Death, Dismemberment, and Deterioration in Dragonslayer
These rules are adapted from the system developed by Arnold Kemp on the goblinpunch blog. You can read Arnold's original rules below. I've adjusted these rules to simplify his suggestions and apply them to Dragonslayer RPG.
http://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2016/01/my-favorite-month-is-dismember.html
In a nutshell, these rules reconceptualise what Hit Points are: a combination of luck, skill, divine favour, and supernatural fortitude that prevent injuries from being serious. Once Hit Points run out, PCs become vulnerable. You no longer die or collapse on 0 HP and Hit Points never go into negative numbers: you carry on functioning as normal on 0 HP, but things get a lot more risky.
If damage is dealt to a PC on 0 HP, the character receives an Injury and suffers the Injury’s associated penalty. The number of Injuries a character is carrying is always deducted from healing of any sort: healing potions, cure spells, binding wounds, etc.
The effect of this system is that PCs do not face sudden death but they certainly do deteriorate. Eventually, Injuries will force them to retreat from the dungeon and seek healing, either because they are becoming ineffective (blinded, bleeding, useless limbs, etc) or they are unwilling to risk permanent Severe Injuries. In the long run, PCs steadily acquire permanent disabilities, perhaps forcing a half-blind, one-armed character to retire from active adventuring. Outright death is still possible with this system, but players see it coming and may choose to risk it or not.
Use this system if you want PCs to be sturdier and able to survive and develop through a campaign, but still face debilitating consequences from dangerous encounters and be forced to push their luck when it comes to staying down the dungeon!
http://goblinpunch.blogspot.com/2016/01/my-favorite-month-is-dismember.html
In a nutshell, these rules reconceptualise what Hit Points are: a combination of luck, skill, divine favour, and supernatural fortitude that prevent injuries from being serious. Once Hit Points run out, PCs become vulnerable. You no longer die or collapse on 0 HP and Hit Points never go into negative numbers: you carry on functioning as normal on 0 HP, but things get a lot more risky.
If damage is dealt to a PC on 0 HP, the character receives an Injury and suffers the Injury’s associated penalty. The number of Injuries a character is carrying is always deducted from healing of any sort: healing potions, cure spells, binding wounds, etc.
The effect of this system is that PCs do not face sudden death but they certainly do deteriorate. Eventually, Injuries will force them to retreat from the dungeon and seek healing, either because they are becoming ineffective (blinded, bleeding, useless limbs, etc) or they are unwilling to risk permanent Severe Injuries. In the long run, PCs steadily acquire permanent disabilities, perhaps forcing a half-blind, one-armed character to retire from active adventuring. Outright death is still possible with this system, but players see it coming and may choose to risk it or not.
Use this system if you want PCs to be sturdier and able to survive and develop through a campaign, but still face debilitating consequences from dangerous encounters and be forced to push their luck when it comes to staying down the dungeon!
Injuries
If a character on 0 HP takes damage – or a character is reduced to 0 HP but there is excess damage to account for – then an Injury is applied.
In a storytelling-style game, the player chooses the Injury, based on what feels appropriate or heroic for the PC. In a more traditional game, the Injury is rolled (d6), with the Maze Controller disregarding inappropriate results and choosing an appropriate Injury instead.
In a storytelling-style game, the player chooses the Injury, based on what feels appropriate or heroic for the PC. In a more traditional game, the Injury is rolled (d6), with the Maze Controller disregarding inappropriate results and choosing an appropriate Injury instead.
After determining the Injury, the PC makes a Health Check: roll 1d8 and if you roll equal to or less than the number of current Injuries you are carrying (including the one you just received), the new Injury has a severe penalty instead.
- BLEEDING: After any strenuous activity (running, climbing, hitting successfully in combat, casting a spell) you must save vs Paralysis or faint for a round; you can be tracked by monsters (check for Wandering Monsters after every turn of movement). Severe Bleeding: As above until you recover, then permanently lower your maximum HP by 1d4.
- BLINDED: Lose the use of (50% either) left or right eye: -2 on all range combat, +2 on saves vs your ranged spells. Severe Blinding: loss of eye is permanent.
- FRACTURE: Your spells fail 50% of the time; when rolling Initiative, treat 1-3 as 1 and 4-6 as no action possible. Severe Fracture: as above until you recover, then permanently lose a point from STR and DEX.
- MAIMED: Lose use of (d4: 1) right arm, (2) left arm, (3) right leg or (4) left leg; damaged arms drop held items, cannot use two-handed weapons; damaged legs cause fall, cannot rise unassisted and movement halved; save vs Death to avoid loss of finger/toe. Severe Maiming: limb is severed or permanently ruined.
- SCARRED: Charisma drops to 3 and all henchmen must make Loyalty tests. Severe Scarring: as above until you recover, then permanently lose a point from CHA and one other ability score.
- STUPOR: Forget all learned spells; fall unconscious for 1d6 hours, at the end of this time save vs Death to suffer or fall into a coma for 1d6 days. Severe Stupor: As above go straight into a coma for 1d6 days, at the end of this time save vs Death to awake or continue in coma for another 1d6 days and save again.
Stricken !
If you receive an Injury that you already suffer from, you are Stricken instead. A player may choose to be Stricken instead of taking any Injury of any sort. Being Stricken still counts as picking up an Injury for purposes of future Health Checks and healing.
A Stricken PC collapses, lies helpless, and starts to die. The character will die after 3 rounds unless they receive successful First Aid. Another character must spend a full round applying First Aid. The Stricken character saves vs Death each time they receive First Aid. If the saving throw is successful, the character recovers in 1d10 rounds.
If the Stricken character does not make the saving throws or First Aid is not forthcoming, they die at the end of the third round.
Why would you choose to be Stricken? You might decide it's more fitting or dramatic for your character to collapse and start dying rather than get her arm cut off. You might be pretty confident your companions can deliver First Aid and you don't think you're PC is needed in battle anymore.
A Stricken PC collapses, lies helpless, and starts to die. The character will die after 3 rounds unless they receive successful First Aid. Another character must spend a full round applying First Aid. The Stricken character saves vs Death each time they receive First Aid. If the saving throw is successful, the character recovers in 1d10 rounds.
If the Stricken character does not make the saving throws or First Aid is not forthcoming, they die at the end of the third round.
Why would you choose to be Stricken? You might decide it's more fitting or dramatic for your character to collapse and start dying rather than get her arm cut off. You might be pretty confident your companions can deliver First Aid and you don't think you're PC is needed in battle anymore.
Excessive Damage (optional)
This system doesn't distinguish between taking a single point of damage beyond 0 Hit Points or taking twenty! Excessive Damage reduces a character to a negative HP score greater than their starting (full health) HP. Excessive Damage always imposes a Severe Injury.
Poison (optional)
If a PC fails a save against deadly poison, he is reduced to 0HP straight away and Stricken. The Maze Controller might allow the PC to apply First Aid to himself on the very first round (sucking out the venom or regurgitating the poison); if that fails, someone else must apply First Aid instead. Continue to apply any penalty or bonus that was part of the original poisoning (e.g. +4 for giant poisonous frogs).
Monsters/NPCs on 0 HP (optional)
To be fair, monsters and NPCs should not die on Zero HP either. I recommend making an exception for mindless undead and extra-planar creatures, who disintegrate or return to their own dimension on 0HP. Monsters will fail Morale on OHP and seek to flee unless completely fanatical (like Berserkers). Don't apply Injuries to most monsters: if damage goes beyond 0HP they simply die. However, BBEGs or heroic NPCs should suffer Injuries like PCs do
Shields & Parrying Weapons (optional)
A Shield or parrying Weapon (or Helm, optionally) can take the impact of an attack that would impose an Injury. Declare your intention to do this after rolling the Health Check. The Shield or Weapon is shattered; a Severe Injury is reduced to a normal Injury and a normal Injury becomes temporary, only lasting for an hour. Magic weapons/shields used this way do not shatter but lose all their magical powers for 1d6 days.
Recovering from Injuries
Injuries are recovered from by rest. Each Injury requires 1d6 days of uninterrupted rest to recover.
Severe Injuries can be recovered from (and no longer limit Hit Point healing or count towards Health Checks going forward) but they have effects that are permanent (e.g. loss of limbs, lowered abilities).
Injuries sometimes lose their penalties, but still remain present as Injuries (i.e. they deduct from Hit Point healing and count toward Health Checks). For example, cure blindness removes the penalty of being blinded but the Injury still exists until the PC gets uninterrupted rest. Heal is an exception to this: it actually removes Injuries (see below).
A character on 0 HP can still benefit from healing magic and Binding Wounds to raise their HP, but the number of Injuries they have is deducted from the amount of HP restored.
Severe Injuries can be recovered from (and no longer limit Hit Point healing or count towards Health Checks going forward) but they have effects that are permanent (e.g. loss of limbs, lowered abilities).
Injuries sometimes lose their penalties, but still remain present as Injuries (i.e. they deduct from Hit Point healing and count toward Health Checks). For example, cure blindness removes the penalty of being blinded but the Injury still exists until the PC gets uninterrupted rest. Heal is an exception to this: it actually removes Injuries (see below).
A character on 0 HP can still benefit from healing magic and Binding Wounds to raise their HP, but the number of Injuries they have is deducted from the amount of HP restored.
Spells in Dragonslayer
- Healing Potions and Cure Light/Moderate Wounds spells will not affect Injuries, but Cure Serious Wounds or a Potion of Extra-Healing will remove the penalty one lesser Injury or successfully treat a Stricken character instead of restoring HP. Heal causes the recipient to recover from recent Injuries or restores a Stricken character.
- Elderberry (the 2nd level Druid spell) can be used as First Aid instead of restoring HP: the Stricken character saves at +1 per berry used.
- Bestow Curse could be used to impose a (lesser) Injury or cause a 0 HP character to be Stricken.
- Power Word spells all impose an Injury: Power Word (Stun) imposes Stupor with the duration set by the spell; Power Word (Blind) imposes the Severe Injury (Blindness) and Power Word (Kill) causes a PC to drop to 0 HP and be Stricken.
- Necrosis (reverse of Regeneration) imposes the Severe Injury (Maiming).
Rules for Dragonslayer PC Classes
- The Berserk Rage of a Barbarian activates when the PC would be Stricken; when the Rage subsides, the Barbarian collapses but can still be offered First Aid for 3 rounds.
- Laying on Hands by a Paladin can deliver successful First Aid (no Save required) instead of restoring HP.
- A Druid using Animal Shape can recover from an Injury instead of healing HP.
- Assassins who successfully Assassinate cause a PC to be Stricken – use the Assassin’s Attack Bonus as a penalty for incurred Saves vs Death.
