Battle Wounds [Archive] - Wizards Community

Battle Wounds [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Millipede
08-21-05, 04:09 AM I'm a fairly new DM, and I'm trying to get working on a game, and I was hoping that you brilliant people could help me with something.

From reading the core rule books, "damage" seems very generic. You get through the Armor Class of the enemy, and they take 2d6 damage or whatever. Is there any good way to make this damage really significant? Like, poke out an eye, cut off a hand or leg, things like that? Or should I just stick to good old "you take 5 damage"? (though not in those words) (and remember, it would have to work against the PCs as well...)

Thanks for the help

-M
TheChilliGod
08-21-05, 04:22 AM You're right, battle damage is boring. That's usually what DM's are for.
---
(1 damage) "Your hammer bounces off the orc's chainmail, although the orc seems to have felt a little bit of the impact, as he flinches slightly."

(10 damage) "The sword slices through the side of the mind flayer, ripping through it's robes. Inky blood spurts from the wound as the illithid recoils."

(100 damage) "Okay, lets say this. Demon stain, alright? Demon stain."
---
See how you can make it all better?
Also, I believe one or two of the older systems had something called "Called Shots." Something about taking a penalty on your attack roll to aim for a specific body part. Whack off a hand, the enemy can't use it. Whack out an eye, -1 to attack due to loss of 3d vision. Whack a leg, the poor fella's either immobile and prone, or hopping mad. Whack a heart, oopsie. Something like that, I dunno. Someone else'll have to elaborate, but I'd just like to point out that it does exist.
HyperVyperBeam
08-21-05, 05:02 AM It's usually assumed that the PCs and villains are trying to go for the most vital of parts, unless otherwise stated. That's why there is no need for the specification of a targeted shot.

You pick the points, if the PC kills the foe in one critical shot (usually the case with low level PCs, or high level PCs looking for kicks killing villagers) it would be something to the effect of, "You get a clear shot and your arrow flies straight into the elf's eye socket, It's pretty deep in there. He falls over and you're pretty certain he's dead."
SneakyPetey
08-21-05, 02:23 PM Millipede,

The way I understand hit points in general may shed some light on your problem. Hit points don't necessarily mean the character can physically withstand more damage. It means he/she can roll with blows, partially deflect successful attacks, etc. However, the hit points of a monster (such as a dragon) can very well indicate that the creature can simply withstand a tremendous pounding.

Every attack made by a character, monster, NPC, etc, is assumed to have been aimed at a critical part of their enemy's person in our campaign. (Unless otherwise specified.) The hit points a character loses indicates that they are either running out of luck, or they are slowly losing their ability to "bob and weave" due to fatigue, blood loss, etc.

When I DM, this drives my descriptions of damage in battle.

1. A second level Character takes 5 hp damge from an orc-sword: "The orc swings in a wide arc aimed at your mid-section. You bring your weapon down to block it, but you are only able to slow it down. The sword bites through your armor and into your side. You can feel a trickle of blood running down your leg."

2. A kobold takes 5 hp of damage from a character's two-handed sword, killing it: "You swing low and wide. The kobold tries to block the attack with it's rusty shortsword. Your massive blade shatters the kobold's weapon, then proceeds to cleave the little beastie in two."

3. A dragon takes 5 hp damage from an arrow: "The second arrow you fire finds it's mark and imbeds itself in the flanks of the beast. It hardly seems to notice as it continues to move towards the party's spellcasters..."

As you can see, even the description of the same amount of damage can vary greatly, depending on the situation. I'm not always this poetic during a combat sequence, but I try to work descriptions like this in whenever I remember to do so.

I also use the attack rolls to drive the description of the combat. For instance, if the attack misses by one (i.e. the character needed a 12 to hit, and they rolled an 11), I assume the attack was parried by the target's shield or weapon. Likewise with characters being attacked. If their attacker misses by one, I inform the character that they've blocked the attack with their weapon or shield.

I use this whenever it applies to add more tension to the combat. If a character or monster misses badly, I often add some humor or critical failure (or both) to the situation. In our campaign, even experienced fighters can looks like shmucks now and then...

I hope this helps!
Pyritefoolsgold
08-21-05, 03:12 PM The inherent problem is that if a character takes 5 points of damage that just represent lack of luck and fatigue, why can a healing potion heal that no faster than the five he takes that represent getting stabbed in the gut?
NinjaE
08-21-05, 03:13 PM ---
(1 damage) "Your hammer bounces off the orc's chainmail, although the orc seems to have felt a little bit of the impact, as he flinches slightly."

Just a note, here:
Chainmail does NOT stop a hammer blow in the real world. Parrying, angling your body, and dodging, does.
Not dissing your DM'ing style or anything; just pointing it out.

Second; if you want a way of adding permanent damage to the whole thing, here's a way that might work: On a critical hit, the crit'er chooses a body part he was aiming for:
Torso: double damage, as normal.
Legs: reduces speed by five feet. When a leg recieves three critical hits, it becomes permanently disabled.
Arms: -2 to anything involving that hand. Again, three crits on one arm removes it.
Head: Either target becomes dazed for three rounds and loses 1d3 points in any stat(even strength can be messed up like this; part of your strength is knowing *how* to use it. It heals normally though, unless you want to be really mean.), determined at random, or loses sight in one eye(permanently or not is up to the DM), granting a -1 penalty to melee and a -3 penalty to ranged attacks.
Now, this is hardly playtested(came up with it just now), so you board-gurus may want to look it through before implementing it.
Temrek
08-21-05, 06:10 PM The inherent problem is that if a character takes 5 points of damage that just represent lack of luck and fatigue, why can a healing potion heal that no faster than the five he takes that represent getting stabbed in the gut?

Its simply a gameplay issue, if a potion of cure light wounds was enough to heal a character of all their wounds do you have any idea on how many a high level character generally would have?

If a potion of cure light wounds would heal relativly little to ones hp the deaths of low level characters will greatly increase.
Edymnion
08-21-05, 06:38 PM Just a note, here:
Chainmail does NOT stop a hammer blow in the real world. Parrying, angling your body, and dodging, does. No, but that thick padded jerkin arming coat you wear under it does.

Heh, ask any SCA'er what "waffleskin" means ;)
Bloodtide_the_Red
08-21-05, 07:35 PM There is no good way to do 'real' damage in the D&D game. The whole idea is that HP's are generic. This is so a 20 HP person is just as active at one HP. The whole game is based around that idea. It's mostly done to make things easyer and 'more heroic'.

If you add 'real' damage, a game basicly degrades to:

A-Everyone becomes chopped up hamburger. You have to keep track of dozen and dozens of wounds, who is missing what limbs and such. It will also lead to a lot more death, as the guy who lost a foot can't run away, for example. And you will have plenty of 'Bob the archer lost his hand..so he will just swing his club now' or 'Fred the mage lost his tounge..so he will just swing his staff'

B-They get chopped up and healed, assuming you make it easy enough. Whatever goes wrong, they simply heal it and jump right back into action. So the whole 'real' wounds becomes pointless.

And it's realy hard to find a middle ground. Bob can't use his bow so he just hits with the club, and grumbles about wasted feats, money and such spent on his archer bulid. So you let him heal his hand so he can use his bow. Fred will then pipe up, what about me? And if you heal him it swings to 'B' above. If you let no one heal, it's 'A'.

And if you just make it 'hard' to find the healing...your game will turn into this:
-First half hour of game, fight goblin bandits, PC's get chopped up
'Well lets go back to town and get our body parts back'
SCREECH--STOP
The rest of your six hour game is spent in them tracking down the healing they need, no matter the quest or adventure.

BT
SneakyPetey
08-21-05, 08:35 PM The inherent problem is that if a character takes 5 points of damage that just represent lack of luck and fatigue, why can a healing potion heal that no faster than the five he takes that represent getting stabbed in the gut?

Perhaps I wasn't clear in my statement. The character still gets stabbed, slashed, bashed, etc. The extra hit points gained every level simply represents their ability to minimalize the damage taken when they get hit.

There's a great scene in "The Princess Bride," where a BBEG is trying to stab one of the heroes through the heart, but the hero keeps deflecting the blade at the last second. The blade ends up sticking him in one shoulder, then the other. Our hero is badly wounded, but not nearly as bad off as if the blade had skewered his heart (twice)!

Like Bloodtide said, there is no good way to do "real" damage in the game. I like to add descriptions to make battle sequences more realistic. But, I prefer to stay away from lost body parts (barring special items such as swords of sharpness, vorpal weapons, etc.), movement penalties, and the like. IMHO, that just makes the game too complicated.

I can't remember who has this sigged: "D&D is meant to simulate reality, not replicate it." Words to game by there, folks. If you try to think too much about these kinds of things you'll just end up ruining the game, IMHO.
Millipede
08-22-05, 12:28 AM Thanks for all the advice. I'll keep those things in mind.
Alynn
08-22-05, 12:37 AM There is a realistic battle system, I won't go into what it was called, but put it this way all someone had to do is get lucky one time and your dead, You may have a hellacious bullet proof vest, but someone really good with a pistol can nail you and kill you right off the bat. Realistic, very much so, and it did add that whole avoiding fights thing. It could be easy to incorperate it to D&D, but how irritated would you be as a player to lose your well magical armored fighter because a commoner with a knife got a lucky hit and sliced his throat.

You Wouldn't.

D&D is a game about hero's, beating the odds, and defying logic to create stories. It is not a game about reality.
High Octane
08-22-05, 12:53 AM To keep it mildly realistic, describe wounds in relative terms to the amount of hit points the target has. So 10 hit points is a stab through the chest for a low level wizard, but to a mid level fighter its a flesh wound on the arm.
Pyritefoolsgold
08-22-05, 01:37 AM Once again, my problem isn't with hit points, but with healing potions. If ten hitpoints is a flesh wound for the fighter, but a stab in the chest for the mage, why is it that one healing potion heals both the same amount?
Always-Late
08-22-05, 01:50 AM You could do it like this:

Ten points to low-level mage:
Your mage gets a deep wound in his side and collapses to the floor, unconscious.

Ten points to fighter:
Your fighter gets a deep wound in his side, but he seems to pay it no notice.
HollowDes
08-22-05, 03:27 AM SneakyPetey wrote:
When I DM, this drives my descriptions of damage in battle.

1. A second level Character takes 5 hp damge from an orc-sword: "The orc swings in a wide arc aimed at your mid-section. You bring your weapon down to block it, but you are only able to slow it down. The sword bites through your armor and into your side. You can feel a trickle of blood running down your leg."

2. A kobold takes 5 hp of damage from a character's two-handed sword, killing it: "You swing low and wide. The kobold tries to block the attack with it's rusty shortsword. Your massive blade shatters the kobold's weapon, then proceeds to cleave the little beastie in two."

3. A dragon takes 5 hp damage from an arrow: "The second arrow you fire finds it's mark and imbeds itself in the flanks of the beast. It hardly seems to notice as it continues to move towards the party's spellcasters..."

As you can see, even the description of the same amount of damage can vary greatly, depending on the situation. I'm not always this poetic during a combat sequence, but I try to work descriptions like this in whenever I remember to do so.

I also use the attack rolls to drive the description of the combat. For instance, if the attack misses by one (i.e. the character needed a 12 to hit, and they rolled an 11), I assume the attack was parried by the target's shield or weapon. Likewise with characters being attacked. If their attacker misses by one, I inform the character that they've blocked the attack with their weapon or shield.

I use this whenever it applies to add more tension to the combat. If a character or monster misses badly, I often add some humor or critical failure (or both) to the situation. In our campaign, even experienced fighters can looks like shmucks now and then...

I hope this helps!

This is exactly what I do. It felt like reading a description of my own combats. :blink:

Kinda neat to know there's other DMs who interpret the system as I do though :D
High Octane
08-22-05, 08:14 AM Once again, my problem isn't with hit points, but with healing potions. If ten hitpoints is a flesh wound for the fighter, but a stab in the chest for the mage, why is it that one healing potion heals both the same amount?

Plot device. If your players insist on an explanation, say that a higher level/con character resists the effects of damage dealing spells because of exposure. However, the flip side is that they become more resistant to healing effects as well.
Venom of the Yuan Ti
08-22-05, 08:26 AM This is the way I have allways run it. The max hp of the largest class hd+all ratial hda re its "real" hp. Teh rest is all defencive trickery, dodging, enduring blows ect. Only once you get to the "real" hp do they take "real" damadge. The rest is wearing them down and wearing them out. It does not quite jell with RAW (ie subdual) but makes more sence than a person beinga able to take 100X the damadge that another can.

EG.
Human fighter with con 16, level 5. 55hp.
55-50, looks fine.
49-35, sweating, being forced back a little, maybe a few bruses.
34-20, looks egsausted, a few small cuts, weezign from effort.
19-14, arms hang more limp. Looks done in.
13- -10, body battered and broken, cuts, bruses, bleading, dieing ect.

That way PCs become scared when they drop into this Danger Zone, and so most are scared from their early levels.

This system also makes healing potions make sence, becasue the Danger Zone is only about half a dozne hp differant for a fighter and a mage, the only dificulty arises with racial hd, and taht simply makes them bulkyer.
Pippa
08-22-05, 03:35 PM We in our group don't let severed bodyparts grow back by healing potions. They close the wounds, or at least staunch the bleeding and relieve the pain (depending on how much damage you took) but they don't grow back missing parts.

This maiming in battle doesn't happen frequently in our games, only when the DM gets carried away by his own descriptions of what happens. For the sake of realsm, when a foe stands practically against you and swings his blade, rolling badly and dealing you 1 damage, it 'd go like this:
-"You can dodge his blow, but he manages to slice the tip off your ear"
That's what happend to me a couple of sessions before, and I kind of like the idea of bearing a scar with you as a sign of you being tough enough to survive battles and all.

Loosing one hitpoint as commoner would indeed mean more than that. But when talking about hero's, I often have that picture in mind of a tall man pierced by many arrows and still standing on the barricades. I would translate that as toughness through training and willpower.
Still, I would be more likely to describe 5 damage dealt to a low-level wizard differently than when dealt to that man on the barricades. I'ts just easier that way.

I agree with Bloodtide that loosing bodyparts in battle slows down the game. And all that bob and fred thing also makes sense.
SneakyPetey
08-22-05, 11:05 PM This is exactly what I do. It felt like reading a description of my own combats. :blink:

Freeeeeeeaky... :gah:

Kinda neat to know there's other DMs who interpret the system as I do though :D

They say great minds think alike, but in our case they may be mistaken! :P
Bloodtide_the_Red
08-24-05, 04:39 AM 1.with healing potions. If ten hitpoints is a flesh wound for the fighter, but a stab in the chest for the mage, why is it that one healing potion heals both the same amount?

They don't heal the same amount. Sure, number-wise, is ten hitpoints for both the fighter and the mage, but it's the totals that matter.

So ten points of damage is not a flesh wound, per say, as it goes by your hitpoint total. Think more of precentages. Say damage up to 30% is a flesh wound. So a fighter with 30 hit points can take 10 points of damage as just a flesh wound. Our mage, however, with only 12 hit points can only take 4 points of damage as a flesh wound.
So 50% is wounded, 75% is bady injured and 90% is almost dead 'clinging to life'.

BT
Pippa
08-26-05, 05:56 PM Actually, when you want healing potions to do exactly the same thing to weak and strong persons, I believe it should be something like this:

A commoner can die of one arrow. Or he falls on the ground, doesn't know what to do to stop bleeding like a pig, can't stand up again to fight. Or feels so badly wounded he's not risking any tricks anymore and legs it.
A fighter can take (e.g.) eight times that amount. He walks around with arrows in his chest, determinded to spill his blood to the last drop if nessecairy. He has learned to push panic and pain aside in dire need. He's badly wounded of course, but might even need two more arrows to be completely and utterly defeated. That's heroic.

Like Boromir! Yes, that says it all.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Millipede 08-21-05, 04:09 AM	I'm a fairly new DM, and I'm trying to get working on a game, and I was hoping that you brilliant people could help me with something. From reading the core rule books, "damage" seems very generic. You get through the Armor Class of the enemy, and they take 2d6 damage or whatever. Is there any good way to make this damage really significant? Like, poke out an eye, cut off a hand or leg, things like that? Or should I just stick to good old "you take 5 damage"? (though not in those words) (and remember, it would have to work against the PCs as well...) Thanks for the help -M
TheChilliGod 08-21-05, 04:22 AM	You're right, battle damage is boring. That's usually what DM's are for. --- (1 damage) "Your hammer bounces off the orc's chainmail, although the orc seems to have felt a little bit of the impact, as he flinches slightly." (10 damage) "The sword slices through the side of the mind flayer, ripping through it's robes. Inky blood spurts from the wound as the illithid recoils." (100 damage) "Okay, lets say this. Demon stain, alright? Demon stain." --- See how you can make it all better? Also, I believe one or two of the older systems had something called "Called Shots." Something about taking a penalty on your attack roll to aim for a specific body part. Whack off a hand, the enemy can't use it. Whack out an eye, -1 to attack due to loss of 3d vision. Whack a leg, the poor fella's either immobile and prone, or hopping mad. Whack a heart, oopsie. Something like that, I dunno. Someone else'll have to elaborate, but I'd just like to point out that it does exist.
HyperVyperBeam 08-21-05, 05:02 AM	It's usually assumed that the PCs and villains are trying to go for the most vital of parts, unless otherwise stated. That's why there is no need for the specification of a targeted shot. You pick the points, if the PC kills the foe in one critical shot (usually the case with low level PCs, or high level PCs looking for kicks killing villagers) it would be something to the effect of, "You get a clear shot and your arrow flies straight into the elf's eye socket, It's pretty deep in there. He falls over and you're pretty certain he's dead."
SneakyPetey 08-21-05, 02:23 PM	Millipede, The way I understand hit points in general may shed some light on your problem. Hit points don't necessarily mean the character can physically withstand more damage. It means he/she can roll with blows, partially deflect successful attacks, etc. However, the hit points of a monster (such as a dragon) can very well indicate that the creature can simply withstand a tremendous pounding. Every attack made by a character, monster, NPC, etc, is assumed to have been aimed at a critical part of their enemy's person in our campaign. (Unless otherwise specified.) The hit points a character loses indicates that they are either running out of luck, or they are slowly losing their ability to "bob and weave" due to fatigue, blood loss, etc. When I DM, this drives my descriptions of damage in battle. 1. A second level Character takes 5 hp damge from an orc-sword: "The orc swings in a wide arc aimed at your mid-section. You bring your weapon down to block it, but you are only able to slow it down. The sword bites through your armor and into your side. You can feel a trickle of blood running down your leg." 2. A kobold takes 5 hp of damage from a character's two-handed sword, killing it: "You swing low and wide. The kobold tries to block the attack with it's rusty shortsword. Your massive blade shatters the kobold's weapon, then proceeds to cleave the little beastie in two." 3. A dragon takes 5 hp damage from an arrow: "The second arrow you fire finds it's mark and imbeds itself in the flanks of the beast. It hardly seems to notice as it continues to move towards the party's spellcasters..." As you can see, even the description of the same amount of damage can vary greatly, depending on the situation. I'm not always this poetic during a combat sequence, but I try to work descriptions like this in whenever I remember to do so. I also use the attack rolls to drive the description of the combat. For instance, if the attack misses by one (i.e. the character needed a 12 to hit, and they rolled an 11), I assume the attack was parried by the target's shield or weapon. Likewise with characters being attacked. If their attacker misses by one, I inform the character that they've blocked the attack with their weapon or shield. I use this whenever it applies to add more tension to the combat. If a character or monster misses badly, I often add some humor or critical failure (or both) to the situation. In our campaign, even experienced fighters can looks like shmucks now and then... I hope this helps!
Pyritefoolsgold 08-21-05, 03:12 PM	The inherent problem is that if a character takes 5 points of damage that just represent lack of luck and fatigue, why can a healing potion heal that no faster than the five he takes that represent getting stabbed in the gut?
NinjaE 08-21-05, 03:13 PM	--- (1 damage) "Your hammer bounces off the orc's chainmail, although the orc seems to have felt a little bit of the impact, as he flinches slightly." Just a note, here: Chainmail does NOT stop a hammer blow in the real world. Parrying, angling your body, and dodging, does. Not dissing your DM'ing style or anything; just pointing it out. Second; if you want a way of adding permanent damage to the whole thing, here's a way that might work: On a critical hit, the crit'er chooses a body part he was aiming for: Torso: double damage, as normal. Legs: reduces speed by five feet. When a leg recieves three critical hits, it becomes permanently disabled. Arms: -2 to anything involving that hand. Again, three crits on one arm removes it. Head: Either target becomes dazed for three rounds and loses 1d3 points in any stat(even strength can be messed up like this; part of your strength is knowing how to use it. It heals normally though, unless you want to be really mean.), determined at random, or loses sight in one eye(permanently or not is up to the DM), granting a -1 penalty to melee and a -3 penalty to ranged attacks. Now, this is hardly playtested(came up with it just now), so you board-gurus may want to look it through before implementing it.
Temrek 08-21-05, 06:10 PM	The inherent problem is that if a character takes 5 points of damage that just represent lack of luck and fatigue, why can a healing potion heal that no faster than the five he takes that represent getting stabbed in the gut? Its simply a gameplay issue, if a potion of cure light wounds was enough to heal a character of all their wounds do you have any idea on how many a high level character generally would have? If a potion of cure light wounds would heal relativly little to ones hp the deaths of low level characters will greatly increase.
Edymnion 08-21-05, 06:38 PM	Just a note, here: Chainmail does NOT stop a hammer blow in the real world. Parrying, angling your body, and dodging, does. No, but that thick padded jerkin arming coat you wear under it does. Heh, ask any SCA'er what "waffleskin" means ;)
Bloodtide_the_Red 08-21-05, 07:35 PM	There is no good way to do 'real' damage in the D&D game. The whole idea is that HP's are generic. This is so a 20 HP person is just as active at one HP. The whole game is based around that idea. It's mostly done to make things easyer and 'more heroic'. If you add 'real' damage, a game basicly degrades to: A-Everyone becomes chopped up hamburger. You have to keep track of dozen and dozens of wounds, who is missing what limbs and such. It will also lead to a lot more death, as the guy who lost a foot can't run away, for example. And you will have plenty of 'Bob the archer lost his hand..so he will just swing his club now' or 'Fred the mage lost his tounge..so he will just swing his staff' B-They get chopped up and healed, assuming you make it easy enough. Whatever goes wrong, they simply heal it and jump right back into action. So the whole 'real' wounds becomes pointless. And it's realy hard to find a middle ground. Bob can't use his bow so he just hits with the club, and grumbles about wasted feats, money and such spent on his archer bulid. So you let him heal his hand so he can use his bow. Fred will then pipe up, what about me? And if you heal him it swings to 'B' above. If you let no one heal, it's 'A'. And if you just make it 'hard' to find the healing...your game will turn into this: -First half hour of game, fight goblin bandits, PC's get chopped up 'Well lets go back to town and get our body parts back' SCREECH--STOP The rest of your six hour game is spent in them tracking down the healing they need, no matter the quest or adventure. BT
SneakyPetey 08-21-05, 08:35 PM	The inherent problem is that if a character takes 5 points of damage that just represent lack of luck and fatigue, why can a healing potion heal that no faster than the five he takes that represent getting stabbed in the gut? Perhaps I wasn't clear in my statement. The character still gets stabbed, slashed, bashed, etc. The extra hit points gained every level simply represents their ability to minimalize the damage taken when they get hit. There's a great scene in "The Princess Bride," where a BBEG is trying to stab one of the heroes through the heart, but the hero keeps deflecting the blade at the last second. The blade ends up sticking him in one shoulder, then the other. Our hero is badly wounded, but not nearly as bad off as if the blade had skewered his heart (twice)! Like Bloodtide said, there is no good way to do "real" damage in the game. I like to add descriptions to make battle sequences more realistic. But, I prefer to stay away from lost body parts (barring special items such as swords of sharpness, vorpal weapons, etc.), movement penalties, and the like. IMHO, that just makes the game too complicated. I can't remember who has this sigged: "D&D is meant to simulate reality, not replicate it." Words to game by there, folks. If you try to think too much about these kinds of things you'll just end up ruining the game, IMHO.
Millipede 08-22-05, 12:28 AM	Thanks for all the advice. I'll keep those things in mind.
Alynn 08-22-05, 12:37 AM	There is a realistic battle system, I won't go into what it was called, but put it this way all someone had to do is get lucky one time and your dead, You may have a hellacious bullet proof vest, but someone really good with a pistol can nail you and kill you right off the bat. Realistic, very much so, and it did add that whole avoiding fights thing. It could be easy to incorperate it to D&D, but how irritated would you be as a player to lose your well magical armored fighter because a commoner with a knife got a lucky hit and sliced his throat. You Wouldn't. D&D is a game about hero's, beating the odds, and defying logic to create stories. It is not a game about reality.
High Octane 08-22-05, 12:53 AM	To keep it mildly realistic, describe wounds in relative terms to the amount of hit points the target has. So 10 hit points is a stab through the chest for a low level wizard, but to a mid level fighter its a flesh wound on the arm.
Pyritefoolsgold 08-22-05, 01:37 AM	Once again, my problem isn't with hit points, but with healing potions. If ten hitpoints is a flesh wound for the fighter, but a stab in the chest for the mage, why is it that one healing potion heals both the same amount?
Always-Late 08-22-05, 01:50 AM	You could do it like this: Ten points to low-level mage: Your mage gets a deep wound in his side and collapses to the floor, unconscious. Ten points to fighter: Your fighter gets a deep wound in his side, but he seems to pay it no notice.
HollowDes 08-22-05, 03:27 AM	SneakyPetey wrote: When I DM, this drives my descriptions of damage in battle. 1. A second level Character takes 5 hp damge from an orc-sword: "The orc swings in a wide arc aimed at your mid-section. You bring your weapon down to block it, but you are only able to slow it down. The sword bites through your armor and into your side. You can feel a trickle of blood running down your leg." 2. A kobold takes 5 hp of damage from a character's two-handed sword, killing it: "You swing low and wide. The kobold tries to block the attack with it's rusty shortsword. Your massive blade shatters the kobold's weapon, then proceeds to cleave the little beastie in two." 3. A dragon takes 5 hp damage from an arrow: "The second arrow you fire finds it's mark and imbeds itself in the flanks of the beast. It hardly seems to notice as it continues to move towards the party's spellcasters..." As you can see, even the description of the same amount of damage can vary greatly, depending on the situation. I'm not always this poetic during a combat sequence, but I try to work descriptions like this in whenever I remember to do so. I also use the attack rolls to drive the description of the combat. For instance, if the attack misses by one (i.e. the character needed a 12 to hit, and they rolled an 11), I assume the attack was parried by the target's shield or weapon. Likewise with characters being attacked. If their attacker misses by one, I inform the character that they've blocked the attack with their weapon or shield. I use this whenever it applies to add more tension to the combat. If a character or monster misses badly, I often add some humor or critical failure (or both) to the situation. In our campaign, even experienced fighters can looks like shmucks now and then... I hope this helps! This is exactly what I do. It felt like reading a description of my own combats. :blink: Kinda neat to know there's other DMs who interpret the system as I do though :D
High Octane 08-22-05, 08:14 AM	Once again, my problem isn't with hit points, but with healing potions. If ten hitpoints is a flesh wound for the fighter, but a stab in the chest for the mage, why is it that one healing potion heals both the same amount? Plot device. If your players insist on an explanation, say that a higher level/con character resists the effects of damage dealing spells because of exposure. However, the flip side is that they become more resistant to healing effects as well.
Venom of the Yuan Ti 08-22-05, 08:26 AM	This is the way I have allways run it. The max hp of the largest class hd+all ratial hda re its "real" hp. Teh rest is all defencive trickery, dodging, enduring blows ect. Only once you get to the "real" hp do they take "real" damadge. The rest is wearing them down and wearing them out. It does not quite jell with RAW (ie subdual) but makes more sence than a person beinga able to take 100X the damadge that another can. EG. Human fighter with con 16, level 5. 55hp. 55-50, looks fine. 49-35, sweating, being forced back a little, maybe a few bruses. 34-20, looks egsausted, a few small cuts, weezign from effort. 19-14, arms hang more limp. Looks done in. 13- -10, body battered and broken, cuts, bruses, bleading, dieing ect. That way PCs become scared when they drop into this Danger Zone, and so most are scared from their early levels. This system also makes healing potions make sence, becasue the Danger Zone is only about half a dozne hp differant for a fighter and a mage, the only dificulty arises with racial hd, and taht simply makes them bulkyer.
Pippa 08-22-05, 03:35 PM	We in our group don't let severed bodyparts grow back by healing potions. They close the wounds, or at least staunch the bleeding and relieve the pain (depending on how much damage you took) but they don't grow back missing parts. This maiming in battle doesn't happen frequently in our games, only when the DM gets carried away by his own descriptions of what happens. For the sake of realsm, when a foe stands practically against you and swings his blade, rolling badly and dealing you 1 damage, it 'd go like this: -"You can dodge his blow, but he manages to slice the tip off your ear" That's what happend to me a couple of sessions before, and I kind of like the idea of bearing a scar with you as a sign of you being tough enough to survive battles and all. Loosing one hitpoint as commoner would indeed mean more than that. But when talking about hero's, I often have that picture in mind of a tall man pierced by many arrows and still standing on the barricades. I would translate that as toughness through training and willpower. Still, I would be more likely to describe 5 damage dealt to a low-level wizard differently than when dealt to that man on the barricades. I'ts just easier that way. I agree with Bloodtide that loosing bodyparts in battle slows down the game. And all that bob and fred thing also makes sense.
SneakyPetey 08-22-05, 11:05 PM	This is exactly what I do. It felt like reading a description of my own combats. :blink: Freeeeeeeaky... :gah: Kinda neat to know there's other DMs who interpret the system as I do though :D They say great minds think alike, but in our case they may be mistaken! :P
Bloodtide_the_Red 08-24-05, 04:39 AM	1.with healing potions. If ten hitpoints is a flesh wound for the fighter, but a stab in the chest for the mage, why is it that one healing potion heals both the same amount? They don't heal the same amount. Sure, number-wise, is ten hitpoints for both the fighter and the mage, but it's the totals that matter. So ten points of damage is not a flesh wound, per say, as it goes by your hitpoint total. Think more of precentages. Say damage up to 30% is a flesh wound. So a fighter with 30 hit points can take 10 points of damage as just a flesh wound. Our mage, however, with only 12 hit points can only take 4 points of damage as a flesh wound. So 50% is wounded, 75% is bady injured and 90% is almost dead 'clinging to life'. BT
Pippa 08-26-05, 05:56 PM	Actually, when you want healing potions to do exactly the same thing to weak and strong persons, I believe it should be something like this: A commoner can die of one arrow. Or he falls on the ground, doesn't know what to do to stop bleeding like a pig, can't stand up again to fight. Or feels so badly wounded he's not risking any tricks anymore and legs it. A fighter can take (e.g.) eight times that amount. He walks around with arrows in his chest, determinded to spill his blood to the last drop if nessecairy. He has learned to push panic and pain aside in dire need. He's badly wounded of course, but might even need two more arrows to be completely and utterly defeated. That's heroic. Like Boromir! Yes, that says it all.