How can I make my game as bloody as Apocalypto?

[Sejs]

Limited armor availability and the vp/wp system could make for a very dangerous and bloody game.

Crits will probably kill you. Low ACs mean hitting is common, and most folks will power attack for a lot.

Presto.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Seems easy enough. Just make really graphic descriptions during combat.

That's all it takes, really. And honestly, if you can't describe current D&D combat enough to make the violence uncomfortable, rules changes will just turn it into a Monty Python & the Holy Grail comedy of blood squirting all over, instead of the effect you're hoping for.

 

[dog45]

I think if you go for a super bloody game, the players will get jaded. "oh look, blood is jutting from where he lost his arm and his eyeball is hanging from a thread. [pause] I go check the door for traps."

Off-scene violence and gore is an effective way to get what you want without burning out the players. Our minds connect events naturally when watching movies or reading comics, and imagining it is more vivid, to me, then having everything spelled out all the time.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think if you go for a super bloody game, the players will get jaded. "oh look, blood is jutting from where he lost his arm and his eyeball is hanging from a thread. [pause] I go check the door for traps."

An excellent point.

 

[frankthedm]

If you drop someone with a melee attack, you must Reflex save = to damage dealt to avoid getting blood splattered on you.

Takes care of those pesky folks with too much invisibility

 

[Crysmalon]

It's all in the description. Just saw Apocalypto last night - I liked it, not as much as some critics, but it was a solid film. Human-sacrificing, pyramid-dwelling king-priests pulling out hearts and lopping heads off seems a good fit for D&D IMHO...

 

[takasi]

In one of my campaigns (Howling Horde/Slaughtergarde) we use the good hits / bad misses from Dragon except you don't need to confirm the crit. We use the mechanics from the article but we use the descriptions from Warhammer's crit chart. This makes the game very bloody.

It also makes the game extremely difficult to play as a front line fighter. That's OK though since I make them roll 3d6 straight down the line so we go through a lot of sessions with low score characters and the players don't mind getting new stats.

 

[Darklone]

Hmm. Ask my players. I play standard D&D with a preference for low levels (PCs < level 12) and many enemies...

I expect my players to say my games are bloodier than Apocalypto.

Give your players the feeling to be one step from doom at least once per week in a big epic battle... that's the trick.

 

[Andre]

How can I make my game as bloody as Apocalypto? Can it be done with D&D or would that be distasteful?

Whether or not it can be done, what would be the benefit?

 

[DMH]

Torn Asunder has rules and descriptions for critical hits. Just add as much blood as you want.