10 Ways to Run a Deadly D&D Game (Without Homebrew)

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A deadly version of 5th edition D&D

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition has a reputation of being soft on characters. At least compared to the earliest editions of the game, where deaths of player characters were common and even expected. If we want to run a more deadly game of 5e D&D, there are 10 simple ways to do so which don’t require any homebrewed rules.

Why would we want to run a deadlier D&D game?

Running a deadly 5e game evokes the spirit of earlier editions of D&D. Old-school gamers will often rave about the deadly nature of their earliest games. With the following ten tips, we can get a glimpse of the deadly roots of the game.

We might also want to run a deadlier game because of a certain theme, genre or atmosphere we’re trying to evoke. Maybe we’re running a horror, apocalyptic, survival-focused, or slasher-type game. To make the characters feel the danger of these settings, we can crank up the lethality.

Another reason might be because character deaths enable a rotating roster of characters. One PC dies, and the player creates another character. This is a different kind of adventuring party than we’re used to. It might be fun to play through the implications of a larger adventuring guild in which members face a high risk of death, and frequent turnover is expected.

Lastly, (sarcasm incoming) we simply might want some payback as DMs. Player characters have killed so many of our beloved monsters, villains, and NPCs that it’s time we return the favor. (This is bad advice, don’t do it!)

Talk to players before running a deadly D&D game

Running a deadly D&D can be exciting but it can also lead to disaster. If the players don’t know what they’re getting into, and expect their characters to survive most situations, nobody will have a good time in a deadly D&D game. Therefore, talk to players before increasing the deadliness of the game. Explain the reasons for the change, and ask whether they’re interested in exploring a deadly D&D game. Don’t force players to play a style of game they’re not comfortable with.

Variety is the spice of life (and death)

When running a deadly D&D game, we shouldn’t make every single encounter deadly. The monotony will quickly drain any excitement. Instead, vary the difficulty of encounters, but regularly run truly deadly combats. This variety will keep players on their toes, and keep the excitement of a deadly game high.

Also, when you as the DM know that the characters are approaching a deadly situation, tell the players! Telegraph the deadliness of an upcoming fight so that the players and the characters can prepare. We want lethality but we also want hope. Only if the characters have a chance to prepare, will death feel truly meaningful.

Ten ways to create a deadly D&D game

Here are ten ways to increase the deadliness of our D&D game which do not require any rules changes or other homebrew.

1. Increase encounter difficulty

The 5th edition encounter building guidelines won’t create reliably deadly encounters for characters with magic items and synergies. To actually create deadly encounters, we can treat characters as if they were one level higher when we calculate encounter difficulty.

2. Turn the action economy in the monsters favor

In addition to increasing the overall difficulty of an encounter, we can throw more monsters than characters at the party. Action economy is hugely important in D&D. As soon as the enemies of the characters have more actions than the characters, the potential for death will increase dramatically.

3. Run monsters with smart tactics

Particularly for intelligent enemies like humanoids, we can run them effectively by employing smart tactics. Spellcasters use their best spells, thugs team up on isolated characters, and everyone positions smartly. Keith Amman’s blog The Monsters Know What They’re Doing is a great resource for reading up on running smart monsters.

4. Attack unconscious PCs

Having monsters attack a character who is already at 0 HP, will kill quickly because a melee attack against an unconscious character is treated as two failed death saving throws.

As with most deadly situations, this tactic should also be telegraphed to the players with a description like, “This enemy has murder in their eyes as they look to Arthen the unconscious rogue.” This will not only give the players a chance to rush to protect their comrade but also drive up the excitement and drama of the encounter.

5. Play at lower levels

Characters become much more resilient with levels. At levels 1-4 it can be particularly easy to throw the characters in deadly situations. At levels 5, 7, and 10 the characters gain features that let them handle deadly encounters with much more ease and consistency. Therefore, running a game at low levels will automatically increase the deadliness of a campaign.

6. Use deadly monsters

There are some monsters in D&D 5e which have built-in abilities which can quickly kill a character. Shadows, wraiths, and intellect devourers drain Ability scores while mind flayers and shadow dragons can kill by reducing a character to zero hit points. Look for these kinds of abilities in monsters when creating a deadly encounter.

7. Use deadly traps and hazards

Not only monsters can kill. Traps and hazards that drown or crush characters, inflict deadly poisons and diseases, or force increasing levels of exhaustion can kill a whole party without ever having to open the Monster Manual. When crafting these kinds of traps, make sure smart players and characters have a chance to avoid the trap. If it feels like they never had a chance, the characters’ deaths will feel meaningless.

8. Limit access to resurrection spell components

If diamonds are rare in our game world, magic that can resurrect dead characters becomes much more scarce. We can come up with in-game story reasons for the scarcity of these expensive components, such as a curse on the land, a dragon hoarding all the diamonds, or a single, remote source for the needed components such as a master craftsman hidden deep inside the mountains.

9. Gritty Realism optional rules

The Dungeon Master’s Guide provides variant rules for rests which we can use to increase the deadliness of our game. According to the Gritty Realism rules in chapter 9 of the DMG, a short rest takes 8 hours, and a long rest 7 days. With these rules, adventurers won’t be able to recover all of their resources after a few encounters. The loss of spell slots and hit points over time will make encounters harder without having to change anything else.

10. Lingering Injuries table

The Dungeon Master’s Guide also contains a table of lingering injuries for player characters in chapter 9. These are negative consequences which characters attain after they drop to 0 HP, take a critical hit, or fail a death saving throw by 5 or more. The flavor and mechanics of these injuries will make encounters which were only nearly deadly stay meaningful for longer. Injuries that are accrued over time will weaken characters and make them more likely to perish in the future.

Another way to play the game

5th edition is versatile. With the ten ideas above, we can run another version of D&D which focuses on deadliness. It’s one of many ways to play the game. If a deadly game is what we and our players are looking for, we can use these rules and tips to bring true carnage to our table.