Making regeneration not suck so much!

[Absol197]

Hey there!

I've been mulling over regeneration as a special ability; as written, it's basically a worse version of fast healing. If you have the correct weapon type, you can prevent the healing, and non-lethal damage is pretty much the same thing as lethal when it comes to actually fighting in combat. But the other problem is that is you don't happen to have that creature's specific weakness with you, then you can't really trully beat the creature, even if it's of a much lower CR.

But regeneration should be better than fast healing, right? And you should be able to have a chance to kill something without needing to carry around 50 different specific banes, right? So here's what I came up with:

Creatures with regeneration have a Regeneration factor (listed either in the statblock next to regeneration, or in the actual regen description). This factor is 10 + the creature's regeneration amount. Any attack that deals less than the regeneration factor (after DR, resistance, and such) does nothing to the creature. It's regenerated before the creature even feels it. An attack that does damage equal to or greater than the regen factor deals normal damage (it's not reduced, like with DR), but it's non-lethal damage healed at the normal rate. Any attack that deals damage equal to 2x the regeneration factor deals normal damage (lethal, not non-lethal). Obviously, if the attack is made with something that overcomes the target's regen, then none of that applies.

The creature's regeneration factor is modified by it's size. For every size category larger than Medium, it gains a +5 to it's regen factor. For every size category smaller, it takes a -2.

So your average troll would simply ignore any attack that deals less than 20 damage, but if someone can deal 40 damage to it at once, then they can actually hurt it normally, and have a chance to kill it without needing to have it's specific weakness on hand all the time.

What do you think? Questions and commets are welcome!

[Tvtyrant]

I'm assuming this is for the 3.P grouping of games. I'm not sure I like this system, it seems like it grants DR based on its regen score, which could be accomplished by just granting it a high DR. If you want to boost regeneration I would suggest having a con save whenever the creation hits 0 HP and the attack is not of a type overcoming their regen, with a DC of 15. On a successful save the creature drops to 1 HP instead, so you can't just incapacitate the creature and then slap it with torches.

[Absol197]

It doesn't quite give DR.

Using the troll as an example:
An attack deals 15 damage. The troll takes 0 (under regen factor of 20);
An attack deals 25 damage. The troll takes 25 non-lethal (above regen factor of 20).
An attack deals 40 damage. The troll takes 40 lethal (twice regen factor of 20).

so against "weak" attacks, it's extra DR. Against middle strength attacks, it's like regular regeneration. Does that make sense?

[Selpharia]

This system is less clunky and feeble than the base system, but it has the problem still that it disproportionately punishes bunches of low damage attacks, which DR already does. Maybe one other way is to increase the total amount of regeneration, then limit its use (as a swift or immediate action x times/battle) and specify that certain materials either do extra damage or suppress the use of regeneration for a round or two.

[Ziegander]

Regeneration is better than Fast Healing in most cases.

Fast Healing: At the start of your turn, you regain X hit points. Being like natural healing, when a creature is reduced to 0 hit points or less, Fast Healing stops working.

Regeneration: All damage you suffer is non-lethal damage (unless your Regeneration has a weakness built in). At the start of your turn, you remove X points of non-lethal damage. Regeneration is not like natural healing, and will constantly continue to remove nonlethal damage even if you have nonlethal damage 1000 points in excess of your total hit points.

So, while most creatures' regeneration does come with a built-in achilles' heel in fire or acid damage, the ability does not require it. Elemental Weirds, and the Terrasque, for example, have regeneration with nothing listed to overcome it, therefore, all damage they suffer is non-lethal.

Now, the combination of Fast Healing and Regeneration is a real show-stopper.