Pathfinder 1E Disabled, Unconscious and Dying (in Pathfinder)

[Nifft]

This is pretty interesting. It makes the negative hit point buffer more relevant at higher levels.

It's worked pretty well in practice up through level 16.

However, the only think keeping Disabled relevant is my game's Fate Point system (which works similarly to how a SW Saga Force Point can save your butt). If you extend Disabled, you'll want to look closely at expected damage output at each level. Basically, I didn't expect my PCs to spend much time Disabled, so what happens when they get thwacked while Disabled wasn't a big concern -- they can always spend another Fate Point to mitigate any degree of thwacking, and their one Strenuous action better be to get healing, or they're done anyway.

That's been my experience. Hope it's helpful.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Roman]

It's worked pretty well in practice up through level 16.

However, the only think keeping Disabled relevant is my game's Fate Point system (which works similarly to how a SW Saga Force Point can save your butt). If you extend Disabled, you'll want to look closely at expected damage output at each level. Basically, I didn't expect my PCs to spend much time Disabled, so what happens when they get thwacked while Disabled wasn't a big concern -- they can always spend another Fate Point to mitigate any degree of thwacking, and their one Strenuous action better be to get healing, or they're done anyway.

That's been my experience. Hope it's helpful.

Your mechanic for making the disabled condition relevant is interesting.

To go a bit off topic, I have allowed the use of luck points in the past (when I used the standard -10 dying rule) to avoid death, which required the expenditure of 4 luck points and gave the character a 'permanent' specific wound (e.g. leg crushed, arm cut off) instead of death. The 'permanent' is in inverted commas, since the wound would not go away on its own, but was still rectifiable (e.g. through regeneration).

 

[Nifft]

To go a bit off topic, I have allowed the use of luck points in the past (when I used the standard -10 dying rule) to avoid death, which required the expenditure of 4 luck points and gave the character a 'permanent' specific wound (e.g. leg crushed, arm cut off) instead of death. The 'permanent' is in inverted commas, since the wound would not go away on its own, but was still rectifiable (e.g. through regeneration).

How do "luck points" work? Are they those things from Complete Scoundrel? (I suspect not, since most PCs wouldn't have even 4/day of those.)

Wounds are cool.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Roman]

How do "luck points" work? Are they those things from Complete Scoundrel? (I suspect not, since most PCs wouldn't have even 4/day of those.)

I use my own luck point system that takes ideas from other action point systems as well as incorporating some of my own additions. I suppose the term 'luck' can cause some confusion with the Complete Scoundrel system - I might have named it differently had Complete Scoundrel already been out at the time I was initially implementing it.

Every character rolls a 7th 'ability score' called 'Luck' or 'Favor'. Should a character die and be raised/resurrected/... the Favor score decreases by 1 point permanently (this replaces level loss) if raised by the deity the character worships as a patron or 2 points if raised by a deity who is not the character's patron. A character gains a number of luck points equal to Level + Favor bonus. So a 3rd level character with a favor of 15 has 3+2=5 luck points. The number of luck points refreshes with every level gained and any unspent luck points are lost.

Luck points can be used to improve any d20 rolls.

If a character decides to spend a luck point before the roll is made, the bonus provided is +1d8 (+Favor Bonus).
If a character decides to spend a luck point after the roll is made but before the outcome is known, the bonus provided is +1d6 (+Favor Bonus).
If a character decides to spend a luck point after the roll is made and after the outcome is known, the bonus provided is +1d4 (+Favor Bonus).

Multiple luck points can be spent per roll should the character so desire.

Using luck points, however, can be hazardous. As long as characters spend fewer luck points per level than their Favor bonus, they are fine. Should they spend more luck points than their favor bonus over the course of a level, however, each excess luck point spent grants me a Plot Point for the character in question. I then use these plot points to bring about unlikely yet interesting and unpleasant circumstances for the given character. It's all in good fun!

Heh, sorry for straying so far off topic.

Wounds are cool.