D&D 4E Trauma and damage in 4e

[WhatGravitas]

Tracking each damage over 10? Talk about bookkeeping.

But the general idea isn't that bad, I like cribbing the SAGA condition track for this.

I suggest something similar:
Each character counts:

• The number of critical hits taken
• If he was bloodied at least once
• If he was below 0

For each of the things above, he rolls one save (save as in 1d20: 1-9 = fail, 10-20 = success). For each failure, he gets a trauma level. Also say that the trauma penalty also applies to the number of available healing surges.

Since the healing surges are impacted, the trauma levels get a bit more severe, but the save mechanic makes it a bit less common to get trauma - but since it's level-independent, you don't have to track damage or make a Fortitude attack with it. And rolling a bunch of d20s, counting "one digit" or "two digits" is also fast and easy.

If you want things to be grittier, add an extra save for just being in combat, regardless of crits, being bloodied or other stuff.

Cheers, LT.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

You've got a bit of "double dipping" if you count crits as well as bloodied and zero (as many crits will cause one or the other of these situations)

If your fine with that, cool, but you better keep in mind you'll have two rolls when a crit causes a condition.

Fitz

 

[D.Shaffer]

I'd ask "Why do I want 'Trauma' rules? What is the overall effect I'm trying to achieve" first, before I go making rules for it. The reasons for this, to me, would influence the mechanics. Is it to slow them down? A feel for a grittier game with a higher chance of death? Do you just feel damage is to easy to heal as is?

 

[FourthBear]

I wouldn't put an absolute numerical value on the hit point limit required to make an attack count for a wound. Like the Massive Damage Rules, it will quickly become troublesome as the game reaches higher levels and greater average damage per attack totals. At 10+ level, you're going to having to track almost every hit by every PC, monster, NPC, trap or environmental effect. Unless you're playing a very low-combat, low-damage game, I think this will quickly become onerous.

 

[Nebulous]

You want trauma?

Every Crit does 1 point of CON damage as well.

Any hit that does more than your current CON does one point of CON damage, stacks with crits.

Get to 0 CON, you are dead...

Regain 1 point of CON per week naturally...

Can make it lowest ability score if you don't want players twinking CON...

This might be an easy of way of tracking it. A critical hit drops your CON by 1. Regain 1 point of CON per week / day, whatever. Although damage higher than your CON is way too lethal for D&D.

But tying serious damage to Bloodied and Unconscious status might be the best way, as that sticks with the existing rules. Maybe any time you are Bloodied or Unconscious you lose 1 Con, and gain back only 1 CON per day. Reach "0" and you die, but it doesn't otherwise influence your hit points. This would force players to rest for days between serious battles to recoup this lost CON, even though their hit points are at max.

Thoughts?

 

[LostSoul]

I wouldn't track it during the encounter. I'd save the bookkeeping for later, during the healing/recovery scene.

Anyone who was bloodied or reduced to less than 1 hp during the last encounter has to make a save. Failure means you take an injury.

Injuries do something or other. A penalty. Maybe they lower your max number of healing surges by 1.

Healing injuries takes downtime back in town or the hideout. A divine ritual or long-term care.

 

[mhensley]

Just do away with negative hitpoints altogether and use the Warhammer crits. Whenever someone is reduced to 0 hitpoints, roll on the critical hit table- you may keep on fighting with a flesh wound or you might get "head flies off in a random direction 2d10 feet." Allow the use of an action point to avoid rolling on this table and to just go unconscious.

 

[Nebulous]

Just do away with negative hitpoints altogether and use the Warhammer crits. Whenever someone is reduced to 0 hitpoints, roll on the critical hit table- you may keep on fighting with a flesh wound or you might get "head flies off in a random direction 2d10 feet." Allow the use of an action point to avoid rolling on this table and to just go unconscious.

Indeed, this is a good balance between "miraculous recovery" and "instant death." It also uses Action Points in a method i prefer. But you would have to tweak the rules for acquiring and using AP's. No one would waste it on a move action if you needed it to save your life potentially.

 

[HeinorNY]

I wouldn't track it during the encounter. I'd save the bookkeeping for later, during the healing/recovery scene.

Anyone who was bloodied or reduced to less than 1 hp during the last encounter has to make a save. Failure means you take an injury.

Injuries do something or other. A penalty. Maybe they lower your max number of healing surges by 1.

Healing injuries takes downtime back in town or the hideout. A divine ritual or long-term care.

Hey! That's my idea!

 

[Saishu_Heiki]

Here is the system I am considering:

Trauma System

Sometimes felling the enemy pushes the body beyond its limits This can mean taking wounds that fester, bones setting poorly, or muscles straining under the demand placed on them. These pains do not go away easily, but a veteran knows he has to continue the good fight. There will be time to tend to these wounds later.

Long term wounds that a PC takes are represented by Trauma Points. These represent the pains that come with adventuring. A Trauma Point can be a sprained ankle, a broken bone that did not set right, a mild concussion, or any number of other ills that are part of life under the sword.

Every time a PC takes a critical hit, takes damage equal to or exceeding his Bloodied value, or gains a death counter, he receives a Trauma Point. Any attack can only give one Trauma Point (i.e. a critical hit that also does Bloodied damage is one Trauma Point, not two)

A Trauma Point lowers the number of Healing Surges per day of that PC by one. This remains in effect until the trauma is healed.

Trauma Points are healed at the rate of one per week of bedrest, twice that under skilled care. Certain healing rituals can also remove Trauma Points.