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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jeff Carlsen" data-source="post: 5828857" data-attributes="member: 61749">Finding the right balance between simplicity, believability, and fun in a damage system is a challenge. I want injury to mean something, but avoiding the death spiral is important to others. So, without further blathering, here is my initial proposal:Hit Points: Hit points represent a combination of physical damage and your ability to mitigate damage through skill and fortitude. At first level, you start with a number of hit points equal to your constitution score plus the full hit die* of your class. At each subsequent level you gain additional hit points according to your class. Damage: Damage that you take reduces your current hit points. If you drop below your constitution score in current hit points, you are wounded and dying. Immediately make a DC 15 constitution save or fall unconscious. Wounded: A wounded character has taken a serious wound. When wounded, you take a -2 penalty to all attacks, saves, and checks. You also don't heal as quickly and magical spells do their minimum possible healing to a wounded character. The wounded condition lasts until your current hit points are once again equal to or greater than your constitution score. Dying: A dying character is in critical condition. Every hour, you must make a DC 15 constitution save. The penalty for being wounded applies to this roll. Failure causes you to lose an additional hit point. Success means you stabilize and stop taking damage from your wounds. Someone with the heal skill can attempt an aid another action on this check. Some spells can stabilize a dying character as well. Death: If your hit points drop to zero, you die. Natural healing: After a full night's sleep, you recover a number of hit points equal to your level. A full day's bed rest doubles the number of hit points recovered that day. A wounded character only recovers a single hit point per day. Once your hit points equal or exceed your constitution score, you heal normally. *How hit points per level are determined is beyond the scope of this proposal. I'm using third edition as the bases purely for illustrative purposes. Features of this proposal<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hit points are all still hit points, but those below your constitution score represent more serious damage, while hit points above it are more nebulous. Even so, every attack that hits still hits.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Negative hit points are gone, replaced with additional hit points equal to your constitution score. Same math, easier to work with.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It's possible to be dying and remain conscious.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Wounds mean something. There is a point between fully able and dead.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You won't bleed out in combat because dying rolls are handled each hour instead of each round. But, because a wounded character takes so long to heal and magic is so ineffective against them, letting them drop below their constitution in inadvisable.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Stabilizing without help is challenging, but you'll almost always have help as long as someone around you has the heal skill.</li> </ul>Of course, this is just the first draft. I'm more than to open to advice.</blockquote>

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