#saving throws

Dimension20 "Fantasy High Junior Year"

Episode 2 "Summer Breakdown"

Timestamp: 30:21

Video Length: 1min. & 3sec.

Ally doesn't have Kristen's saves written down and they read the book! 😭✋

The way Murph is just laughing at Ally's character sheet having their saving throws section just completely blank!!! 😂😂🤣🤣💀💀

Ally "If you wanna be helpful, bro, if you wanna be helpful, you would open D&DBeyond or my brand new book right now and tell me what these numbers are. We're a PARTY!"

😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣💀💀💀💀

In Dungeons and Dragons, a saving throw is an attempt to resist a deadly situation: a poison, an unseen trap, illness, an attack... Characters do not make a choice to roll a saving throw. Rather they are obligated to due to impending danger.

When confronted with a life or death situation, characters (and enemies alike) have to roll a twenty-sided die (d20). Their ability modifier (a bonus or penalty proceeding from their characteristics -charisma, constitution, intellingence...-) will be added to the roll along with any situational bonuses or penalties.

If the roll is successful, typically the character will suffer no harm or it will be reduced. On a failed roll they will take the brunt of the threat on their life.

This prompt is about situations the characters may be forced into, in which they must resist a threat to their life. If they fail, there will be consequeneces.

Bri (half-elf cleric): Can you make a Dex save, please?

DM: Why?

I think, in the homebrew system I’m slowly making, I want to distinguish withstanding, where whatever you were subjected to doesn’t always have its full effect and you have an entirely natural way you can minimize it using your own powers from saving throws, where you avoid the brunt of a dangerous effect through sheer luck.

Some ideas for this

Withstanding rolls never reduce hit point damage taken. Your ability to withstand something that does hit point damage is your hit point total

A successful saving throw never takes you out of the fight from full health (unless the player in question judges that they’d be safer down than up), and never kills a character (if a saving throw can be attempted, then some circumstance of luck or fortitude can save the character’s life). If you’re at -9 HP (in a 3e-style system) and save against a fireball, you take no damage. The ceiling might cave in around you, but you’re not further harmed and in the middle of a protective pile of rocks.

Whether an effect allows a saving throw or not is not a part of the effect; a saving throw is an ability that dramatically-important characters have to bend fate to save them.

This doesn’t mean that spells that used to allow saves (or non-damaging spells, or whatever) have those changed to withstanding rolls. Very few spells should be of the “successful die roll to no-sell this effect” variety that, e.g., basically all mind-influencing magic is. But withstanding could let you, e.g., escape a suggestion by identifying an inconsistency in it (a failed withstanding roll and you bury the inconsistency and don’t notice the cognitive dissonance), but your attempt to withstand isn’t automatic when the spell gets applied (or, being able to automatically try to withstand mind control the moment it is applied to you is a special defense against it)

Saving throws aren’t usually influenced by ability scores. They might be influenced by in-story “offerings” you make, of things you give up from your character (even momentarily; dropping prone to avoid a fireball is an offering), and what situationally-appropriate things you can offer might be influenced by your stats. They’re probably affected by level.

Minor NPCs can make withstanding rolls, but don’t make saving throws. Saving throws are a narrative ability and if their survival isn’t important to the narrative then it shouldn’t be narrated

Importantly, you can attempt saving throws against basic physical attacks, if only to save your life

Saving throws do not no-sell effects. Saving against a petrify spell doesn’t mean nothing gets petrified, it means you don’t. Organic matter that you’re wearing (like wizard robes, a gambeson, leather armor, or a backpack) might, and become brittle and weak. Or a patch of grass might be turned into a field of olivine spikes. Or it means your henchman dives in front of you and eats the spell.

So some examples of various kinds of effects, all of which are Con/Fortitude:

If you’re poisoned with something potentially deadly, you resist the poison by having a bunch of hit points. Secondary effects might trigger if its damage exceeds some multiple or fraction of your remaining hit points after the damage is applied.

If you’re exposed to a pathogen or miasma, a withstanding roll might determine whether you get infected or whether you fight it off

If you’re being polymorphed into a toad, a successful saving throw might allow you to dodge or misdirect the spell so that a nearby boulder ends up turning into a statue of a toad

If you’re familiar with D&D, a Saving Throw is a type of check you make to try and save yourself from taking worse damage than usual from current damage types or effects, or avoid them entirely. 

Most are honestly situational, and up to a DM’s discretion, but the ones that for sure are tied to certain stats are:

HP Saves, which are used to avoid being Burned, Frozen, Poisoned, Paralyzed, or Cursed. DC is always 10 unless requiring a higher DC.

Special Defense Saves, which are related to avoid being put to Sleep, Bound, Confused, or trying to Escape from certain Pokemon.

Charisma Saves to avoid other Pokemon using certain skills on you, but also from being Charmed.

The last two questions have spoilers for Episode 102. If you want to avoid them, stop reading after taking a look at our saving throw tables.

Does your stat on time passed in-game count the time skips?

Yes!

On average, how many rounds of combat do VM's fights last? And which fight has taken the most rounds?

The current average is 4.91 rounds. The longest “fight” is tricky, though the current record is 67 rounds for the roc ambush and chase, with the fomorian fight at 20 (including Keyleth casting Geas). If you want to limit it to actual combat, it’d be Grog’s second encounter with Earthbreaker Groon at 18 rounds. For more time stats, check out our Running Times sheet here!

Love the website! Do you know where I can get a pdf, preferably fillable version of the character cards they show on stream? like the ones you have displayed on your website?

Thanks! We are not aware of a pdf version of their character cards, but knowing critter ingenuity, we’re guessing there’s one out there.

That infographic is amazing. Who designed it?

We worked with Geek & Sundry to come up with some fun stats for the infographic, and they worked with their designers to create the graphic. We had a blast, and we’re so pleased with the result!

DM: He rolls a 1 on his saving throw.

Lyra: Yes!

DM: He uses one of his legendary saves to automatically pass it.

Lyra: Wait, what? Bullshit! How many does he get?