(Ideally this would go in one of the more mechanics-related forums, but it isn't directly related to D&D.)
Pillars of Eternity is a new computer RPG from Obsidian. It's in the style of the old Infinity Engine games (Baldur's Gate, etc.) It has an interesting health mechanic, one which I don't think I've seen in any other RPG.
PoE has 2-resources: Health and Endurance, somewhat like Wounds/Vitality systems. Endurance is your traditional HP system. You start at full, take damage, get healed, etc. When you reach 0 Endurance, you are knocked unconscious. At the end of every fight, after the equivalent of a 5-min rest, your Endurance restores to full.
Health is a significantly larger pool, about 4-5 times the size of Endurance. When you take damage, you lose that much in both Endurance and Health. The difference is that Health cannot be healed by magic, and does not heal up after the fight. When you reach 0 health you die. After a full night's rest, your Health is restored.
It's an interesting mechanic because it sort of puts Health on par with daily mechanics like spell slots. You can engage in several fights, but each fight slowly drains your Health. A healer cannot keep someone up indefinitely long. It's easier to knock someone out without accidentally killing them in combat.
The mechanic is also extremely easy on bookkeeping. It's pretty much the same subtraction from both pools. So you don't have to figure out different damage ranges for each pool.
I thought it's a pretty good mechanic that would actually fit D&D very well, as well as smooth out some of the rough spots with clerics and healing spells.
Pillars of Eternity is a new computer RPG from Obsidian. It's in the style of the old Infinity Engine games (Baldur's Gate, etc.) It has an interesting health mechanic, one which I don't think I've seen in any other RPG.
PoE has 2-resources: Health and Endurance, somewhat like Wounds/Vitality systems. Endurance is your traditional HP system. You start at full, take damage, get healed, etc. When you reach 0 Endurance, you are knocked unconscious. At the end of every fight, after the equivalent of a 5-min rest, your Endurance restores to full.
Health is a significantly larger pool, about 4-5 times the size of Endurance. When you take damage, you lose that much in both Endurance and Health. The difference is that Health cannot be healed by magic, and does not heal up after the fight. When you reach 0 health you die. After a full night's rest, your Health is restored.
It's an interesting mechanic because it sort of puts Health on par with daily mechanics like spell slots. You can engage in several fights, but each fight slowly drains your Health. A healer cannot keep someone up indefinitely long. It's easier to knock someone out without accidentally killing them in combat.
The mechanic is also extremely easy on bookkeeping. It's pretty much the same subtraction from both pools. So you don't have to figure out different damage ranges for each pool.
I thought it's a pretty good mechanic that would actually fit D&D very well, as well as smooth out some of the rough spots with clerics and healing spells.
