Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Runepriest 05-29-07, 07:54 PM	Hi, I'm thinking about changing the massive damage rules. For sure, I will do the following: A character who fails his Fortitude save against massive damage rolls 1d10 to determine his negative hit point total. A roll of 1 to 9 indicates that the character is dying (at -1 hp on a 1, -2 hp on a 2, and so forth). A roll of 10 leaves the character with -10 hit points, which means he is dead. For every 10 points of damage dealt by an attack in excess of a character’s massive damage threshold, increase his Fortitude save DC by 2. Should I do this: T=Threshold C= Constitution score H= Hitdice T= C+2H or this with the clobbered variant: T=Threshold H= Total Hit points T= H/2
CrazyOzzy 05-30-07, 10:21 AM	Sounds good to me! :thumbsup: I would prefer the second choice for the Threshold : T = HP/2. I think it is simpler and there is no point in dragging CON back into the equation since it is already used to calculate HP. It reminds me of real life : if you lose half your blood (about 3L) then you risk great shock and dying from it. In this manner I might actually consider implementing the Massive Damage option. I always thought that not making the Threshold at least scale with level was stupid. EDIT : after a few random tests, your first system is out of whack for monsters. Here are a few examples : -Great Red Wyrm : T= 31CON + (40HD*2) = 111 HP out of his 660 average, which is well below 1/2, around 1/6th. -Minotaur : T = 15CON + (6HD*2) = 27HP out of his 39 average, which is more than half and better proportionally than the Red Wyrm which is a massive beast with loads more HD. -Cat : T = 10 CON + (1/4HD*2) = 10 HP(rounded down) out of his 2 HP!! Wow no Massive Damage dying for Felix.
Hugin 05-30-07, 10:38 AM	One other idea is bring in fatigue and/or exhaustion as a result of massive damage instead of death. We use it in my games and works well.
CrazyOzzy 05-30-07, 10:47 AM	Exactly, I would bring in Fatigue or Exhaustion in case of a successful Fort. Save. So when you take Massive Damage, it is either Exhausted/Dying/Dead.
Grizzled Gryphon 05-30-07, 01:23 PM	I have kicked around the idea of massive damage playing a role in my gmaes, but I have never implemented any of them. As it stands, 50 hp isn't all that much at later levels. So, I considered having the massive damage threshold being half of max hp. But, that means lots of dead characters at low levels. So, I considered half max hit points or 50 hit points, which ever is greater. however, I don't like the idea of the characters dying due to a failed fort save. Sure, this is highly possible at later levels due to spells being chucked at them by the evil lich (or whatever), but that is magic. The exhuasted or fatigued idea is interesting, though. Instead of death, they become fatigued or exhausted. I like that. I would go with a standard save vs. massive damage being failed means you are fatigued, and if you fail the save by ten or more, you are exhausted. Or something like that.
Runepriest 05-30-07, 05:41 PM	Then the second option it is!
Rhialto 05-31-07, 11:15 AM	-Cat : T = 10 CON + (1/4HD*2) = 10 HP(rounded down) out of his 2 HP!! Wow no Massive Damage dying for Felix. Considering that the massive damage rules were designed to account for humans with improbably large hp totals for their physical size, I'm not too worried about felix dying before massive damage is a concern. The house rule I'm thinking on at the moment is based on a threshold of (character lvl + constitution), with monsters having a threshold of height/length times three. The massive damage DC is based on the amount of damage actually done, and failure results in rolling dice again to determine damage (possibly forcing another massive damage check). I'm allergic to anything that says instant death.