Taking Damage:
If your HP is greater than zero after taking damage...
You were grazed at worst. You found the means to adequately defend yourself. So long as your HP remains above zero, you're able to stand your ground effectively. Suffering a critical strike may require MORE energy to defend yourself properly than usual (as reflected in the increased damage), but does not automatically wound you. This is best thought of as that moment in a fight when a defender has to scramble in order to just barely parry an attack. They still have the opportunity to turn the tide, but the moment is probably against them.
If your HP is equal to or less than zero after taking damage...
Oh, shit. You're vulnerable as fuck. You're winded. You're running out of steam. The adrenaline just isn't cutting it anymore. Taking damage at this point means that you're actually suffering harm. Take 100% of one of your Class Hit Dice. This is the full pie of Negative Hit Points your character has. Now, cut that into thirds. These are Wound Steps. Every time you take damage while you are on the second or third step, you've received an additional injury. This means things go bad very quickly.
Which Wound Step did you land on?
If you landed on the first Wound Step, you suffered a blow, but it wasn't very deadly. You're losing momentum, losing strength. You're on the precipice of defeat. All you need is a little pick me up and you'll be fine.
If you landed on the second Wound Step, the first thing you need to do is roll a d20 and add your Constitution modifier. If your total is less than 6, you're unconscious and you're bleeding out. For every round that you're on this step, you have to continue making this roll at the start of every round until you've been properly treated by First Aid or healing magic (see Healing section).
If you roll a natural 1 OR a total that is less than a 1, you're dead. The second thing is, you got a Minor Injury. That sucks. Look at the Minor Injury section to see what that means.
If you landed on the third Wound Step, roll a d20 and add your Constitution modifier again. If your total is less than 12, you're unconscious and bleeding out. If your total is less than 6, you're dead. Either way, you suffered a Major Injury, so go to the Major Injury section and check that out. It just may detail the super cool way you died or were rendered an ex-adventurer.
The Steps By Class Hit Die (For the "Fuck you, Math" types)
d4: (0, -1) / (-2) / (-3)
d6: (0, -1) / (-2, -3) / (-4, -5)
d8: (0, -1, -2) / (-3, -4, -5) / (-6, -7)
d10: (0, -1, -2, -3) / (-4, -5, -6) / (-7, -8, -9)
d12: (0, -1, -2, -3, -4) / (-5, -6, -7, -8) / (-9, -10, -11)
d13+: Are you sure this is D&D?
Injuries
What's a Minor Injury?
Simply put, a Minor Injury sucks ass but it doesn't suck ass as hard as it could. A "Minor Injury" is something that should set your character back for a few days, but not forever. This includes broken bones, deep bleeds, maybe a lost finger, ear, toe, or something to that effect. You'll probably have a gnarly scar. Figure out a location for the attack to hit, then choose an appropriate setback or pick one from the table below. Sometimes, a randomly rolled outcome may not make sense. Either enjoy the hilarity, or more preferably, let this help your creative juices come up with something else.
Location Table
We're going to go clockwise as if you're facing a body, starting with the most important part of the body. If you've got more than one of something, pick one, or roll a d2 (or d3 if you're REALLY special).
Roll a d6.
1. Face (d4): Eye, Nose, Ear, Temple
2. Neck
3. Arm (d6): At Shoulder, Upper, Elbow, Fore, Hand, Finger (d6-1, minimum 1)
4. Abdomen
5. Leg (d6): At Hip, Upper, Knee, Lower, Ankle, Foot
6. Groin
Let's say you're wearing thick armor that would be protecting the region you rolled. It seems only appropriate that if the GM says it's okay, your armor could be sundered to protect you this one last time. NOPE! This gets through. Whether they found a structural weakness in the armor or they simply caved it in, I'm afraid you're going to have to take an injury. Sorry, pal.
Minor Injury Outcome Table
1. Eye/Nose/Ear is pierced/slashed/bashed, leaving a -4 on Sight/Smell/Hearing based rolls for 1d4 days.
Temple: You've got a concussion coming on. Whether you were smacked in the head by a blunt object or a spear clashed against your skull, your brain just did a good ol' jump around in the thinkbox. Do a Save vs. Paralyze. On a fail, you're paralyzed for d4+3 rounds. Either way, you're going to have a really bad headache.
2. Neck: On a Slashing/Piercing attack, you suffer a nasty cut (see Bleeding). On a Bludgeoning attack, your throat was smashed. You're unable to speak for d4 hours, and doing so is painful for d6 days.
3. Arm (d6): At Shoulder, Upper, Elbow, Fore, Hand, Finger (d6-1, minimum 1)
For Shoulder, Upper Arm, Elbow, Fore Arm, and Hand: If piercing/slashing, you're bleeding. If bludgeoning, you have -4 on attack rolls with that arm for the next d4 hours, and -2 after with that arm for the next d4 days.
For Fingers: If piercing/slashing, those fingers are mostly chopped off. They cannot be used without being healed properly (or sewn back on). If more than three of your fingers are chopped off on one hand, you cannot hold anything with that hand until they are reattached and healed. Regardless, you're bleeding. If bludgeoning, ALL of your fingers are smashed and you cannot hold anything with that hand for 4d6 hours.
4. Abdomen: Bludgeoning, the wind is knocked out of you. You're stunned and prone until the next round. Slashing/Piercing: You're bleeding.
5. Hip/Upper/Knee/Lower/Ankle: Piercing/Slashing: You're bleeding. Bludgeoning on you have -2 on any rolls that involve proper use of that appendage for the next d4 hours, and -2 after for the next d4 days.
For Foot: If piercing/slashing, those toes are mostly chopped off. You have -2 on rolls that involve keeping balance. Also, you're bleeding. If bludgeoning, your foot is broken, requiring 4d6 days of rest to heal. Your speed is reduced to 1/2 and you have a -4 on checks related to Dexterity, Kicking, and Sprinting.
6. Groin: The important question is.. do we have balls?
If yes: You don't really want to know. Piercing/Slashing: You're bleeding profusely, 2 HP per round. Bludgeoning: You're stunned and prone for d4 rounds.
If no: Piercing/Slashing: You're bleeding. Bludgeoning: You're stunned and prone for 1 round.
Special Circumstances: Fire/Acid/Lightning/Necrotic/Radiant at this Wound Step will hurt like a motherfucker and leave horrible scars -2 to Charisma based checks when it comes to response rolls by humanoids that are jerks. +2 to Charisma based checks when it comes to response rolls by humanoids that are kind. Also, Save vs Paralysis or be paralyzed by the agony for d4 rounds.
Frost will cause frostbite. Proper treatment within d4+1 days is necessary to keep the appendage. Unless it's properly treated within that time window, you can never use it again.
Thunder/Force does the same as Bludgeoning. I know, it's creative.
Poison causes exhaustion that will be contending with natural adrenaline. -2 on all rolls during the battle, -6 on all rolls after the battle until treated or it runs its course (d4 hours).
Major Injury Outcome Table
1. Eye/Nose/Ear is chopped off or smashed to pieces, leaving a permanent -4 to Sight/Smell/Noise checks.
Temple: Bludgeoning: You got knocked the FUCK out. Will sleep for 1d4 hours unless smelling salts or healing magic is administered. Regardless, you've lost 1d4 points of Intelligence permanently and you're incapacitated for at least 24 hours.
Slashing/Piercing: The blade/tip pierced the skull. Same as Bludgeoning, except you lose 2d4 points of Intelligence.
2. Neck: On a Slashing/Piercing attack, your jugular has been struck. You'll bleed out at the start of the next round. On a Bludgeoning attack, your spine was smashed. You're paralyzed from the neck down.
3. For Shoulder, Upper Arm, Elbow, Fore Arm, and Hand: If piercing, you will bleed out in 1d4 rounds. If bludgeoning, that part of your body has been smashed into a paste. The bones cannot be healed naturally, and you will suffer a -6 penalty on any checks relating to using that appendage unless you find a way to work around it.
For Fingers: If piercing/slashing, those fingers are chopped off and cannot be sewn back on. You're going to bleed out in d6+6 rounds. If bludgeoning, ALL of your fingers are smashed to bits and you cannot hold anything with that hand again.
4. Abdomen: Bludgeoning, your ribs are broken. Doing anything with your body has a -6 penalty until you've rested for d4+2 weeks. You're stunned and prone for d6 rounds. Piercing/Slashing, you've been stabbed through the heart or through the stomach. You're incapacitated, but conscious. You die in d4 rounds of shock or blood loss, your pick.
5. Hip/Upper/Knee/Lower/Ankle: Slashing: The appendage is cut off at this point. -6 on any checks that would affect until a prosthetic is found.
Piercing: The tip of whatever pointy thing you stuck in 'em really gummed up the works. Pick an effect from Bludgeoning/Slashing as you believe would apply.
Hip/Upper/Knee/Lower/Ankle: Bludgeoning: Like the arm appendages, this part is smashed into a paste. It cannot be healed naturally, and any checks made involving its use will be made at -6.
For Foot: If piercing/slashing, those toes chopped off and cannot be sewn back on. Also, you're going to bleed out in d4 rounds. You have -4 on rolls that involve keeping balance.
If Bludgeoning: Your foot is smashed into a paste. It cannot be healed naturally, and any checks made involving its use will be made at -6.
6. Groin: The important question is.. do we have balls?
If yes: You don't really want to know. Piercing/Slashing: You bleed out in d4 rounds. You are incapacitated until then. Bludgeoning: You're stunned and prone for d4 days. Your pelvis is broken. You'll never have children.
If no: Piercing/Slashing: You're bleeding profusely (2 HP per round). Bludgeoning: You're stunned and prone for d4 days with a broken pelvis.
Special Circumstances: Fire/Acid/Lightning/Necrotic/Radiant at this Wound Step will remove all but the last couple layers of skin, possibly even exposing bone -6 to Charisma based checks when it comes to response rolls by humanoids that are jerks. +6 to Charisma based checks when it comes to response rolls by humanoids that are kind. Also, you pass out from the agony.
Frost will cause severe frostbite. Proper treatment within d4+1 days is necessary to keep the appendage. Unless it's properly treated within that time window, you can never use it again. Also, being struck by a bludgeoning attack in that spot again (which requires no special circumstances) will result in that part of your body being smashed off completely. The GM decides if you die from this injury. Or a doctor who wants to be a rules lawyer.
Thunder/Force does the same as Bludgeoning.
Poison requires a Save or Die vs Poison if you didn't do that already. Even if you pass, you pass out.
Natural and Magical Healing
Healing Above Zero HP
We've already established that what happens before you get under zero HP is stamina related, right? Right. So it goes without saying that "Healing HP" above zero and below zero are distinctly different from a narrative perspective. To make this as simple as possible, when someone is healed while above zero HP, this is the equivalent of a rejuvenation spell or concoction. It could even be a pep talk under the right circumstances. Regardless, there's no "wound" to heal at this point, so re-flavor as needed.
Healing Below Zero HP
This is when things get complicated. Healing negative HP AT THE SECOND OR THIRD WOUND STEP requires twice the effort. Meaning, if you cast a Cure Wounds and you get an 8, you've cured 4 negative HP. You ALWAYS heal at least 1 HP. This also cures "Bleeding" and "Bleeding Profusely," regardless of how much HP you heal. More powerful healing spells are required to undo the effects of Minor and Major injuries, if it's even possible. Consult your GM about this based on what's possible with the system you're using.
Nonmagical Treatment
Treating an injury or Bleeding without magic is going to range between trivial and impossible depending on the technology at your disposal and the severity of the injury.
Stopping Bleeding takes nothing more than someone actively staunching the wound for a few moments with a thick cloth. Bleeding Profusely will be the same, but will take multiple (d4+1) thick cloths. When a character is bleeding to death, they're going to need a tourniquet to stop this. A character can improvise this with a belt or something to that effect, but it's a more difficult task, particularly if done alone.
Broken bones will require splints, casts, etc. as the situation requires, and the character will have to stay off of them in order for them to properly heal.
With this system, I would recommend that PCs get their hit die worth of HP back after a full day's bed rest, with them getting back half of that with just a night's rest. Since healing above zero is "stamina based," this is them recovering their energy, not healing wounds. The wounds heal separately.
Terms Used
Bleeding
Bleeding is 1 HP of negative HP lost per round until treatment.
Bleeding Profusely is 2 HP of negative HP lost per round.
Bleeding Out means that you're flat out going to die if this isn't treated, no matter how much HP you have.
Wound Step
There are three Wound Steps, all segments of HP under zero. What numbers these segments include is dependent on the size of the Class Hit Die of the character. Refer to the chart if you have any questions about whether or not you're in the First, Second, or Third Wound Step.
Piercing/Slashing/Bludgeoning/Fire/Frost(technicallycoldbutwhatevs)/Poison/etc
These are referring to particular kinds of attacks, using terminology that may differ from edition to edition. However, you should think of this more in terms of narrative terms than mechanical. The mechanics are spelled out.
Save or Die, Save vs. Poison, etc.
Again, this may vary from edition. If you use a unified mechanic that's based on the class and level, use that. If you use a Save that's dependent on the difficulty, the math might vary. Obviously, the Minor Injuries will have a lower DC than the Major Injuries.
Thinking of testing this out? Let me know how it goes!
My Homework/Math that nobody cares about.
How is HP calculated?
I've been fairly impressed with RPG Pundit's Lion & Dragon system with regard to HP. Basically, a "Level 0" character starts with a d6 hit die modified by CON. This is applied to all common humanoid NPCs as well, meaning most of them range between 1 and 6 HP (unless they're particularly healthy?). At level1, you get your typical hit die modified by CON added on top of that. The weaker classes get a d4, the beefiest gets a d12. That brings us to a range of 2-24 with all modifiers considered. Most will have at least 3 hit points at that juncture. It's not a lot, but it's nothing to sneeze at.
I like this, but I'm doing a bit of a change. I think that the d6+CON is perfectly fine at level0. This means that if you smack a commoner with a mace, there's a decent chance they'll get knocked unconscious in one or two hits. If you're level 0, you don't get negative HP.
Class levels are another story. I want that first level to be significant. It's the culmination of years of training and dedication. I believe that if you're level1 and you're of the higher hit-die classes, you should be significantly harder to hurt than an untrained classless NPC.
My fix here: 1d6+CON determines level0 HP. After that, you roll your hit die for 1st level as usual, but the minimum that you can take is the average roll for that hit die rounded up. For instance, a Fighter will get a minimum of 6 hit points from that hit die roll. This means that AT A MINIMUM, even with a 3 in CON (gods forbid), you're taking at least 3 shiny more hit points from being level1 as a Fighter. At those low levels, this can be life or death. Here's how this works out.
Worst Case Scenarios (Rolled both 1s with -3s in CON)
Level 1 d10 Class: 4 Max HP
Level 1 d8 Class: 3 Max HP
Level 1 d6 Class: 2 Max HP
Level 1 d4 Class: 2 Max HP
Absolute Average Scenarios (Rolled both average rolls with 0 in CON)
Level 1 d10 Class: 9 Max HP
Level 1 d8 Class: 8 Max HP
Level 1 d6 Class: 7 Max HP
Level 1 d4 Class: 6 Max HP
Best Case Scenarios (Rolled best of the best with 18 in CON)
Level 1 d10 Class: 22 Max HP
Level 1 d8 Class: 20 Max HP
Level 1 d6 Class: 18 Max HP
Level 1 d4 Class: 16 Max HP
That's a lot for level1, right? In an OSR game, anyway. Well, here's where it starts balancing out. You don't get another hit die for leveling up, unmodified. You get a small static bonus to your hit points. This prevents HP creep. By level10, that means the BEST OF THE BEST BEEFY Fighters is going to have 40 Max HP. That BEEFO Wizard is going to top out at 25. The WORST Fighter is going to top out at 22 at level10. The WORST Wizard will top out at 11.
Progression, then, is far more horizontal than it is in most RPGs. It also means that hitting zero HP is far more likely if you scale up how hard the opponents hit. A 6d6 Fireball with average damage is going to knock that Level 10 BEEFY Wizard out of the battle in one hit. That's not really what we're after here.
The reason this is agreeable, or even encouraged in my mind, is because I'm not going to be using the same scale of encounter deadliness that D&D uses. A creature capable of doing 6d6 damage is the kind of thing that you're going to have several certain deaths from unless you take extreme care in how you approach it. THIS is what I'm after.
All right, so if HP is lower, how does it work when you hit zero? In most OSR games that I've seen, you either die instantly at zero, or there's a static number of negative hit points in which you die, and if you survive the attack that knocked you under zero, you're basically incapacitated. I think this is fine, but I never quite came to appreciate the abstract nature of Hit Points. What really is "a hit?" Are you hurt? Are you bleeding? Etc. etc.
Here's what I came up with.
HP > 0 is basically Stamina. So long as you have more than 0 HP, you have enough stamina to effectively defend yourself. In practice, we're going to call it HP because that's convenient. Therefore, receiving Hit Point damage does not mean that you've been actually struck or wounded. It means that if you had not had the appropriate energy, you would have been unable to effectively defend yourself against this attack. Whatever it was.
When you hit zero HP, you don't go unconscious. You're out of stamina. You're winded. You're vulnerable to being wounded, being burned, being killed. Keep any leftover damage (Negative HP) because that's going to be important.
All right, so I had an incredibly intricate system for how I wanted to handle this negative HP part. It included saving throws tied to character classes, damage thresholds, etc. etc. It was crunchy garbo. Fuck that, I say! Let's make this simple.
You have 1 FULL Hit Die of negative hit points that is tied to your class. For instance, the Fighter will get up to 10 negative hit points. The Wizard gets up to 4. Now, cut that number in 1/3s. These are Wound Steps. The first Wound Step is a freebie. If you land within the first Wound Step, you're still standing. You got injured, but it's not taking you out of the fight. If you land in the second Wound Step, you need to make a roll. You've taken a Minor Injury and it's time to see if it's going to make you pass out. A "Minor Injury" is something that should set your character back for a few days, but not forever. This includes broken bones, deep bleeds, maybe a lost finger, ear, toe, or something to that effect. You'll probably have a gnarly scar.
The third step, as you probably guessed. is a Major Injury. The roll to stay awake is even harder, and you've sustained an injury that will probably set your character back months. Maybe indefinitely. This is severed limbs, crushed/pierced organs, charred skin, etc. You're in danger of dying of shock or blood loss at this point. If you manage to survive, it may be that prosthetics are the only way your character gets back into fighting shape depending on what their class is.
Obviously, if you hit go beyond the last step, you're instantly dead.
Now, every round that you're in the second or third step, you have to make a death saving throw. This doesn't mean that you're stable when you succeed. It means you didn't die this round. You WILL die without proper treatment from either a doctor or a cleric, depending on the setting. The death saving throw is a 6 or higher (modified by CON) at the second Wound Step and a 12 at the Third Wound Step. It's completely a matter of luck and how healthy you are at this point.
How is HP calculated?
I've been fairly impressed with RPG Pundit's Lion & Dragon system with regard to HP. Basically, a "Level 0" character starts with a d6 hit die modified by CON. This is applied to all common humanoid NPCs as well, meaning most of them range between 1 and 6 HP (unless they're particularly healthy?). At level1, you get your typical hit die modified by CON added on top of that. The weaker classes get a d4, the beefiest gets a d12. That brings us to a range of 2-24 with all modifiers considered. Most will have at least 3 hit points at that juncture. It's not a lot, but it's nothing to sneeze at.
I like this, but I'm doing a bit of a change. I think that the d6+CON is perfectly fine at level0. This means that if you smack a commoner with a mace, there's a decent chance they'll get knocked unconscious in one or two hits. If you're level 0, you don't get negative HP.
Class levels are another story. I want that first level to be significant. It's the culmination of years of training and dedication. I believe that if you're level1 and you're of the higher hit-die classes, you should be significantly harder to hurt than an untrained classless NPC.
My fix here: 1d6+CON determines level0 HP. After that, you roll your hit die for 1st level as usual, but the minimum that you can take is the average roll for that hit die rounded up. For instance, a Fighter will get a minimum of 6 hit points from that hit die roll. This means that AT A MINIMUM, even with a 3 in CON (gods forbid), you're taking at least 3 shiny more hit points from being level1 as a Fighter. At those low levels, this can be life or death. Here's how this works out.
Worst Case Scenarios (Rolled both 1s with -3s in CON)
Level 1 d10 Class: 4 Max HP
Level 1 d8 Class: 3 Max HP
Level 1 d6 Class: 2 Max HP
Level 1 d4 Class: 2 Max HP
Absolute Average Scenarios (Rolled both average rolls with 0 in CON)
Level 1 d10 Class: 9 Max HP
Level 1 d8 Class: 8 Max HP
Level 1 d6 Class: 7 Max HP
Level 1 d4 Class: 6 Max HP
Best Case Scenarios (Rolled best of the best with 18 in CON)
Level 1 d10 Class: 22 Max HP
Level 1 d8 Class: 20 Max HP
Level 1 d6 Class: 18 Max HP
Level 1 d4 Class: 16 Max HP
That's a lot for level1, right? In an OSR game, anyway. Well, here's where it starts balancing out. You don't get another hit die for leveling up, unmodified. You get a small static bonus to your hit points. This prevents HP creep. By level10, that means the BEST OF THE BEST BEEFY Fighters is going to have 40 Max HP. That BEEFO Wizard is going to top out at 25. The WORST Fighter is going to top out at 22 at level10. The WORST Wizard will top out at 11.
Progression, then, is far more horizontal than it is in most RPGs. It also means that hitting zero HP is far more likely if you scale up how hard the opponents hit. A 6d6 Fireball with average damage is going to knock that Level 10 BEEFY Wizard out of the battle in one hit. That's not really what we're after here.
The reason this is agreeable, or even encouraged in my mind, is because I'm not going to be using the same scale of encounter deadliness that D&D uses. A creature capable of doing 6d6 damage is the kind of thing that you're going to have several certain deaths from unless you take extreme care in how you approach it. THIS is what I'm after.
All right, so if HP is lower, how does it work when you hit zero? In most OSR games that I've seen, you either die instantly at zero, or there's a static number of negative hit points in which you die, and if you survive the attack that knocked you under zero, you're basically incapacitated. I think this is fine, but I never quite came to appreciate the abstract nature of Hit Points. What really is "a hit?" Are you hurt? Are you bleeding? Etc. etc.
Here's what I came up with.
HP > 0 is basically Stamina. So long as you have more than 0 HP, you have enough stamina to effectively defend yourself. In practice, we're going to call it HP because that's convenient. Therefore, receiving Hit Point damage does not mean that you've been actually struck or wounded. It means that if you had not had the appropriate energy, you would have been unable to effectively defend yourself against this attack. Whatever it was.
When you hit zero HP, you don't go unconscious. You're out of stamina. You're winded. You're vulnerable to being wounded, being burned, being killed. Keep any leftover damage (Negative HP) because that's going to be important.
All right, so I had an incredibly intricate system for how I wanted to handle this negative HP part. It included saving throws tied to character classes, damage thresholds, etc. etc. It was crunchy garbo. Fuck that, I say! Let's make this simple.
You have 1 FULL Hit Die of negative hit points that is tied to your class. For instance, the Fighter will get up to 10 negative hit points. The Wizard gets up to 4. Now, cut that number in 1/3s. These are Wound Steps. The first Wound Step is a freebie. If you land within the first Wound Step, you're still standing. You got injured, but it's not taking you out of the fight. If you land in the second Wound Step, you need to make a roll. You've taken a Minor Injury and it's time to see if it's going to make you pass out. A "Minor Injury" is something that should set your character back for a few days, but not forever. This includes broken bones, deep bleeds, maybe a lost finger, ear, toe, or something to that effect. You'll probably have a gnarly scar.
The third step, as you probably guessed. is a Major Injury. The roll to stay awake is even harder, and you've sustained an injury that will probably set your character back months. Maybe indefinitely. This is severed limbs, crushed/pierced organs, charred skin, etc. You're in danger of dying of shock or blood loss at this point. If you manage to survive, it may be that prosthetics are the only way your character gets back into fighting shape depending on what their class is.
Obviously, if you hit go beyond the last step, you're instantly dead.
Now, every round that you're in the second or third step, you have to make a death saving throw. This doesn't mean that you're stable when you succeed. It means you didn't die this round. You WILL die without proper treatment from either a doctor or a cleric, depending on the setting. The death saving throw is a 6 or higher (modified by CON) at the second Wound Step and a 12 at the Third Wound Step. It's completely a matter of luck and how healthy you are at this point.
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