Here's what I'm proposing to do for lingering injuries. My Players and I will be discussing it this afternoon when we meet, so things could change a bit before actual implementation.
Lingering Injuries have a chance of occurring when:
1) a critical hit (20 on a d20) is rolled
2) a pc drops to 0 HP
3) a pc fails two death saves before making the 3 required saves to stabilize
When situation 1) occurs, the PC takes an injury that affects him/her for the rest of the combat, and until either a long rest or magical healing occurs, whichever happens first. Roll on the hit location table; this shows where the injury is. The PC must play out the effects of that injury, and the DM may apply disadvantage to rolls that are affected by that injury. Possible effects can include reduced movement, inability to perform a type of action, inability to wield a weapon with the affected limb, or in the case of a head injury, a loss of action for one round. The affected person in this situation is NOT “walking wounded” and can still fight or perform other actions, but may be somewhat penalized.
When situation 2) occurs, the PC takes an injury that is slightly more severe than in 1). Roll on the hit location table; that portion of the body is severely injured. A limb may be broken or a joint badly wrenched. A body hit may inflict some internal injury (see the DMG hit table for effects of broken ribs or internal bleeding). A head wound may cause incapacitation for some period of time. In these cases, the wound can be healed with 3 or more applications of cure wounds spells or potions (in any combination), or bed rest for 3 or more days while attended by a person with the medicine skill. Until one of those occurs, the PC is “walking wounded” and cannot fight or perform strenuous activities without assistance.
When situation 3) occurs, a permanent wound has been inflicted. Roll on the hit location table, and assume that the injury is severe enough that even with magical healing, the effect is permanent. Head wounds mean loss of vision or massive facial scarring, for example. Wounds to a limb mean maiming; either loss of a hand/foot, or severe limp or other effect. Torso wounds mean reduced CON from the effects of a pierced lung, etc… Note that in situation 3) a healing spell or potion can interrupt the need to continue making death saves. This bumps the situation back to a level 2) injury and the healing applied counts towards one of the 3 applications of magical healing. A person in situation 3) is always considered “walking wounded” until all 3 magical healings or 3 days of attended rest have occurred. Permanent wounds can be healed by spells such as Heal or Regenerate.
Hit Location Table:
d20 roll Location
01-02 Left Leg/knee/foot *
03-04 Right Leg/knee/foot *
05 Upper Left Arm
06 Upper Right Arm
07 Lower Left Arm/hand*
08 Lower Right Arm/hand*
09-10 Right Shoulder
11-12 Left Shoulder
13-16 Abdomen/groin *
17-19 Chest
20 Head/neck *
* player’s choice here; or random for monsters - whatever seems to fit the situation.
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