Cadrius
27th of April, 2004, 00:17
The First Edict
Wounds: they're not just for breakfast anymore.
We all know that hit points are an abstraction, a decent one, but solely relying on hit points has always irked me. I mean, everyone fights just as well whether they're hale or on their deathbed. Enter the Wounds and Vitality system. This isn't that large of a change and I think there are quite a few perks to it.
Basically this is the way we break it down. Rename your hit points to Vitality points. The number remains the same and you add to it each level like you normally would. Damage is usually taken from here first. Vitality represent the abstraction of rolling with blows and not actually getting hit full force. This is your combat savvy, your uncanny luck, etc.
Wound points are another can of worms altogether. These represent how much physical damage you can take before going down. Your wound points are equal to your Constitution score and never changes unless your Constitution changes.
In general you use up all your Vitality points before switching to Wound points. This does actually make each of your characters harder to kill. Now here's the catch; critical hits go directly to Wound points. Stay away from that ogre with scythe! To partially reduce the sheer lethality that this could represent, I am also instituting a change in the critical modifier for all weapons. There are no longer multipliers when it comes to critical hits. Instead those with larger multipliers are granted bonus damage.
Previous Modifier New Damage
x2 +0
x3 +2
x4 +4
etc
Beware the giant wielding an oversized scythe.
"Cadrius, what happens when you lose some Wound points?"
I'm glad you asked. If you should take Wound damage, you become fatigued. That blow landed and it hurt. A fatigued character cannot run or charge and suffers a -2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. Each round that you take Wound damage you must make a Fortitude save (DC = 5+number of wound damage) or immediately fall unconscious.
"Okay, so when do I die?"
Whenver I say so, dammit! Should your Wound points drop to 0 you are considered to be disabled. You can only take a single move action or attack action a round; no full round actions. A disabled character that takes an action receives one point of wound damage.
From -1 to -9 Wound points you're are unconscious and dying. Each round you lose an additional wound point. Fortitude saving throws will be made each round to see if you become stable. You remain unconscious but cease losing Wound points. Should you reach negative ten wound points, well, I'm sure something pretty will be said about you at the funeral.
"So, how do I heal?"
You recover Vitality the way you would recover hit points (1*character level per day). Wound points are slower and you only recover one per day of light activity. Riding hard or chasing someone across the Westlands will deny you that precious Wound point.
Stay tuned for more...
Wounds: they're not just for breakfast anymore.
We all know that hit points are an abstraction, a decent one, but solely relying on hit points has always irked me. I mean, everyone fights just as well whether they're hale or on their deathbed. Enter the Wounds and Vitality system. This isn't that large of a change and I think there are quite a few perks to it.
Basically this is the way we break it down. Rename your hit points to Vitality points. The number remains the same and you add to it each level like you normally would. Damage is usually taken from here first. Vitality represent the abstraction of rolling with blows and not actually getting hit full force. This is your combat savvy, your uncanny luck, etc.
Wound points are another can of worms altogether. These represent how much physical damage you can take before going down. Your wound points are equal to your Constitution score and never changes unless your Constitution changes.
In general you use up all your Vitality points before switching to Wound points. This does actually make each of your characters harder to kill. Now here's the catch; critical hits go directly to Wound points. Stay away from that ogre with scythe! To partially reduce the sheer lethality that this could represent, I am also instituting a change in the critical modifier for all weapons. There are no longer multipliers when it comes to critical hits. Instead those with larger multipliers are granted bonus damage.
Previous Modifier New Damage
x2 +0
x3 +2
x4 +4
etc
Beware the giant wielding an oversized scythe.
"Cadrius, what happens when you lose some Wound points?"
I'm glad you asked. If you should take Wound damage, you become fatigued. That blow landed and it hurt. A fatigued character cannot run or charge and suffers a -2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. Each round that you take Wound damage you must make a Fortitude save (DC = 5+number of wound damage) or immediately fall unconscious.
"Okay, so when do I die?"
Whenver I say so, dammit! Should your Wound points drop to 0 you are considered to be disabled. You can only take a single move action or attack action a round; no full round actions. A disabled character that takes an action receives one point of wound damage.
From -1 to -9 Wound points you're are unconscious and dying. Each round you lose an additional wound point. Fortitude saving throws will be made each round to see if you become stable. You remain unconscious but cease losing Wound points. Should you reach negative ten wound points, well, I'm sure something pretty will be said about you at the funeral.
"So, how do I heal?"
You recover Vitality the way you would recover hit points (1*character level per day). Wound points are slower and you only recover one per day of light activity. Riding hard or chasing someone across the Westlands will deny you that precious Wound point.
Stay tuned for more...