Bloodied

[Sadrik]

What are the rules that we know so far for bloodied and recovery?

Is this right?
When a character goes down below 1/2 their HP they become bloodied.
5 minutes after a battle they get the first 1/2 back- but the bloodied HP are still gone- those need to be healed.
Various abilities and effects can only effect bloodied characters.

Is there anything else or clarities on this that can be added?

Is this rule good, bad or ugly?

 

[Wormwood]

I voted "Good", but not because is 'adds realism'---actually, I'm not convinced that emulating reality is a laudable design goal in and of itself.

The rule is good because it lessens downtime while still allowing for difficult encounters to take their toll.

 

[Lurks-no-More]

It sounds pretty good to me, overall; it's a nice compromise between the "fine until 0 HP" approach that's been traditional in D&D, and the more realistic but usually annoying death spiral system in several other games.

 

[Loincloth of Armour]

5 minutes after a battle they get the first 1/2 back- but the bloodied HP are still gone- those need to be healed.

Can you please link to the reference for this one? I don't remember seeing anything about it.

 

[Sir Brennen]

Various abilities and effects can only effect bloodied characters.

Also some abilities can only be used by a creature when bloodied (and there is some speculation that this will be the new Rage mechanic for the barbarian.)

 

[Jeph]

I don't look at 'bloodied' as an added bit of realism -- instead, it's a midpoint in tough combats that suddenly forces everybody to change strategies and mix things up a bit. That's a Good Thing.

 

[Sadrik]

Can you please link to the reference for this one? I don't remember seeing anything about it.

This was extrapolated from various playtest reports that I have read and designer blogs. The 5 minute time was from the latest one where the poison effect wears off 5 minutes after the battle... It seems 5 minutes was the key time as it is in ToB:Bo9S.

 

[Glyfair]

I voted "Good", but not because is 'adds realism'---actually, I'm not convinced that emulating reality is a laudable design goal in and of itself.

I 100% agree. I think it is good, but a mythical "realism" has little to do with it.

 

[Stalker0]

I also think its good. It mixes things up a bit, but with a single condition instead of several it keeps most of the simplicity intact.

 

[Roman]

The 'bloodied' condition is one element of 4E that I like without any reservations whatsoever - at least as far as I understand it with the current amount of information available. I feel it is truly an excellent addition to the rules. Naturally, I voted for the first option on the poll.