Adding attrition with "Bloodied"

[Sunseeker]

If we have more 4th edition amounts of hit points, attrition mechanics, I think, make a lot of sense.

In my last 4e game, it literally took the difference of letting my enemies hit my party 1 point harder each hit (1d8+5 as opposed to 1d8+4) to swing my game from easy-going to downright brutal. I agree that the baseline damage coming out of 4e mobs is pitiful, as is their ability to hit the party.

I didn't need to break their backs and then kick them in a rear for a week with a complex wounds system, I just needed to hit them harder and more often.

A big problem with wound-systems is that they're not balanced on a per-character-class basis. They're a fixed percentile or number, which much like taxes, puts a burden on those who spend a lot(people who take damage often) and those who have little HP to spend.

 

[Connorsrpg]

See, I prefer a more 'death Spiral' approach like Saga's condition track or Savage Worlds' Wounds penalties.

Mind you, the Condition Track operated separately from current hps. It was for those big hits. I am also for having easy ways to remove the penalties, but I do like having penalties in the game.

I am not keen on the initial OP, as it is another reason for this theoretical '5-minute day' (which we have never had a problem with, but obviously it exists).

 

[KarinsDad]

Sure. It suits a simulationist game. I'm not sure it suits D&D, or that realism is an important factor in a game designed to be fun. But it'll appeal to some and not to others. I'm in the latter category, but I know folks in the former.

I've found death spiral arguments to typically be over-exaggerated, at least in the penalty rules that I've used in the past.

I've used (depending on campaign) one of these two house rules for decades playing 2E and 3E:

-1 for all D20 rolls at 50% hit points (-2 at zero or below for PCs that can be conscious while negative)

and

-1 at 33% hit points, -2 at 67% hit points (-3 at zero or below)

My experience is that these create concern by players ("oh no, my PC is hurt") more than they actually cause PCs to spiral to their doom. It's more of a feel thing and one that generates better roleplaying during combat.

Granted, I've never played a system where getting hit once is -1, getting hit twice is -2, etc., a true spiral down.

But, penalties for being wounded barely modify the odds of the game at all, especially if you apply the same penalties to the NPCs.

 

[Ichneumon]

My own attrition-style module would be like this: A PC who takes more than half their maximum hit point total's damage from a single attack becomes wounded. A wounded PC has their maximum hit points reduced slightly - say, by 3hp - and takes a penalty to skill checks in an attribute of the DM's choosing (any except Con). The wounded condition persists until healed, or until the PC makes a successful Constitution check after a night's rest. A PC can only be wounded once.

This makes the PC more vulnerable, but still viable in combat. The skill penalty allows for a flavourful description as to just where the PC was injured. A less mechanical alternative would be to have a blow of that magnitude inflict a scar, which becomes permanent if not healed before the PC's next rest. This could be pure fluff, or might result in a +2 bonus to Charisma checks in specific situations (e.g., trying to impress the barbarian chief).