Rettungswürfe

Rettungswürfe, a German term, translates to "saving throws" in English and is a fundamental game mechanic in many tabletop role-playing games, most notably Dungeons & Dragons. The core concept of a Rettungswurf is to determine if a character can resist or mitigate the effects of a harmful spell, trap, poison, or other dangerous event.

When a character encounters a potentially detrimental situation, the Game Master, or Spielleiter, will call for a Rettungswurf. The player then rolls a die, typically a twenty-sided die (w20), and adds any relevant modifiers from their character's statistics. The outcome is then compared to a difficulty class, or Schwierigkeitsgrad, set by the Spielleiter. If the total roll meets or exceeds the Schwierigkeitsgrad, the character succeeds in their Rettungswurf and avoids or lessens the negative consequence.

There are typically different types of Rettungswürfe, each tied to a character's primary abilities, such as Stärke (Strength), Geschicklichkeit (Dexterity), Konstitution (Constitution), Intelligenz (Intelligence), Weisheit (Wisdom), and Charisma. For instance, a Rettungswurf auf Konstitution might be used to resist poison, while a Rettungswurf auf Geschicklichkeit could be used to dodge a falling boulder. Successfully making these rolls is crucial for character survival and for overcoming challenges presented in the game.