Death & Dying

Overview

---

The Dragon’s Neck takes the approach that resurrection magic is an art almost entirely lost to time. Hence, whenever a character mechanically 'dies', they will be treated as badly wounded, and a mechanical debuff will be applied to them upon their ‘respawn’. Only permadeath will be considered actual, in-character death as far as the narrative, and roleplay is concerned.

Note: This article deals primarily with the mechanics of death/dying. For details on roleplay, or the process of 'opting In' in regards to permadeath, please review the PvP & Conflict page.

Bleeding Out

---

1. When reaching -10HP:
   • All silver the player was holding is dropped upon death.
   • Players receive a debuff (symbolized as a grim wound).
     • Debuff Effects:
       • 1st wound: -1AC, -1AB, +10% Damage Received
       • 2nd wound (if the debuff is not cleansed): -4AC, -4AB, +20% Damage Received, 25% Spell Failure, 100 xp per level loss.
       • 3rd wound (if the debuff is not cleansed): -6AC, -6AB, +30% Damage Received, 50% Spell Failure, 100 xp per level loss.
       • 4th wound (if the debuff is not cleansed): Immediate and irrevocable Permadeath. Note that permadeath in this scenario is guaranteed, with no rolls involved.
     • This debuff can be cleansed by an NPC priest at a temple for the price of 60sp/level.
     • Alternatively, each stack of Grim Wound will expire after 24 Real Hours.
     • Obtaining wounds has a cooldown of 5 minutes to avoid scenarios where players get hit with back-to-back-to-back Grim Wounds.
   • Players will be presented with an option to either remain unconscious at -10HP, or to "Respawn", which will jump players back to the entrance of the Dungeon/Area and cause them to lose all of their carried silver.
     • If at least one other player is close to the player’s downed body when no enemies are present, Respawning will allow them to rise where they died instead.

Permadeath & "Opting In"

---

On TDN there are three ways for your character to become eligible for Permadeath:

1. "Opting In" [The most common]
   
   1. This can be done immediately, at any time, using the '!optin' command in-game.
2. Playing a class that is auto-opted-in:
   
   1. Chymist
   2. Warlock
3. DM discretion based on campaign events or player-decision
   
   1. A DM will notify you if this were to take place.

As of our relaunch in February 2025 - All opted-in characters who reach -10HP will roll for Permadeath regardless of whether it is a PvE or PvP situation.

Benefits to Opting In:

• +10% RPXP Ticks
• Eligibility for Faction Leadership Positions (TDN Factions specifically)
• Civilians:
  • +15% RPXP Ticks
  • +10% Crafting XP

PvP Permadeath Rolls

---

Permadeath is confirmed or avoided by a roll-based system, meaning that each time a player that is opted into permadeath is reduced to -10 hp (referred to as ‘Downed’), they must make a D100 roll which decides whether or not they permanently die.

An opted-in character’s first Downed state will result in their player attempting a relatively likely check. A roll of 21+ will be required for that character’s survival, giving them an 80% chance of escaping permadeath. For each subsequent PvP death, the difficulty of the roll is increased by 20, decreasing the probability of their survival by 20%.

Thus, after being Downed 5 times from PvP with another opted-in character, even the luckiest opted-in character who has escaped death on all previous occasions, against mounting odds, will inevitably die permanently with a 0% chance of survival.

For clarity, a table of the necessary permadeath rolls and the percentage chance of survival for an opted-in character after being Downed a certain number of times from PvP with other opted-in characters is shown below:

---

Permadeath Rewards

• In the event a Character is retired permanently (whether through permadeath or something else), the player will receive a portion of the closed character's XP, GP, and CXP (Crafting XP) that can be used for a new Character. Contact a DM to receive these benefits.
  • XP: 1.75 Levels * Dead PC Level (Rounded Down)
    • Examples:
    • Permakilled Level 18 PC: New PC receives level 10 free.
    • Permakilled Level 9 PC: New PC receives level 5 free.
  • GP: 500gp/New Level
    • Examples:
    • Permakilled Level 18 PC = Level 10 New PC = 5,000gp
    • Permakilled Level 9 PC = Level 5 New PC = 2,500gp
• CXP: 50% of all CXP can be redistributed as the player sees fit & within profession guidelines.

FAQ

---

Q: In what scenarios would the team consider overturning a failed perma-death roll?
A: The staff takes an extremely hard line on perma-death. There are only two foreseeable scenarios in which such a decision would be considered:

1. A DM made a mistake, such as accidentally misclicking resulting in the death of a player.
2. A system error that is decided by staff to be egregious in regards to the perma-death rolls or the system that governs them.

Ultimately, if a player chooses to play an opted-in class, voluntarily opt-in, or pursue a course of action that resulted in them opting-in, they must resign themselves that they are at the mercy of the setting, NWN's engine, acts of God, bugs, glitches, etc. Opting In is essentially TDN's equivalent of playing on Hardcore mode, and it falls to the player in question to understand and accept the risks involved.