Death Roll prompt in game after a lethal defeat

Stakes are real now. Fail a Death Roll, and your hero can die — ending the campaign in solo, or leaving the table for good in multiplayer while survivors press on.

Patch 2.1 also reworks skill checks around what you're actually trying to do, and adds a clear Primary Objective so every campaign has a true main-quest goal you can always see.

Death in a Campaign

Permadeath, Death Rolls & failed endings

When your character is defeated in combat, or fails a skill check with lethal stakes (a cliff, lava, a deadly trap, a crushing collapse), you no longer just get narrated past it. You face a Death Roll.

How the Death Roll works

  • Roll a single d20 vs DC 10— no modifiers
  • Natural 20 always survives; natural 1 always dies
  • 10 or higher: you cling to life with lasting consequences
  • 9 or lower: your character dies

Survive the roll

Pass the Death Roll and the story continues in a near-death aftermath: you live, but the world remembers how close you came.

Lethal skill check failure followed by a successful Death Roll survival

What happens if you die

  • Solo — the campaign ends as Completed – Failed. You get a YOU DIED results screen with your ending and progress.
  • Multiplayer — only the dead player is removed. Survivors keep playing without them. The shared campaign fails only on a full party wipe (everyone dead).
You Died end screen showing character summary and stats

Saves & progress still matter

Dying does not throw away what you earned. Before the ending locks in, the game autosaves your character. Both the YOU DIED and Campaign Completed screens show level, XP, stats, and any new items, abilities, spells, and companions from that final save — so a tragic ending still counts for your sheet.

Campaign Completed results screen with character progress summary

Intent-Driven Skill Checks

From keywords to what you mean

Our legacy skill-check system leaned on keyword matching — say the right word, get the right check. That could miss creative phrasing or fire on the wrong action.

Skill checks are now intent-driven. The Game Master reads what you're actually trying to accomplish — persuade a guard, scale a wall, disarm a trap — then picks the fitting skill, difficulty, and stakes. That includes when a failure is merely awkward… and when it could be lethal and trigger a Death Roll.

  • Describe your action naturally — no need to name the skill
  • Smarter detection of when a roll is needed vs. when roleplay alone is enough
  • Clearer outcomes: success, failure, combat on failure, and lethal stakes when the fiction demands it

Primary Objective

Always know the main quest

Campaigns now have a dedicated Primary Objective field — the actual win condition for the adventure. Not a side plot, not flavor text: the main quest goal.

  • Set it when creating a campaign (optional — leave blank to auto-generate)
  • See it on campaign pages and in the start-game flow so you always know what you're fighting for
  • Example: "The campaign is won when the Crystal of Dawn is returned to the Temple of Echoes."

Play with the stakes up

Roll carefully. Speak with intent. Know your Primary Objective — and remember that every campaign can end in glory… or in a Death Roll.

Welcome to Patch 2.1 — Death in a Campaign.