Here is an additional subsystem to address some issues with wounds. In particular, the case that wounds may become trivial to heal, which means that PCs can accept wounds more often (and multiple at a time), which means extra healing surges during combat, making the game easier.
Scars
Whenever you suffer a wound, you also get a scar. The scar isn't necessarily externally visible -- it may be internal damage, a wonky knee, or just extra fragility. Scars make it harder to heal wounds:
Improve DC = 20 + 1/2 the wound's level + your number of scars
When you gain a level, you lose a scar. You can't have fewer than 0 scars, and there is no other way to lose a scar than by gaining levels.
...
This means that the dwarf fighter with the ungodly Con and Skill Focus: Endurance can no longer gleefully accept wounds, secure in the knowledge that he only needs to roll like a 5 in order to overcome it. That will work for him the first few times but every wound takes its toll and eventually he will have much more trouble recovering.
I'm not totally sure I like this rule. It seems like it would work -- the lingering effect of scars create a sort of feedback-loop so that the high-Con dwarf reaches "wound equilibrium" with the other party members -- but the additional tracking of scars seems like a bit too much bookkeeping.
I'm considering dropping the Inflict Wound action. The goal is to make wounds uncommon, but meaningful; maybe allowing PCs to always choose a wound (and the DM chooses when monsters take wounds) would model that better. Likewise, the stabilize-upon-dying seems abusable. Every PC would always choose this over rolling their third death save. Maybe wounds should just take globally longer to heal, or inflict worse penalties (like, you become dazed until you can take a short rest, or something).
-- 77IM
Scars
Whenever you suffer a wound, you also get a scar. The scar isn't necessarily externally visible -- it may be internal damage, a wonky knee, or just extra fragility. Scars make it harder to heal wounds:
Improve DC = 20 + 1/2 the wound's level + your number of scars
When you gain a level, you lose a scar. You can't have fewer than 0 scars, and there is no other way to lose a scar than by gaining levels.
...
This means that the dwarf fighter with the ungodly Con and Skill Focus: Endurance can no longer gleefully accept wounds, secure in the knowledge that he only needs to roll like a 5 in order to overcome it. That will work for him the first few times but every wound takes its toll and eventually he will have much more trouble recovering.
I'm not totally sure I like this rule. It seems like it would work -- the lingering effect of scars create a sort of feedback-loop so that the high-Con dwarf reaches "wound equilibrium" with the other party members -- but the additional tracking of scars seems like a bit too much bookkeeping.
I'm considering dropping the Inflict Wound action. The goal is to make wounds uncommon, but meaningful; maybe allowing PCs to always choose a wound (and the DM chooses when monsters take wounds) would model that better. Likewise, the stabilize-upon-dying seems abusable. Every PC would always choose this over rolling their third death save. Maybe wounds should just take globally longer to heal, or inflict worse penalties (like, you become dazed until you can take a short rest, or something).
-- 77IM