Single dying save – you would possibly or won’t die instantly.  Also enjoyable variants the place you do not make the save till somebody checks on you.

Whatever the checks are (dying saves, medical assist, heal spell, and so forth.) having a variable time chart.  Maybe one thing like instant, 1 minute, 10 minutes, 1 hour, 6 hours, 1 day, and so forth.  Check for “bleeding out” every interval on the chart.  If one thing would not kill you instantly, there’s time for somebody to do one thing.  If it would not kill you within the first 3 or 4 checks, there is likely to be time in your associates to get you again to civilization.  I like this when the means are restricted and/or dying saves are considerably robust.  Reason being that if the chances are appropriately robust, then test each spherical or each minute is successfully a dying sentence in lots of conditions.  So if you’d like that, would possibly as effectively simply set the chances low of surviving as a substitute of dragging it out.

A method to have the situations have an effect on the therapeutic.  I give boosts when characters have acceptable garments, aren’t carrying armor in dangerous situations, are clear, dry, have the eye of a devoted healer, and so forth.  Or give penalties when it goes too far the opposite means.  Down within the dungeon with little meals, no heat, and so forth. you would possibly “bleed out” as a result of although you bought bandaged, the atmosphere is simply too terrible so that you can make it.  Gives a robust cause to arrange a safe base camp close to the place the motion is going down, however not so shut that it will not be safe whenever you retreat to it.

Last week I had a recreation session with some gamers new to this fashion.  Starting characters had been poor, and the sport was set in early winter (earlier than it will get too dangerous).  First outing, a pair nearly died.  They tried to camp and heal.  I defined that given a few of them solely had sandals and ragged tunics for garments, and incomplete armor that wasn’t a lot assist, the one means they may heal in any respect was to have certainly one of their healers make a reasonably troublesome test to take care of them, however it was sluggish.  If the climate turned worse, even that restricted therapeutic would disappear.  They tried that for two days, then ran for an remoted inn a day away.  Second outing?  They moved heaven and earth with their funds and barter some previous weapons they discovered to get cloaks and sneakers. Mission achieved.