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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pukunui" data-source="post: 6694857" data-attributes="member: 54629">How might one go about doing that, especially in an edition where combat can be quite swingy?I would argue that the opposite is true, at least from the players' perspective. The more PCs that are in the fight, the quicker it will go. The fewer there are, the longer it will take for them to beat the enemy ... unless, of course, the enemy beats them first. But why do you feel that you *have* to have them do that? Why not just accept that having PCs bounce back up quickly is part of the game and roll with it?How is it adding "insult to injury"? It's a system that works well enough in other games, like the aforementioned Dragon Age. It's even one of the suggested options in the DMG for using the lingering injuries mechanic. I think it makes more sense that being "taken out" in physical combat would result in a lingering wound of some kind than some of the other ideas being bandied about in this thread do.Then instead of mucking about with adding negative hit points and the like, why not just make it so healing word can't be used on someone who is dying? You could make it so the target of healing word has to be able to hear you as well as you being able to see them, and if they're dying, then you could say that they're effectively deafened and therefore can't hear you. That way healing word would only work on someone who is "still standing".</blockquote>