RangerWickett
Legend
I've been intrigued by wounds in D&D for a while, and after reading the Rogue Trader Warhammer 40k rulebook, I think I've got a system that could work and be fun. Plus, it lets me scrub out the 'daily resources' part of 4e that I've never been so fond of. Edit: My goal with this house rule is to keep the combat balance the same as in default 4e, but to allow the possibility for rare serious injuries that last long enough to affect the game's story.
Healing Surges and Heroic Surges
First of all, characters don't have a limited number of healing surges per day. Instead they get 2 to 5 per encounter, depending on class and role. I'm not sure what the precise numbers will be yet, but there won't be any bonus surges based on Constitution score. Con already gives you bonus HP, endurance, and Fortitude, so I think I can get away with not tying 'number of surges' to Con.
Once you're out of healing surges, you can go all John McClane in Diehard and take 'heroic surges.' A heroic surge restores hit points just like a healing surge, but it has drawbacks, detailed below.
You no longer die from being reduced to 'negative bloodied.' In fact, you can't die from hit point damage at all.
Wounds
Whenever you take damage that reduces you to 0 hit points or below, roll on the wound table to determine where you get a wound. (Alternately, you and the GM can agree on an appropriate location based on the nature of the attack that dealt the wound.)
You gain the Stage 1 effect of that wound. If you already have a wound in that location (such as if you are injured again while unconscious, or if you get up and get knocked down again), the wound increases by 1 stage. If the attack that causes a wound is a critical hit, increase the wound an additional 1 stage.
Wound stages are like the condition track. Stages 1 to 3 are all minor wounds. They grant a small penalty until you take a long enough rest. Stage 4 is a major wound, like a severed limb or gouged eye that cannot heal with magic. Stage 5 is a mortal wound, which you cannot recover from without ritual magic, though you might last long enough to say a few dying words.
Stage 1 lasts until you take a short rest. Stage 2 lasts until an extended rest. Stage 3 ends when you take an extended rest and succeed an Endurance check or receive a Heal check (DC 20).
Stage 4 requires the Remove Affliction ritual to fix (that ritual can also immediately heal lower stages of wounds). Stage 5 lasts until you receive a Raise Dead ritual, which revives you and reduces the wound to stage 4.
Finally, if you are out of healing surges, you can potentially keep fighting with heroic surges, but you run the risk of turning a normally minor wound into a major or mortal wound. Whenever you gain a wound, you start at Stage (1 + number of heroic surges spent this encounter), and additional wounds increase from there.
If you're already wounded, spending an additional heroic surge won't worsen your wounds, but if you take any additional wound, they are calculated with the new values.
For instance, if you have already used all your healing surges plus 1 heroic surge, and then you are dropped to 0 hit points, you'll gain a Stage 2 wound. If you spend another heroic surge there won't be any drawback unless you fall unconscious again. At that point, you'll either gain a new Stage 3 wound, or aggravate your existing wound to Stage 4.
If you had spent all your healing surges plus 4 heroic surges (a highly unlikely situation), then the first time you're dropped to 0 hit points, you'll die.
Wound Table
Roll d6:
1. Left leg.
2. Right leg.
3. Torso.
4. Left arm.
5. Right arm.
6. Head.
Leg.
Minor - Creature is slowed. If both legs are wounded, the creature is immobilized, though it could perhaps crawl 1 square as a standard action.
Major - Leg or foot is severed or destroyed. Creature is immobilized, or slowed if it has a free hand to brace against something or carry a crutch. Whenever creature takes damage (unless it is braced against something or has a crutch), it falls prone. Major wounds to both legs make the creature permanently prone.
Torso.
Minor - Creature gains vulnerable 5 all, and takes a -2 penalty to saves.
Major - Creature gains vulnerable 10 all,it cannot heal above its bloodied value, and it takes a -5 penalty to saves.
(I decided I didn't want to modify hit points too much. I want minor wounds to take make certain combat options suboptimal, but not make you suck all around.)
Arm.
Minor - Creature takes -2 penalty to attacks made with wounded arm, or using weapons, implements, or other items held in that hand. If the creature tries to move using that arm (such as to climb or swim), it is considered slowed.
Major - Arm or hand is severed or destroyed. Creature cannot use wounded arm.
Head.
Minor - Roll 1d6. 1 - Creature is blinded in left eye. 2 - Creature is blinded in right eye. 3 - Creature is blinded in both eyes. 4 - Creature is deafened in left ear. 5 - Creature is deafened in right ear. 6 - Creature is rendered mute.
Major - As above, plus creature is dazed and takes a -5 penalty to skill checks.
Wounds may incur additional effects, as appropriate. For instance, a creature rendered mute by a serious blow to the head would probably also get a -2 penalty to bite attack rolls.
Special Note - Coup de Grace
A coup de grace is automatically a critical hit, so if it reduces the creature below 0 the attacker can choose to inflict a wound to any two locations it wants, or two wounds to one location.
Optional Rule - Monstrous Critical Wounds
For extra fun, when a PC scores a critical hit on a monster, it gains a Stage 1 wound. The PC can choose to spend an action point. If he does, he instead inflicts a Stage 4 wound.
Note that the effects of severed limbs may be less severe for some creatures, and a few creatures - particularly incorporeal or amorphous beings - may be wholly immune to critical wounds.
Optional Rule - More Common Crits
Potentially, we might make it so that any critical hit that results in a creature being bloodied inflicts a wound, and being reduced to 0 or below produces an additional wound. So Obi-Wan apparently has an at-will that lets him make two attacks, and he used heavy blade opportunity to get two crits on Anakin, the second of which dropped him to 0 after Anakin had already spent 3 heroic surges.
What do you think?
Healing Surges and Heroic Surges
First of all, characters don't have a limited number of healing surges per day. Instead they get 2 to 5 per encounter, depending on class and role. I'm not sure what the precise numbers will be yet, but there won't be any bonus surges based on Constitution score. Con already gives you bonus HP, endurance, and Fortitude, so I think I can get away with not tying 'number of surges' to Con.
Once you're out of healing surges, you can go all John McClane in Diehard and take 'heroic surges.' A heroic surge restores hit points just like a healing surge, but it has drawbacks, detailed below.
You no longer die from being reduced to 'negative bloodied.' In fact, you can't die from hit point damage at all.
Wounds
Whenever you take damage that reduces you to 0 hit points or below, roll on the wound table to determine where you get a wound. (Alternately, you and the GM can agree on an appropriate location based on the nature of the attack that dealt the wound.)
You gain the Stage 1 effect of that wound. If you already have a wound in that location (such as if you are injured again while unconscious, or if you get up and get knocked down again), the wound increases by 1 stage. If the attack that causes a wound is a critical hit, increase the wound an additional 1 stage.
Wound stages are like the condition track. Stages 1 to 3 are all minor wounds. They grant a small penalty until you take a long enough rest. Stage 4 is a major wound, like a severed limb or gouged eye that cannot heal with magic. Stage 5 is a mortal wound, which you cannot recover from without ritual magic, though you might last long enough to say a few dying words.
Stage 1 lasts until you take a short rest. Stage 2 lasts until an extended rest. Stage 3 ends when you take an extended rest and succeed an Endurance check or receive a Heal check (DC 20).
Stage 4 requires the Remove Affliction ritual to fix (that ritual can also immediately heal lower stages of wounds). Stage 5 lasts until you receive a Raise Dead ritual, which revives you and reduces the wound to stage 4.
Finally, if you are out of healing surges, you can potentially keep fighting with heroic surges, but you run the risk of turning a normally minor wound into a major or mortal wound. Whenever you gain a wound, you start at Stage (1 + number of heroic surges spent this encounter), and additional wounds increase from there.
If you're already wounded, spending an additional heroic surge won't worsen your wounds, but if you take any additional wound, they are calculated with the new values.
For instance, if you have already used all your healing surges plus 1 heroic surge, and then you are dropped to 0 hit points, you'll gain a Stage 2 wound. If you spend another heroic surge there won't be any drawback unless you fall unconscious again. At that point, you'll either gain a new Stage 3 wound, or aggravate your existing wound to Stage 4.
If you had spent all your healing surges plus 4 heroic surges (a highly unlikely situation), then the first time you're dropped to 0 hit points, you'll die.
Wound Table
Roll d6:
1. Left leg.
2. Right leg.
3. Torso.
4. Left arm.
5. Right arm.
6. Head.
Leg.
Minor - Creature is slowed. If both legs are wounded, the creature is immobilized, though it could perhaps crawl 1 square as a standard action.
Major - Leg or foot is severed or destroyed. Creature is immobilized, or slowed if it has a free hand to brace against something or carry a crutch. Whenever creature takes damage (unless it is braced against something or has a crutch), it falls prone. Major wounds to both legs make the creature permanently prone.
Torso.
Minor - Creature gains vulnerable 5 all, and takes a -2 penalty to saves.
Major - Creature gains vulnerable 10 all,
(I decided I didn't want to modify hit points too much. I want minor wounds to take make certain combat options suboptimal, but not make you suck all around.)
Arm.
Minor - Creature takes -2 penalty to attacks made with wounded arm, or using weapons, implements, or other items held in that hand. If the creature tries to move using that arm (such as to climb or swim), it is considered slowed.
Major - Arm or hand is severed or destroyed. Creature cannot use wounded arm.
Head.
Minor - Roll 1d6. 1 - Creature is blinded in left eye. 2 - Creature is blinded in right eye. 3 - Creature is blinded in both eyes. 4 - Creature is deafened in left ear. 5 - Creature is deafened in right ear. 6 - Creature is rendered mute.
Major - As above, plus creature is dazed and takes a -5 penalty to skill checks.
Wounds may incur additional effects, as appropriate. For instance, a creature rendered mute by a serious blow to the head would probably also get a -2 penalty to bite attack rolls.
Special Note - Coup de Grace
A coup de grace is automatically a critical hit, so if it reduces the creature below 0 the attacker can choose to inflict a wound to any two locations it wants, or two wounds to one location.
Optional Rule - Monstrous Critical Wounds
For extra fun, when a PC scores a critical hit on a monster, it gains a Stage 1 wound. The PC can choose to spend an action point. If he does, he instead inflicts a Stage 4 wound.
Note that the effects of severed limbs may be less severe for some creatures, and a few creatures - particularly incorporeal or amorphous beings - may be wholly immune to critical wounds.
Optional Rule - More Common Crits
Potentially, we might make it so that any critical hit that results in a creature being bloodied inflicts a wound, and being reduced to 0 or below produces an additional wound. So Obi-Wan apparently has an at-will that lets him make two attacks, and he used heavy blade opportunity to get two crits on Anakin, the second of which dropped him to 0 after Anakin had already spent 3 heroic surges.
What do you think?
Last edited:
