Wounds/Conditions rules
Another variant I've seen is that when you drop to 0 hp or below, you get a wound.
Under my system (still very much a work-in-progress: http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan-creations-house-rules/240891-wound-system.html), wounds are usually voluntary on the part of the player receiving them. This is because suffering a wound is a major story element and I want players to retain control of their PC's personal story. (This idea originally came from the upcoming A Song of Ice and Fire RPG from Green Ronin.)
There's also the question: What is the point of getting a wound? What does it add to the game? To me, it adds a trade-off between short-term and long-term damage. Hit points and status effects (dazed, weakened, slowed, etc.) already do a good job of representing short-term injuries. They might cause you to lose the fight, but they go away after a short rest. A wound really shouldn't affect the current combat (at least, not any more so than hit point damage or regular status effects) but may provide a mechanism for hampering the character for a period of days or weeks. (This idea is from Kieth Baker, who was looking for a reason for the healers of House Jorasco to exist in a world where an extended rest cures all wounds.)
-- 77IM
Under my system (still very much a work-in-progress: http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan-creations-house-rules/240891-wound-system.html), wounds are usually voluntary on the part of the player receiving them. This is because suffering a wound is a major story element and I want players to retain control of their PC's personal story. (This idea originally came from the upcoming A Song of Ice and Fire RPG from Green Ronin.)
There's also the question: What is the point of getting a wound? What does it add to the game? To me, it adds a trade-off between short-term and long-term damage. Hit points and status effects (dazed, weakened, slowed, etc.) already do a good job of representing short-term injuries. They might cause you to lose the fight, but they go away after a short rest. A wound really shouldn't affect the current combat (at least, not any more so than hit point damage or regular status effects) but may provide a mechanism for hampering the character for a period of days or weeks. (This idea is from Kieth Baker, who was looking for a reason for the healers of House Jorasco to exist in a world where an extended rest cures all wounds.)
-- 77IM
