D&D 5E Simple Wound Module

[Ashkelon]

Whenever you are critically hit or whenever you take damage that reduces you below 1 HP, you suffer a wound.

You suffer a cumulative -1 penalty to all Constitution rolls and Death rolls for each wound you have.

When you complete a long rest, you heal one wound.

Options (choose as many or as few as you like):

Deadly Wounds - You can only take a number of wounds equal to 3 + your Con modifier. If you have more wounds than that, you die.

Rapid Recovery - HP loss represents mostly non-physical injury. Sure you may receive a minor scrape or bruise here and there, but wounds represent the actual big hits. With a short rest, you recover all of your HP.

Bleeding Out - Each time you fail a Death Roll, you take another wound. Be warned, this can turn bad quick!

Grievous Wounds - Your wound penalty applies to all d20 rolls you make, not just Constitution rolls and Death rolls.

Slow Recovery - When you complete a long rest, make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. On a success, you heal 1 wound. This means a single wound might take days to recover from.

Injuries - When you take a wound, roll a d6 to determine what type of injury you receive. You suffer disadvantage on all rolls determined by your injury roll until the wound is healed.
1. Beaten - Strength
2. Broken - Constitution
3. Crippled - Dexterity
4. Disoriented - Intelligence
5. Dazed - Wisdom
6. Scarred - Charisma

 

[Li Shenron]

I would use the second part of the rule only, i.e. that you get a "wound" when reduced to 0hp or below.

But I'd like to generalize the concept of "wound" into a condition, chosen or rolled from a table, and somewhat appropriate to the nature of the blow which brought you to negative hp.

Some of the existing conditions could be used for this purpose: blinded, deafened, intoxicated, paralyzed, restrained, stunned and unconscious.

I wouldn't want the condition to be permanent, but maybe lasting 1d4 days, unless healed properly.

Then some more custom options added, e.g. your last "injury" option sounds fine.

Other ideas might include:

- cannot take strenuous actions*
- cannot use one arm
- speed cut in half
- need a concentration check each round (for spellcasters)
- disadvantage on Str-/Dex-/Con-based checks
- disadvantage on Int-/Wis-/Cha-based checks
- memory loss*

*DM's discretion

 

[fjw70]

25% of hp would be too frequent for me at lower levels. However I like the idea of wounds.

Maybe get a wound for going below 0 hp, for each failed death save, and maybe every time you get critted. Maybe death occurs when your number of wounds equals half your con score. Not sure, just throwing out some ideas.

 

[Li Shenron]

25% of hp would be too frequent for me at lower levels.

Exactly, but also if it happens on a crit then it will be too frequent.

Furthermore, 25% of hp is a numeric threshold prone to errors, and one more thing to keep track of, while 0hp is super-easy.

 

[Mistwell]

I like the basic concept but some of the options add too much complexity to what is intended as a much more simplistic and fast system.

 

[Ashkelon]

25% of hp would be too frequent for me at lower levels. However I like the idea of wounds.

Maybe get a wound for going below 0 hp, for each failed death save, and maybe every time you get critted. Maybe death occurs when your number of wounds equals half your con score. Not sure, just throwing out some ideas.

Hmm, all good ideas. I like that every time you get hit there is a chane to take a wound, but with how low HP is at low levels, it might be better to use crits instead of 25% of max HP.

I also thought that Death Rolls were Con checks, so I might have wounds affect those as well.

 

[Dausuul]

I like the basic concept but some of the options add too much complexity to what is intended as a much more simplistic and fast system.

Agreed. I'd keep it simple:

• Whenever you go to 0 hit points, your wound penalty increases by 1d4-1.
• Your wound penalty applies to all d20 rolls you make (attacks, checks, saves).
• A long rest, or a casting of lesser restoration, can reduce your wound penalty by 1.
• A casting of heal, mass heal, or greater restoration can erase your wound penalty.

 

[Blackwarder]

I'm using this:Mortal Wounds Table ACKs by Blackwarder, on Flickr

Basically every time you drop to zero and get back up from zero you roll on the table to see in what shape you are, to heal everything that is more than HP you need to cast a spell called restore life and limb, it's basically raise dead that can also heal severe wounds like lost limbs and shattered spines but when you use it you must roll an a table called tampering with mortality: Tampering with Mortality ACKs by Blackwarder, on Flickr

I think that it bring a nice balance to the game, you don't have to track wounds separately and you keep hp abstract but once the telling blow fall you feel it so you don't have the feeling of characters falling below zero and up again in one fight again and again.

Warder