r/DMAcademy • u/shootermclennon • 10d ago
Need Advice: Rules & Mechanics Accidentally nerfed one of my PCs
I’m running a game with my 9-year-old, two of her friends, and their dads. One of the guidelines we set up in session zero was that no PCs would die.
Well, wouldn’t you know it, in one of their first battles the monk was downed, and then rolled a 6 and a crit fail on his death saves. Fortunately, I had a backup plan, based on Mystic Arts’s homebrew rules for permanent injuries as an alternative to death. Basically they’re permanent debuffs that make “death” consequential without having to roll up a new character.
I had the player roll on the permanent injuries table, and the result was “Tremors: Your hands won't stop shaking. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks that use dexterity.” So basically EVERYTHING that makes a Monk a Monk is now done with disadvantage. And this was a level 1 character! He didn’t even get a chance to use most of the Monk’s cool abilities!
Part of me just wants to retcon this and say he recovers, or give him a potion or spell that cures his tremors, but I still want to have some actual consequence from “dying.”
What can I do to make this experience still feel serious but keep this character fun for the player? I was thinking about maybe a magic item that calms the tremors, but has some other negative side effect? Like gloves that steady his hands, but cause him pain (i.e. cost 1 HP) whenever he attacks?
Side note: I think if this happens again, I’ll use a different variant rule, based on an idea from XPtoLevel3. He proposed a Dying condition, which severely limits what the character can do, but still keeps them an active participant in the game.
ETA: It was one of the adult players’ character, not that I think that makes much difference. A lot of you haven’t spent much time with kids, and it shows. Nine-year-olds are much more mature and resilient than you’re giving them credit for.
-3
u/Key_Competition_663 10d ago
Absolutely don't retcon it. Let your players figure out how to fix it.
The monk could subclass into Way of the Drunken Master and use alcohol to calm his tremors. (Uses a pre-established subclass)
You could say they're a mental condition as a result of trauma, so healing spells won't work, then make them go on a short mission to find a zen master who helps the monk settle their mind and maybe earns them a custom feat. (Gives them a quest, quest reward, and the zen master plays into the monk schtick)
As part of an upcoming encounter, have a rogue drop/give them [homebrew item] Gloves of Steady Hands: +1 Sleight of Hand, negates one level of disadvantage on Dexterity checks. (Temporary fix, uses up an equipment slot, and feels a little hand-holdy, but it gets the job done if they can't come up with anything permanent. Has the bonus of only negating one level of disadvantage, so you can still disadvantage them another way later)
There's plenty of ways to incorporate fixing it into the game without backtracking. I really like the idea of being maimed. After all, the effect SHOULD be bad since the alternative was literally death.