Hope & Despair
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The fighter takes a caustic blast from the black dragon. They clatter to the ground¸ flesh blistering¸ and they drift off into darkness. Moments later¸ the cleric lifts them to their feet.
"Thanks." coughs the fighter¸ "I thought I was a goner."
"Actually..." says the cleric¸ sheepishly¸ "you were dead for about thirty seconds. I had to bring you back."
"Oh. Well... thank you very much."
"No worries."
And so the party has a short rest¸ and continues on into the next room like nothing happened .
The warlock peers through the portal. Beyond¸ stretching on into infinity¸ they see a million alien stars. A multitude of colossal eldritch entities swirl and writhe in the effervescent ether.
They turn to the group¸ thoughtfully¸ before stating¸ "I'd better cast mage armour. We all ready to go?"
And so the party steps through the portal¸ as if everything is totally fine and not like something brain-mettingly terrifying is happening all around them.
Hope & Despair is a rules supplement that adds depth to your D&D characters and enriches your role-play.
Hit points measure your physical health. Conditions like frighten and madness add a short term impact to difficult experiences. This guide provides rules on how to simply and effectively measure the strength of mind and character.
Hope. Ideal as a way to measure a characters morale¸ and also as a more story driven alternative to Inspiration. The Hope Table allows you to track how well the characters are actually dealing with the terrifying scenarios you have put before them.
Despair . Sometimes an event is so singularly harrowing that it hits hard no matter how hopeful we are. The Despair Table can be used as a separate mechanic¸ to emphasize the terrifying nature of an otherworldly aberration or the oppressive nature of a dark plane of existence.
If you are trying to reward players who support each other and roleplay as a team¸ the Hope Dice is a perfect reward. If you are trying to drive home the oppressive¸ harrowing nature of your horror campaign¸ the Despair Table is your new best friend. Use one or both in your adventure!
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