Changing how Bloodied works

[T-Bone JiuJitsu]

One thing I always hated with D&D combat is that all characters/monsters are just as effective in combat from full Hp all the way down to 1 Hp.

The Bloodied mechanic from 4E presents an opportunity to experiment with some fixes for this pet peeve of mine.

First Idea:

Bloodied = condition. -1 to all Attack rolls, Damage rolls (minimum 1 dmg on a successful hit), Saves, Skill & Ability checks, and All Defenses.

Dragonborn and Tiefling racial abilities would remain unchanged and offset some of the penalties.

I think that this is a simple enough mechanic. You basically just are -1 to all rolls and defenses. Gives you an incentive to ambush and try to get the opponent bloodied to make them less effective in combat. Also, when Bloodied, give you more incentive to heal back above the Bloodied number.

Also, I see some people complain that combats take a little too long, and can bog down to a battle of attrition. This could speed things up.

Second Idea:

If the above works well, I could take it a step further and implement "Bloodied 2" (for lack of better term at the moment). At 1/4 Hp, this condition works as above Bloodied condition, but at -2 to all rolls and Defenses.

Any thoughts? Too harsh?

 

[scarik]

If people think combats take to long, making PCs weaker at Bloodied certainly won't help.

The easiest way to make fights faster is for Bloodied enemies to hightail it or have a PC or two specced for Intimidate.

Will +10 isn't as fearsome when you Aid Another on a Dragonborn Fey/Starlock with Beguiling Tongue and Skill Focus. ^^