passed earlier there was no one here. That is no longer the case! You’ll need to make a DEX save to avoid detection.”

Freya rolls a 16: a fail!

Warden: “As you crest the final beam, it creaks. All six of the men look up and see you leap into the crawlspace leading out of the main hall and into the kitchens. They didn’t get a bead on your face, but they know you’re up there! They shout and draw their weapons.”

Freya: “I have one smoke bomb left, and I plan on using it. I’m going to drop into the kitchens to find a pot. If I recall correctly, water makes the smoke go crazy…“

WIL

Lucius has been captured after helping a client try to break into the ancient vault of Der Thunn. In a sudden glut of courage, he allowed himself be taken so that the others could escape.

Wolfram: “Pity about Lucius. But we have to deliver our client to the vault immediately. We can rescue him after.”

Freya: “I am NOT leaving him behind. You should still go, but I’m going to get him out. I’m a cutpurse, so I have friends everywhere, right? Or perhaps there’s some kind of thieves’ cant I can use to make connections here?”

Warden: “Indeed. You can spend the night trying to make connections among your kind, if you like.”

The party splits up, and Freya learns what she needs to from a local fence. (It costs her one of the Twins, and she is not happy about it). Lucius is awaiting his sentence in a jail beneath the constabulary.

Warden: “In the dim light of the early dawn, you notice a note slipped through the street vent. It reads, ‘Speak the following, and you will be free: “The Pale Man Longs To Die.” You have but one chance.’“

Lucius: “…What? OK. Someone gave this to me? And I have to speak it aloud… but at the right time, or to the right person?”

Warden: “You hear footsteps as the jailer approaches. He jingles his keys as if he intends to open your cell. What do you do?”

Lucius: “OK! This is not the right person, I think. Perhaps I’ll talk to someone higher up?”

Warden: “He opens your cell and beckons for you to come out.”

Lucius: “Hello friend! Might I speak to your superior? I have some important news that might be very interesting to them…“

Warden: “The jailer smirks as he unlocks raises a pair of manacles.”

Lucius: "”THE PALE MAN LONGS TO DIE!”

Warden: “The jailer stops in his tracks, then lowers the manacles. He nods once, then gestures that you follow him.”

Lucius: “Well, that was lucky. What is this, some code for jailers? Executioners? Well, whatever it is, I’m following.”

Warden: “The jailer guides you into the darkness of the jail, far from the light. As he reaches the far wall, he taps three times on a stone high above his head. After a moment, the wall swings inward, and the guard walks confidently inside, where a dark-haired woman waits at a desk. She smiles at you and gestures that you sit at the chair across from her.”

Lucius: “Uh oh. Can I go back to my cell, please? I kid, I kid. I take a seat.”

Warden: The jailor leaves as you take a seat. The room is small, with only one door on the other side of the woman. A very large man stands outside, his head visible through a small window on the door. The woman smiles again, saying, ‘Welcome Mr… Well, it doesn’t matter. There is only one reason you are here. You’ve spoken a code known only to thieves and scoundrels. And which one are you, I wonder?”

Lucius: “What happens now? I don’t have anything to barter… Except for perhaps the truth? But that means I have to make a WIL save, right? So that I seem ‘convincing?’“

Warden: “You’d need to make a WIL save even if you weren’t telling the truth. You’re definitely the most at risk here, and despite your experience as a charlatan, you think she can probably see through any lie. She and you might not be so different.”

Lucius: “OK. Madam: I’ll be straight with you. My friends and I are here to sneak into the vault of Der Thunn. I only learned of that phrase a few minutes ago. I believe one of my friends (a cutpurse named Freya, you might know her) left me that note. If you set me free, I’ll be sure to mention… what’s your name, again?”

Warden: “Katja. And please, tell me everything.”

Lucius describes the party’s , and their efforts so far. He makes a WIL save. He rolls a 5, a success! Katja is convinced of his sincerity.

Warden “As she listens to your story, Katja frowns, then finally smiles. ‘Alright, alright, I believe you. Let’s make a deal! You introduce me to this “client” of yours whom you’ve so kindly escorted into my town, and I’ll make sure no one is watching while you slip away. But we have to go right now, before this place implodes. And if that happens, even I can’t guarantee your safety…“

An hour later, Lucius finds Freya, but not the others. She explains that Wolfram and their client have already left for the vault. She agrees to take them there, but says that she needs to make a quick stop first. Something about reclaiming one of her daggers…

Opposed Saves

The party has cornered their opponents (two Bandits and their Hobgoblin chief) against a steep cliff side. Lucius and Wolfram are able to take their turns right away, but Freya failed her initial DEX save and has to go after their opponents. As her friends take on each of their smaller foes, she only narrowly avoids getting her head bashed in by the Hobgoblin!

Freya: “I don’t think I can survive another bout with their leader, so I’m going to try and knock him off the cliff!”

Warden: “You are most at risk in this situation, meaning that if you try and push him, you will need to make the appropriate save!”

Freya: “And if I fail, I go off the cliff, right? Alright.. I think I can do this. But just in case, I’m going to make sure I’m wearing my Catring!”

Freya rolls a STR save to try and grapple the Hobgoblin and toss him off the cliff. She rolls a 17, a fail!

Warden: “Their leader picks you up and flings you backward, sending you careening off the cliff. Fortunately the Catring activates its final charge, and you are able to gracefully catch a tree branch jutting off the mountainside 10ft below. It will take you two turns to climb back up, or you’ll need to make a DEX save to do it quickly.”

Freya: “Damn. Well, hopefully my comrades will fare well enough without me until I return…“

Aiding an Ally

The party have just arrived at the entrance to the second level of a long-forgotten mountain tomb. Freya leads the group, followed by Lucius, with Wolfram taking up the rear. Wolfram holds a lit torch, but the others have their hands free.

Warden: “The path to the North veers over a twisted archway positioned atop a dark chasm. To the East, a rocky path leads downward into the murk below. What do you do?”

Wolfram: “Our quarry is said to be at the top of this blasted place! I think we should press on to the North.”

Warden: “The rest of you agree? Alright, then. Assuming you continue with the same marching orders…“

Wolfram: “Wait! Let me go first. My Order can reveal that which is hidden, and I feel something sinister lies ahead in the darkness. I will take the lead, stepping as cautiously as possible, my Voidglass Shard at the ready.”

Warden: “Wolfram, you carefully start across the bridge, which moans and creaks with each step. It feels solid beneath your feet, though. As the party reaches the midway point, the ground begins to shudder violently, then blossoms with cracks. It looks like it’s going to collapse from behind!”

Wolfram: “If we run to the opposite side, does it look like we can make it safely?”

Warden: “You and Lucius are the farthest ahead and likely the least at risk. But Freya is last and will need to make a DEX save to arrive there safely.”

Freya: “You just had to take the lead, didn’t you, Wolfie? I have a rope. Do I have time to toss it to one of the others?”

Warden: “Yes, you can do that. Wolfram has his hands full, so Lucius is your best bet. You can easily throw a rope to him, but a STR save will be required. As you will be the most at risk, you will need to make the save.”

Freya: “A friend and a rope still seems like a good deal to me. Let’s do it!”

Freya rolls a 5: a success!

Warden: “As the bridge collapses, Wolfram and Lucius dash to the opposite side with Freya right behind. Just as the ground disappears beneath her feet, she tosses Lucius her rope. As the bridge collapses behind her, she slams into the wall, hanging onto the rope for dear life. Slowly, she climbs along the wall, straining to reach the ledge a few feet above her. Finally, she pulls herself onto the dusty floor.”

Freya: “That was fun. What’s next?”