Low Magic Setting Health Rules

[Dei]

In a recent discussion I took part in regarding a low magic setting where the PCs were (of their own volition) playing solely combat based classes the topic came up of healing. Normally a party without magical healing is going to be spending days on end shacked up somewhere recovering from even a minor skirmish and this, obviously is not a desirable outcome for DM or players. To the end of giving a low magic party the ability to power through things in the same way that high magic parties do I concocted the following system:

A character's health is divided between "health" and "Vigor". Health is based purely on con bonus and goes up by 1 + con bonus per level (negative con bonuses reduce vigor). On top of these they have "battle vigor" which is the hitpoints they earn from their class hit-dice, like hitpoints, they always go up by a minimum of 1 per level even with extremely low con scores.

I.e. A 3rd level fighter with a +3 con bonus would have 12 hitpoints and 17 vigor (assuming average rolls). Meanwhile a 3rd level rogue with a +1 con bonus would have 6 hitpoints and 11 vigor (assuming average rolls). A wizard with a -2 con bonus will still have 3 hitpoints and 3 vigor.

When damage is delt vigor is removed first and hitpoints are only affected once all Vigor points are gone. Vigor recovers much, much faster than hitpoints, at a rate of level+con modifier/hour while hitpoints recover at the normal speed per day.

This means that a warrior party does not need to constantly be resting up for days on end in a setting where magical healing is hard to come by and can power through small encounters with much the same sort of drain in terms of recovery times that a high magic party would need.

I was wondering if any of you had ever played with something similar or had some comments or ideas regarding this system. I'm quite curious as to wether or not you think it would work as I quite enjoy low magic games and am thinking of incorporating it. Anyway, I yield to the floor, your opinions please.

 

[igavskoga]

Iron Heroes uses something similar called the Reserve Pool which works rather well, I believe it first appeared as a variant rule in Unearthed Arcana.

Also, this reads very similar to the Wound/Vitality system from d20 Star Wars.

As a side note, I ran a low magic campaign about 2 years ago that went from 1-9/10 (slowed XP advancement so it took them a little while) with a very similar party makeup without either of these mechanics, it just meant that they had to approach combat differently. I also tweaked the heal skill a tad and allowed them to come across the occassional small cache of CLW potions. It worked fine. That being said, I plan on using Reserve Pool next time around, slightly tweaked, and I imagine that'll work quite well.

EDIT: In regards to the CLW potions, they can be magical, alchemical, or herbal - that's all flavor, and could give some usage out of seldom used crafting skills.

 

[Drawmack]

I have played in two low magic games and both had very simple methods of dealing with the resting up thing that worked very well.

Method 1
Use the heal skill instead of cure potions.

1 - 5 ranks + successful heal check + 24 hours rest = CMW
6 - 10 ranks + successful heal check + 24 hours rest = CLW
11 - 15 ranks + successful heal check + 24 hours rest = CMW
16 - 20 ranks + successful heal check + 24 hours rest = CSW
20+ ranks + successful check + 24 hours of rest = HEAL
The rational is that someone taking ranks in heal is studying to be a doctor and therefor can perform feats of healing which seem magical to the untrained individual.
​

Method 2
All attacks taking less then (21 - level)% hp were considered sub-dual.

YMMV

 

[Dei]

I have played in two low magic games and both had very simple methods of dealing with the resting up thing that worked very well.

Method 1
Use the heal skill instead of cure potions.

1 - 5 ranks + successful heal check + 24 hours rest = CMW
6 - 10 ranks + successful heal check + 24 hours rest = CLW
11 - 15 ranks + successful heal check + 24 hours rest = CMW
16 - 20 ranks + successful heal check + 24 hours rest = CSW
20+ ranks + successful check + 24 hours of rest = HEAL
The rational is that someone taking ranks in heal is studying to be a doctor and therefor can perform feats of healing which seem magical to the untrained individual.
​

Method 2
All attacks taking less then (21 - level)% hp were considered sub-dual.

YMMV

Interesting options but the whole point of this system is to avoid the need for 24 hours of rest in order for meaningful natural healing to occur. The second one similarly is a little complex to constantly be working out and also, from how I read it, as levels rise it increases the ratio of lethal to subdual damage done rather than decreasing it as my system does. It stands to reason that a high level fighter is going to be taking less lethal damage than a low level one.

I would definately think about incorporating a revamped heal skill into the game to allow for an increased rate of Health regeneration though, thanks for the idea.

 

[Pbartender]

I was wondering if any of you had ever played with something similar or had some comments or ideas regarding this system. I'm quite curious as to wether or not you think it would work as I quite enjoy low magic games and am thinking of incorporating it. Anyway, I yield to the floor, your opinions please.

IH's reserve points work really well, and are an easy addition to any other D20 game that uses hit points.

You should also check the rules in Skull & Bones.

In a nutshell, damage is dealt to hit points as normal. Hit points recover by the minute, instead of by days or by hours. When hit points run out, you start taking Con damage. Each character has a random number of "lives" (only the DM knows exactly how many), which are used to miraculously avoid imminent death. There are also rules for aquiring "afflictions"... debilitating wounds such as permanent scars (some of which actually grant a bonus instead of a penalty), or losing an eye, an hand or a leg.