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r/rpg•
reodd

[DnD 2E] Rules question - Energy Drain & 1st Level PCs?

So I've taken up DMing again after a 5-7 year break for my group of friends (who have all mysteriously reappeared after moving away for awhile). We are all most comfortable with 2E because we're a bunch of old farts and we just wanted to get started.

I'm running N1 - Against the Cult of the Reptile God for them, and one of the encounters coming up in the next few sessions is vs an Evil Cleric with a Wight bodyguard.

Wights in 2E have energy drain/level drain. All the PCs will be level 1 or 2 when this encounter goes down (there's 6-7 of them, so they should be able to tackle it). If a wight hits a level 1 character, what happens, since they can't lose a level?

Posted May 13, 2011, 7:57 PM UTC

819
doctechnical•

Check the DMG under "Energy Drain". Basically -

  • If they're down to level 0, they're no longer an adventurer, they're just a plain schmuck. No class, no class abilities, nothing. Just a bag of hit points (assuming they have any left). They can't become adventurers again without a Restoration or Wish spell. Which, given the level of the characters you're running, is pretty much the end of the line for them.

  • If they're less than zero level, then they become undead under the control of whatever drained them.

10
jamminjelly•

I think if they are less than 0 the counter rolls over backwards and they become level 20...right?

1
rabuf•

Well from the age of 2E I would presume that they'd have used one byte to store it, so level 255 would be my guess.

5
[deleted]•

http://i.imgur.com/yOp2H.jpg

1
tommyroo•

Old fart 2e dm here. I wouldn't put a level draining creature against fresh meat. Change the module. Your the boss. I also give out restoration spells from 3.5 to the 2.0 clerics.

10
doctechnical•

I concur with pulling the wight from the module, that seems a bit much. Maybe substitute a nice ogre or something :)

4
imneuromancer•

Level 1 characters who are energy drained die, so wights against 1st level characters one-shot them.

3
lotharr•

I'm pretty sure they die, then become a ghoul/wight/ghast/something under the control of the wight that kills them. Level drain+low level PC's=very very bad.

2
jmelesky•

Yeah, that's my understanding, as well. Between level drain, save vs die effects (poison, petrification, etc), and lower hitpoints generally, 1e and 2e were far more lethal systems than 3e and later.

2
doctechnical•

1e and 2e were far more lethal systems than 3e and later.

And we liked it that way :)

5
lotharr•

If I remember, with 3e and on, you can get lost levels back.

1
Caraes_NaurEl Paso, TX•

Of course... before 3e you couldn't continue adventuring to get levels back.

1
[deleted]•

You still can in 2E with a restoration spell I believe.

1
Spazum•

2E level drain rules are harsh. Over the years out house rules changed to, save vs spell to resist the drain, and application of holy-water to the wound before any healing is done combined with a healing roll by the person applying the first aid can restore the lost level. Otherwise undead in 2e just make people want to stop playing because it takes away so many hours of play-effort they have invested in their character.

Otherwise, yeah level drained to below 1 at end of encounter = character is removed from play.

2
dragsys•

On the rare occasions that I do use a level drainer against lowers (1-4) I keep the rules that were presented in the module Treasure Hunt regarding 0 level chars handy. If a PC goes to level 0, I give the player the choice of either making a new char that can be brought in at the session (i.e. next game session, they are out for that RL play day) or playing as a 0 until they earn 500-750 xp (depending on class) to get back to level 1.

In all the years I have been doing this, I've only had 2 players opt for new chars. Most have seen the play @ lvl 0 as a challenge.

edit: fixed borked link

1
dragonmantank•

Maybe, you roll a save after 24 hours to see if the level drain is permanent (if you didn't hit 0). we just finished up Castle Ravenloft and this was a major pain a few weeks ago when one of the characters got knocked down 2 levels. And by finished I mean we all turned into undead at the last battle due to level drain.

2
RebBrown•

What happens when you put a wight against a lvl1-2 party? Lots of 3D6 rolls for stats. Change the monster or make him deal constitution damage that heals over time.

1
doctechnical•

Or bring lots of blank character sheets.

What's wrong with a little killer D&D now and again? Keeps the players on their toes.

"If I don't kill at least one player character per session, I don't think I'm doing my job properly as Dungeon Master" - my favorite DM.

1
dahvzombie•

You could fudge a bit and call their energy drain a -1/2 to all rolls until magic is applied. Still hurts but not as crippling as RAW.

1