D&D 5E Wounds - when would you give them?

[jgsugden]

Per the PHB, etc...; HPs represent the toughness of a PC. They do not really represent wounds as we think about them (broken bones, lost eyes, etc...). When a PC loses HPs, the PC's toughness is being taxed, and they might be getting nicked up a bit - but they are not really suffering a lingering wound such as a sprain, break, etc...

Yes - I do know that there are spells that call a loss or gain of HPs wounds - the terminology is fuzzy - I'm focused on wounds as limiting mechanics reflecting injury. In that perspective, and per what the books say - HP reflect toughness, and there are no wounds.

Incorporating a wound is generally not fun for the game. A broken arm on a PC would make things a lot less fun for the player. However, if players want a more gritty game, there may be a place for it.

Assuming that the group really wants it: What triggers would you use to decide to give a player or enemy a wound, such as a break, sprain, etc...? Failed death saves? Critical Hits (maybe after a saving throw)? Taking damage that brings them below a certain threshold?

 

[iserith]

The DMG suggests lingering injuries could occur when a creature takes a critical hit, when it drops to 0 hp but isn't killed outright, or when it fails a death saving throw by 5 or more.

 

[Fanaelialae]

We generally reserve injuries for the rare crit cards that carry a lingering effect (we use a crit deck).

One of my friends also had a risk of serious injuries from things like falling, as well as riding on top of a dune buggy when it hits a giant tortoise, propelling you face first into a cactus.

 

[MNblockhead]

I've played with ideas of wounds and psychological damage, using alternative rules in the DMG and alternative sources, but it tends to slow things down and my players didn't really like it. For psychological reactions, I leave that to players to role play, with the rare exception of madness.

For wounds, instead of any mechanic, I use crit cards. Both my players and I like the critical-hit deck from Nord Games.

 

[Garthanos]

I kind of like the option to "accept a wound" which then creates some immediate benefit (one benefit might be reduced hit point loss or a big bonus on their attack and so on) . The value of this being that if players then like the complexity it gets used if they end up not liking it then it doesnt. There is a trope of the badass hero taking a wound in order to deliver an even nastier one that this plays to.

 

[toucanbuzz]

I used the "fail death save by 5 or more" mechanic when applying Lingering Injuries, which sounds like what you're talking about. That's a 25% chance per d20 roll, so we had lingering injuries pop up often enough. Most were non-impactful because the ones with penalty were cured by any magical healing. Only once did we have a player roll a "loss of limb" (he lost an arm and was specialized in two-handed weaponry).

In summary, they can be interesting, but except for scars and lost limbs, all are inconsequential because they go away with the next Cure spell or Potion of Healing used.

If using Lingering Injuries, I wouldn't have them apply more often. Death Saves occur often enough. Hitting 0 or being critically hit will result in enough rolls that eventually someone will lose limbs on a routine basis in a campaign.

If you're talking about the abstract nature of Hit Points, I'm still tinkering with the UA Vitality rules by adopting AD&D and 3rd edition mechanics where your true health, the ability to sustain actual damage to your body, is represented not by Hit Points, which are an abstract representation of ability to avoid lethal damage, exhaustion, and luck, but rather by a small number after reaching 0 hit points. This pool is slow to heal, even with magic, making it riskier when you take actual damage to keep adventuring. The next time you hit 0hp, you might not get back up.

 

[Doc_Klueless]

We use Injuries (from the DMG) if the target is

• When it takes a critical hit AND
• it drops to 0 hit points but isn’t killed outright.

This makes them rarer but still nasty if they happen. Also, the target's player gets to CHOOSE the Injury if the roll is a 1, 2, or 3. We really don't like the lopping off of limbs or poking out eyes.

 

[Charlaquin]

If I used them, I’d probably have them occur when a player takes two death save failures at once (meaning, when they roll a natural 1 on a death save, and when they get hit by a melee attack while unconscious and dying.)

 

[Salthorae]

I use Lingering on some nasty crits and also if you fail a death save by 5 or more.

There is no quarter given on the table though, you could lose something (if it makes sense for the attack that dropped you).

 

[Leatherhead]

I use an expanded wounding list and the "when you fall to 0 hp" rule.

On crits tends to hurt player effectiveness a lot more than it should.

I also use these rules to help players out when they do manage to suffer a wound.