Springheel
First Post
My main problem with HP is their "100% fine until you're dead" function. I have no problem with thinking of HP as stamina and minor scrapes, but there is, in the RAW, no real way to simulate a character who is suffering from actual wounds (other than the Lingering Injury option, which I find a bit too disfiguring for my taste).
This system is meant to rectify that, while at the same time not adding any significant new book-keeping. I'll admit that I haven't tested this in play yet, so if you see anything that is likely to be troublesome, don't hesitate to let me know.
This system has two parts, (which could theoretically could be used independently) Healing, and Wound Levels.
Healing
These rules change natural healing into a slower and more consistent process. Players no longer “choose” to heal themselves during rests. If they rest, they automatically get healing benefits.
After a short rest, injured characters heal 1hp/level + Con bonus. If another character spends 1 use of a healing kit (to bandage wounds, etc), this healing doubles to 2hp/level + Con bonus. (ex. A 3rd level Ranger with a 13 Con, who would have an average HP total of 25, would heal 4 HP during a short rest, or 7 HP if someone uses a healing kit on them.)
A character can get this healing benefit from two short rests at most before a long rest is required.
After a successful long rest, a character heals ½ their max HP. (Our 3rd level Ranger would heal 12 HP) If a long rest is interrupted, an injured character still heals according to the short rest rules above, as long as they got at least an hour of rest.
As a result, a character reduced to near 0 HP can't get back to full HP naturally without at least one long rest and several short ones. For me this feels about right—it’s a bit grittier than the RAW, but characters can continue the adventure if they’re careful. There’s less overall book-keeping too, since players don’t have to keep track of HD, and there are no decisions about how many HD to spend to bog things down.
Wound Levels
Wound Levels work in a very similar way to Exhaustion Levels. When a player is first dropped to 0 HP, and each time they fail a Death Save after that, (or any other time a DM thinks it appropriate), they gain a Wound Level. This represents some kind of significant injury, like an arrow through your arm, getting your foot burned by lava, or a club cracking your skull. The DM can tailor the description of the wound to match the narrative; the effects are generic for easier book-keeping. Multiple Wound Levels can be gained from a single injury, or from multiple injuries over time.
Wound Level Effects
1 Disadvantage on physical ability checks
2 Speed halved
3 Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws
4 Hit point maximum halved
5 Speed reduced to 0
6 Death
The effects of Wound Levels stack, just like Exhaustion Levels. (The effects do not stack with Exhaustion Levels effects, however. A character with 2 Wound Levels and 2 Exhaustion Levels has their speed halved, not quartered.)
The effects of Wound Levels stay until the Wound Levels are removed; it is entirely possible for a character to have full HP but multiple Wound Levels.
There are only two ways to remove Wound Levels: long rests and magical healing.
Long rests: At the end of a long rest, a character with Wound Levels removes 1 Wound Level, in addition to the regular HP gained from a long rest. (This is still a "heroic" rate of healing, but feels about right for the pacing I want in my game.)
Optional Rule: If a character proficient in Medicine spends 2 hours ministering to the wounded character during the long rest, that character can make a Medicine check. On a successful check, the wounded character removes an extra Wound Level when the rest is complete (I like to make Medicine more useful as a proficiency, but if you want slower healing, it doesn't change much to leave this out).
Magical Healing: While minor healing is fine for scrapes and bruises, healing Wound Levels takes more significant magic. A normal Cure Wounds spell is not strong enough by itself; it must be cast using a 2nd level spell slot in order to remove 1 Wound Level. For every 2 levels above that, another Wound Level is removed. Casting a Cure Wounds using a 9th level slot would remove 4 Wound Levels from a character.
Potions or other magical healing effects remove Wound Levels based on the number of Hit Dice they have the potential to heal. For every 2d8 (or its equivalent) an effect can heal, 1 Wound Level is removed. Note that this is completely independent of what the player actually rolls on the dice. For example, the Prayer of Healing spell heals 2d8 + your spell modifier. Using that spell will remove 1 Wound Level from a character, regardless of whether the player rolls a 16 or a 2 for the total HP healed, and regardless of how high their spell modifier is.
For effects with no dice involved, like the Paladin's Lay on Hands ability, it requires 16 HP of healing to remove 1 Wound Level.
Temporary HP do not have any affect on Wound Levels.
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These rules create a new condition in between "perfectly fine" and "dead", without really adding any new book-keeping. Players now keep track of Wound Levels instead of Hit Dice.
Theoretically, you could use Wound Levels even with regular healing from the RAW. Falling below 0 HP is now more serious because it has lasting consequences. You can't just gain a HP and be fully functional again, which makes magical healing more valuable. Players can still recover without it, but it will cost them some time.
Hope this is useful to someone!
This system is meant to rectify that, while at the same time not adding any significant new book-keeping. I'll admit that I haven't tested this in play yet, so if you see anything that is likely to be troublesome, don't hesitate to let me know.
This system has two parts, (which could theoretically could be used independently) Healing, and Wound Levels.
Healing
These rules change natural healing into a slower and more consistent process. Players no longer “choose” to heal themselves during rests. If they rest, they automatically get healing benefits.
After a short rest, injured characters heal 1hp/level + Con bonus. If another character spends 1 use of a healing kit (to bandage wounds, etc), this healing doubles to 2hp/level + Con bonus. (ex. A 3rd level Ranger with a 13 Con, who would have an average HP total of 25, would heal 4 HP during a short rest, or 7 HP if someone uses a healing kit on them.)
A character can get this healing benefit from two short rests at most before a long rest is required.
After a successful long rest, a character heals ½ their max HP. (Our 3rd level Ranger would heal 12 HP) If a long rest is interrupted, an injured character still heals according to the short rest rules above, as long as they got at least an hour of rest.
As a result, a character reduced to near 0 HP can't get back to full HP naturally without at least one long rest and several short ones. For me this feels about right—it’s a bit grittier than the RAW, but characters can continue the adventure if they’re careful. There’s less overall book-keeping too, since players don’t have to keep track of HD, and there are no decisions about how many HD to spend to bog things down.
Wound Levels
Wound Levels work in a very similar way to Exhaustion Levels. When a player is first dropped to 0 HP, and each time they fail a Death Save after that, (or any other time a DM thinks it appropriate), they gain a Wound Level. This represents some kind of significant injury, like an arrow through your arm, getting your foot burned by lava, or a club cracking your skull. The DM can tailor the description of the wound to match the narrative; the effects are generic for easier book-keeping. Multiple Wound Levels can be gained from a single injury, or from multiple injuries over time.
Wound Level Effects
1 Disadvantage on physical ability checks
2 Speed halved
3 Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws
4 Hit point maximum halved
5 Speed reduced to 0
6 Death
The effects of Wound Levels stack, just like Exhaustion Levels. (The effects do not stack with Exhaustion Levels effects, however. A character with 2 Wound Levels and 2 Exhaustion Levels has their speed halved, not quartered.)
The effects of Wound Levels stay until the Wound Levels are removed; it is entirely possible for a character to have full HP but multiple Wound Levels.
There are only two ways to remove Wound Levels: long rests and magical healing.
Long rests: At the end of a long rest, a character with Wound Levels removes 1 Wound Level, in addition to the regular HP gained from a long rest. (This is still a "heroic" rate of healing, but feels about right for the pacing I want in my game.)
Optional Rule: If a character proficient in Medicine spends 2 hours ministering to the wounded character during the long rest, that character can make a Medicine check. On a successful check, the wounded character removes an extra Wound Level when the rest is complete (I like to make Medicine more useful as a proficiency, but if you want slower healing, it doesn't change much to leave this out).
Magical Healing: While minor healing is fine for scrapes and bruises, healing Wound Levels takes more significant magic. A normal Cure Wounds spell is not strong enough by itself; it must be cast using a 2nd level spell slot in order to remove 1 Wound Level. For every 2 levels above that, another Wound Level is removed. Casting a Cure Wounds using a 9th level slot would remove 4 Wound Levels from a character.
Potions or other magical healing effects remove Wound Levels based on the number of Hit Dice they have the potential to heal. For every 2d8 (or its equivalent) an effect can heal, 1 Wound Level is removed. Note that this is completely independent of what the player actually rolls on the dice. For example, the Prayer of Healing spell heals 2d8 + your spell modifier. Using that spell will remove 1 Wound Level from a character, regardless of whether the player rolls a 16 or a 2 for the total HP healed, and regardless of how high their spell modifier is.
For effects with no dice involved, like the Paladin's Lay on Hands ability, it requires 16 HP of healing to remove 1 Wound Level.
Temporary HP do not have any affect on Wound Levels.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These rules create a new condition in between "perfectly fine" and "dead", without really adding any new book-keeping. Players now keep track of Wound Levels instead of Hit Dice.
Theoretically, you could use Wound Levels even with regular healing from the RAW. Falling below 0 HP is now more serious because it has lasting consequences. You can't just gain a HP and be fully functional again, which makes magical healing more valuable. Players can still recover without it, but it will cost them some time.
Hope this is useful to someone!
