Exploring Characters pt.5: Saves

Saving throws are nebulous but I like them as categories because they help define the dangers players will face in the world. I operate under the following (common) school of thought:

• A saving throw should only be made as a reaction to something happening.
• A saving throw should only be called for if the players do not have time to come up with their own response to the danger.
• A saving throw should always incur an extreme penalty, such as death or some other severe condition.

These three rules make saving throws basically the player's defense against insta-death, mind dominance, etc. They also are the results of split-second mistakes.

Not a saving throw!

Examples of things that do not require a saving throw:

• Stepping on a pressure plate-related trap.
• A medusa's petrification.
• Someone hurdling a fireball at you.
• A curse being played on you.

Why?

• A pressure plate can not only be discovered, but lots of common RPG traps mean that stepping on it triggers the moment your foot comes off. This leaves the player room to solve the issue.
• A medusa can be combated a lot of ways--I mean, there is an entire legend built around it. Improper research into a threat is not grounds to require a saving throw.
• Lumping this in with the curse: ways to counter magic, break spells, or otherwise defend one's self from magic should be built into any good magic system. These should not (usually) require saving throws.

So then, what does require a saving throw?

• Someone surprise-assassinating you.
• Poisons and diseases.
• Doing something to save your life in a split-second, such as when falling off a cliff and grabbing the ledge, or when being sucked into something,

Why?

• No matter what precautions you make, a skilled assassin will find a way in. It'll be down to luck and reflex to stop it from killing you.
• Poisons and diseases are much the same. Though precautions can be taken against them, it's pretty easy for DM fiat to lead to some pretty unavoidable cases, requiring a save.
• Falling off of a cliff or being sucked into hell or something like that requires a split-second reaction, regardless of what equipment you have in many cases. Thus, save.

The pattern here is that the first four examples don't kill you instantly. Or, if they do, they are well-telegraphed (the Medusa). The other three examples have little to any counterplay the players can indulge in, thus, saving throws.

Categories & the d6

As mentioned earlier, I prefer categories over stat-based saves. As there are only 4 attributes, I don't think having 5 save categories is the move. I suggest 3 total. These  should change depending on setting, and thus there are no "generic saves" like in B/X. Different saves inform the players of the world and the dangers/obstacles therein. Below are some examples of world-based saving throws.

Boromir failed his saving throw vs Shadow, got him killed.

Tolkien Fantasy

• Shadow - Save vs Corruption/Evil of the Heart
• Poisons - There are fell weapons, such as those of the Nazgul, which are poisoned.
• Doom - Effects or things that kill you instantly, like falling off cliffs, etc.

Dark Sun/Psionic Wastelands

• Hellscape - Sometimes Athas (or your wasteland of choice) gets stupid fucking hot, or some other grizzly aspect of the hellscape acts up. This is a save against these sudden, random evils.
• Defiling - To resist having your life force sucked out and used as a spell.
• Raid - To survive a sudden raid while sleeping, or an assassination attempt.

Revelations of the Mononoke-Hime

• Hate - Hate can turn any man or god into a demon. This is a save made to rebuke that. Also to make things not hate you specifically if they become a demon.
• Rifle - For defending yourself from a sure-kill rifle shot, or surviving the poisoning it spreads throughout your body.
• Sudden Death - Some gods, like the Great Forest Spirit, can just kill you if they want. This is to avoid these dooms.

Lady Eboshi failed her saving throw vs Hate

Cyberpunk

• Hacked - Sometimes hacking just happens and it's up to whatever defenses you got innately to stop it.
• Techno-Dooms - Not things like falling off a cliff, but grenades, viruses, being hit by a fucking car, you know.
• Humanity - Made whenever you receive a new implant. If you fail a certain number of these, your character is effectively no longer human/a PC.

So with the above set-up, you only have 3 things you know you'll have to save from, meaning that while rolling can get you out of some pinches, it's largely up to your own problem-solving ability + your own choices in-character to survive/navigate the worlds of your campaign.

Saving throws are made on 1d6. You start with a 2-in-6 chance for one save category of your choices and 1-in-6 for the other two. The referee chooses if saves are made ascending or descending (as in, 1-in-6 being a save on a 1 or a 6). When you roll +1 to saves on the CAT, you increase one saving throw of your choice by +1. If a save is ever raised to six, when you roll it, roll 2d6, failing on snake eyes (double 1's).

This is basically a slightly modified skill system as seen in Lamentations of the Flame Princess. I love the X-in-6 mechanic and think it works well for saves. I've been using the 2d6=snake eyes for my in-house A Red & Pleasant Land campaign to great success.