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Wound System - Inspired by Shadowdark
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<blockquote data-quote="JohnSnow" data-source="post: 8961056" data-attributes="member: 32164"><p>Okay, so I've been kicking around the idea of a home-brew wound system that would work for Shadowdark, 5e, or many other editions of D&D.</p><p></p><p>My buddy and I were having a discussion about various mechanics for damage tracking and noted that the nice part about Hit Points is that they're simple, you know where you stand, and they work. The downside is that they feel pretty abstract. So, inspired by that, I have thought up an alternate "Wound system" that can be "bolted on" to a Hit Point system.</p><p></p><p>a.Hit Points work as normal in 5e until you hit zero. If an attack drops you to Zero hit points (or would send you negative), you are now "Wounded." A "wounded" character makes a Constitution Check (DC set by GM based on what's reasonable in your system). If they fail, they are now incapacitated and bleeding out. Standard death save rules now apply. If the character passes, they remain conscious and can continue fighting, but they have NO hit points. A character who is struck by an attack at this point receives another Wound. At this point the character is "Seriously Wounded" and the save is repeated (at a higher DC). If they pass, they get to keep going. My brain says there should be 2 more levels: "Critically Wounded" and "Mortally Wounded." A mortally wounded character is incapacitated, and only has time for last words and tearful goodbyes.</p><p></p><p>This whole system was inspired by too many viewings of Boromir's death scene from The Fellowship of the Ring, which I feel we really ought to be able to emulate.</p><p></p><p>So that's the kernel of my idea. I didn't include any penalties at the different wound levels, because I didn't want a death spiral. The PC can always opt to stay out of the fight, thus avoiding the risk of the escalating DCs. Or they can try to tough it out and make a heroic last stand.</p><p></p><p>My thought was that this could work well with a system where Hit Points are a bit lower, but only represent luck and fatigue and therefore fully recover after each fight. Hit Dice become unnecessary, and how long it takes to recover Wounds would be a table-to-table decision. The idea was that, even if the wounds linger, the refreshed hit points give a character a buffer to a death spiral, and put the decision to continue taking risks into the player's hands.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, that's the idea. I'm floating it on the <em>Shadowdark </em>Discord Houserules Channel, and at least a few people there seem intrigued. What do y'all think?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JohnSnow, post: 8961056, member: 32164"] Okay, so I've been kicking around the idea of a home-brew wound system that would work for Shadowdark, 5e, or many other editions of D&D. My buddy and I were having a discussion about various mechanics for damage tracking and noted that the nice part about Hit Points is that they're simple, you know where you stand, and they work. The downside is that they feel pretty abstract. So, inspired by that, I have thought up an alternate "Wound system" that can be "bolted on" to a Hit Point system. a.Hit Points work as normal in 5e until you hit zero. If an attack drops you to Zero hit points (or would send you negative), you are now "Wounded." A "wounded" character makes a Constitution Check (DC set by GM based on what's reasonable in your system). If they fail, they are now incapacitated and bleeding out. Standard death save rules now apply. If the character passes, they remain conscious and can continue fighting, but they have NO hit points. A character who is struck by an attack at this point receives another Wound. At this point the character is "Seriously Wounded" and the save is repeated (at a higher DC). If they pass, they get to keep going. My brain says there should be 2 more levels: "Critically Wounded" and "Mortally Wounded." A mortally wounded character is incapacitated, and only has time for last words and tearful goodbyes. This whole system was inspired by too many viewings of Boromir's death scene from The Fellowship of the Ring, which I feel we really ought to be able to emulate. So that's the kernel of my idea. I didn't include any penalties at the different wound levels, because I didn't want a death spiral. The PC can always opt to stay out of the fight, thus avoiding the risk of the escalating DCs. Or they can try to tough it out and make a heroic last stand. My thought was that this could work well with a system where Hit Points are a bit lower, but only represent luck and fatigue and therefore fully recover after each fight. Hit Dice become unnecessary, and how long it takes to recover Wounds would be a table-to-table decision. The idea was that, even if the wounds linger, the refreshed hit points give a character a buffer to a death spiral, and put the decision to continue taking risks into the player's hands. Anyway, that's the idea. I'm floating it on the [I]Shadowdark [/I]Discord Houserules Channel, and at least a few people there seem intrigued. What do y'all think? [/QUOTE]
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