Hit Points, Healing, "Realism" and the Missing Piece of the Puzzle

[Herremann the Wise]

Hello Everyone,

There seems to have been a degree of consternation amongst posters as to how the new rules for "bloodied", healing, "healing surges" and so on should be interpreted (based upon other hp/healing threads). I'm most probably not as "up" on 4th edition rules as some but perhaps the following idea might be the piece of the puzzle that people are looking for.

There has always been the line drawn in the hit point sand with PCs being fully operational on one side and pretty much incapacitated on the other. The "bloodied" condition (while being a pain for the DM to track) certainly seems to be adding a new dimension to the entire hp mechanic. However, people still seem to be concerned about PCs being "near death" one day, and at full health the next. What if the interpretation is shifted so that you're not really injured (just a few cuts and bruises, a smashed nose perhaps: ie bloodied) until you hit 0 or less? Hit 0 or less though and you're "injured". This is where the nasty stuff can happen.

For example, you could have a table that you roll on (based on a Fort save and damage type or some such) where you can go from unconscious to hamstrung to appendage hacked/bitten off to decapitation. It is in an injured state where the "Magical Healing" of the cleric should come to the fore. Surges are fine when you're up but when you're seriously injured, boy can that cleric and his faith in his deity do some wonders to broken bones etc.

I think there would be some interesting ramifications of such a system. Players won't be quite as willing to have their PCs get into the negatives (but won't be overly gunshy either). Roleplaying-wise, "injuries" can hopefully add to the experience rather than detract.

I suppose there are many pros and cons to such an idea but heh, I thought I'd throw it out there and see what people thought. Could this be the "missing piece of the puzzle" that links the rest of the mechanics together in terms of the concerns many have expressed on other hp threads?

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[VannATLC]

Unless they flavour the Warlord with actual magical healing, this concept will require a cleric in the party, which is one of the things 4th was trying to escape.

 

[cdrcjsn]

Not to mention that looking up tables was one of the things that they specifically wanted to get rid of in this edition.

 

[sinecure]

Vann got it right. The new game is free of such consequences as injury, death, or recovery.

 

[Demigonis]

Vann got it right. The new game is free of such consequences as injury, death, or recovery.

Erm, it's not free of death.

 

[glass]

Unless they flavour the Warlord with actual magical healing, this concept will require a cleric in the party, which is one of the things 4th was trying to escape.

Unless the warlord is going to have resurrection, breaking characters' arms will require a cleric in the party exactly as much as killing them.


glass.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Rather than tying it to 0hp, if I were going to introduce an Injury mechanic, I'd tie it to a massive damage threshold.

Not a fixed threshold like in 3E, but a scaling threshold - maybe tying it to your healing surge (quarter hit points), your bloodied amount (half hit points), your Con score, or your Fort Defense. In any case, a number that's already on your sheet.

If you take more than X damage from a single attack, there's an attack roll made against your Fort Defense (maybe with a bonus of +1 per 10 hit points dealt, or something), and if it hits, you're Injured.

-Hyp.

 

[VannATLC]

Raise Dead has been earmarked, from what I understand, as an 'everyman's ritual'

 

[small pumpkin man]

I was thinking of using something like this although I'd be more likely to base recovery off of the heal skill or possibly rituals instead of clerics/divine casters, since I actually really like the idea of Divine healing being actual faith and belief as opposed to just "bone healing magic".

However, I'll likely just start core rules, and only suggest it when/if someone complains. I don't really like adding houserules unless they fix a problem multiple people in the group have.

And yeah, I believe Raise dead is a Ritual in 4e.

 

[DreamChaser]

Rather than tying it to 0hp, if I were going to introduce an Injury mechanic, I'd tie it to a massive damage threshold.

-Hyp.

One of the zombies dies instantly if it takes a certain amount of damage (I believe its blooded amount) from a single hit.

I suppose if a single strike dealt damage to a character equal to their bloodied amount they would gain an injury of some kind...I don't know if this number would come up much, though.

DC

ps don't get me wrong. I'm firmly in the camp that believes that not only are HP fine as they are, but that, with 4e, D&D has finally matched the system to the concept so that you don't have "stamina" and "luck" recoving slowly over 4-10 days unless a cleric gets involved.