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View Full Version : [4e]Very easy wounds system



Erk
2008-08-13, 01:39 AM
I'm using 4e as a springboard to get all kinds of newbies into d&d, as its simplicity is great for them. On the other hand, I find healing surges a little too readily available. I want the option for players to take actual wounds that are harder to heal, but I want it to be easy.

Here's the system I am currently playtesting. It raises the difficulty of the game a little, of course. As an added bonus it makes the Warlord's healing a little better flavoured. They heal morale, but not wounds.

1) HP is now broken into two types, which should probably be recorded separately. Call them Wounds and Morale, if you like: HPW and HPM for short.
I am separating these so that HPW = 1/2 of HPM, rounded down. HPW+HPM should equal full HP. If you find this too tough for your players, reduce the number of HPW and correspondingly increase HPM.

2) Except in special circumstances, damage goes out of HPM first. When HPM reaches 0, damage comes out of HPW instead. Conveniently, when HPM equals 0 the character is also bloodied.

3) Expending a healing surge heals HPM, but not HPW. HPW can be healed through a couple means:
a full rest will heal a number of HPW equal to the character's con modifier.
A successful Heal skill check will double the amount of healing gained from a full rest. The DC equals the damage taken to wounds.
magical healing that adds a bonus to the amount healed (such as a cleric's Healing Lore) can heal that bonus in HPW. In other words, a cleric who heals (surge+3) with magical healing can heal up to 3 points of wounds that way.

--end main rules--

optional 4) I haven't fleshed this rule out fully but I'd like critical hits to deal damage direct to HPW. So far I'm thinking that any damage the critical does above and beyond the regular attack damage is inflicted straight to HPW, even if the character has HPM left.
rule user's discretion: if the character's HPW is dropped to 0, even if HPM remain, the character is stunned until the end of his/her next round ends; then 1 point of damage is transfered from HPM to HPW and the character regains consciousness.

Djinn_in_Tonic
2008-08-13, 08:14 AM
This is EXACTLY what I've been doing (short of the extra healing for abilities healing wound points), and I've found it effective. I think I'll be stealing that last little idea though...

Another thing to throw out for you however: if your foe is ambushed (i.e. you have Combat Advantage in the first round), damage goes straight to HPW. This makes being surprised actually deadly.

AgentPaper
2008-08-13, 09:58 AM
I like this system. I think I'll throw it onto my players.

Though I might make it so constitution is the only thing that adds to wound HP, while all the rest of the HP that is added from classes instead increases your morale HP. Toughness would also probably increase your wound HP. Makes con more useful again, and toughness especially.

Edit: Hm, I would probably have to use some variant where con adds more significantly to HP. Maybe just adding the con mod each level like 3e, or every other level...

Ceiling009
2008-08-14, 02:58 AM
Isn't this a lot like the old Star Wars vitality points and wounds system?

Erk
2008-08-15, 06:02 PM
Isn't this a lot like the old Star Wars vitality points and wounds system?Who knows? Maybe? What was the old Star Wars vitality and wounds system like? I'm ashamed to admit it, but I think of it more like Palladium's SDC/HP system.

I've been looking at making some monster abilities do direct-to-wounds damage, to make some effects more scary to players. I will probably homebrew some such powers soon enough; anyone got other suggestions?

Starsinger
2008-08-15, 06:08 PM
Who knows? Maybe? What was the old Star Wars vitality and wounds system like? I'm ashamed to admit it, but I think of it more like Palladium's SDC/HP system.

I've been looking at making some monster abilities do direct-to-wounds damage, to make some effects more scary to players. I will probably homebrew some such powers soon enough; anyone got other suggestions?

Wound/Vitality are indeed very similar to SDC/HP although SDC/HP is better cuz Rifts is awesome. (Well.. to read it's less fun to play)

Shadow_Elf
2008-08-25, 03:08 PM
This system seems to work a lot like the Protoss HP system in SC. SHields can be healed by a shield battery, but regular hp is not. If you run outta regular HP, but you still have shields, you're still dead.
On that note, I believe ongoing damage and diseases should affect HPW directly.