D&D 5E Bloodied and Reduced Defenses

[Xeviat]

How would you as a player change your behavior if the following rule was implemented in your games? (Please don't leave unconstructive comments like "I'd leave")

Bloodied: When a creature is at or below half their max HP, they are bloodied. While bloodied, targets take a -2 penalty on saving throws and AC.

The intent of the rule is to encourage players to hold back their big abilities for later in an encounter, when targets become more vulnerable. It's also intended for healers to keep people up more rather than waiting for companions to hit 0 before healing them up.

Just a thought. I'm not too set on doing this, I am just curious how it might change behavior.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I always love rules that reflect when you are not at full strength, you are not as effective. My concern would be the -2 penalty is a bit much, but I can understand the thought that -1 is so little it is not an incentive to change behavior.

I would also like to see something that scales with level, but gets lower as you get more powerful. For example, having a blooded threshold equal to half hp or CON + level, whichever is lower. It might not be needed, but for a high-CON character, you might have 100 hp as a 8th level Fighter, which could be the difference between being blooded at 50 (half) or 28 (CON + level). As a player, I wouldn't like to think of my character as really hurting until the 28.

And, of course, as long as monsters get it too, how much will it effect things over all?

 

[aco175]

I would try one of these before doing both. The -2 to saves is kind of harsh by itself, and adding a -2 AC is doubly. Does this go both ways where monsters are affected as well? It will make more work on the DM to track both HP and now changing saves and AC part way through the fight.

You could put things on the players and have the PCs get +2 to hit against bloodied enemies. They would also need to track their AC against the DM rolls.

I'm not feeling it. I would like to see something but this does not feel right. Not sure on why your AC changes if you are beat up, but I guess I could come up with slower reacting against attacks or such.

I keep coming back to if this will add fun and not make fights last longer. I'll think on something since we use minis and can easily track this.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

My initial reaction to reading the rule was that I'd find ways to finish fights quicker and use potions and healing before I reached half my Hit points. As a cleric, it'd encourage me to take more healing to keep people above their bloodied threshold, which would take away from other spells I might want to cast, probably.

 

[Garthanos]

When you have built in negatives over all... it helps to have characters with abilities that work sort of the opposite like berserk style characters that themselves are more powerful when they are bloodied or there enemies are. Or races like dragonborn/shifters and the like who get some other ability which triggers at that point. In other words instead of having a rule pull one direction only you have somethings which offset the other direction.

I conceived of giving characters extra abilities they could only do when bloodied or there group had X members bloodied or the like, ie maneuvers of desperation. Interesting wilder things.

 

[Morrus]

I'm not a fan of death spirals. They may be more realistic, but they're definitely less fun.

 

[Garthanos]

I'm not a fan of death spirals. They may be more realistic, but they're definitely less fun.

Nods, I like the paradigm of when the going gets tough so the PCs (and major villains) do not actually have a death spiral ... only "lesser" NPCs

 

[werecorpse]

I’m not sure it would change much. The reason one nova‘s and focus fires is to try and deplete the enemies action economy. If as a player I knew that if I got the enemy below half they would be easier to take out I would want to do this as soon as possible. The only difference might be if I knew someone was going to AoE I might spread try and AoE as well to push more enemies towards bloodied.

if it affected PCs as well it might encourage one to try And get out of combat once bloodied to heal up knowing that the other side will focus fire on you (which they did anyway due to trying to deplete your sides actions)

 

[Garthanos]

The only difference might be if I knew someone was going to AoE I might spread try and AoE as well to push more enemies towards bloodied.

For me improving the value of spreading the pain ... would be an advantage to the breadth of tactics for the game

 

[werecorpse]

the Reason people don’t spread the pain is they want to eliminate the oppositions attack actions. If bloodied = weakened attacks (like 5e swarms for example) and players knew it they might take that path BUT if it’s generally easier to get from 50% to 0 as in the OP s suggestion they will likely take that route