So rather than the boring "you lose X HP" every attack, I had an idea to make damage more cinematic.

Take a whole list of conditions, say Paizo's Critical Hit deck.

Rather than gaining HP, you merely have a base amount of HP at 1st level which grows very slowly (ridiculously slow). Whenever you're reduced to 0, you acquire a critical hit effect and reset to max. However, you also roll a random chance to see how long the injury lasts. A few rounds, until healed, or even permanently.

A KNOCKOUT card will be included in the deck. At some point you'll roll or draw it and that's it for you. Then it's negative hit points, death saves or whatever suits your GM's fancy.

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So here's my run down of this implemented in a d20 game:

All characters start with an amount of HP equal to CONSTITUTION SCORE + MAXIMUM HD (darn multiclassers take average and round down). Any effects that target a creature based on their number of hit points cuts their limit in half (such as Power Word Kill) and there is no additional damage based on level beyond the minimum level needed to acquire an effect (for example, Fireball's damage doesn't go up after it is acquired).

Whenever you're dealt enough damage to be reduced to 0 HP, you acquire a critical hit effect upon yourself and reset back to max HP. Critical hit effects will keep stacking up. If you are dealt enough damage in one blow to double, triple, or even quadruple your HP, your critical hit effect lasts longer based on the multiplier: normal = lasts 1d6 rounds, double = lasts until magically healed (1st-3rd level spell) or 1 hour rest, triple = lasts until magically healed (4th-6th level spell) or full night's rest, quadruple = permanent until magically healed (7th level spell+).

So a 1st level barbarian with 14 Constitution would have 15 + 12 HD = 26 hit points while a 1st level wizard with 8 Constitution would have 8 + 6 HD = 14 hit points. Much more than normal at 1st level but it doesn't grow very fast (46 and 34 by 20th level respectively).

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Does anyone else have any cool ideas for making injury and recovery in combat more "cinematic" and "suspenseful"?
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:11, Sat 24 Jan 2015.

Yeah, Savage Worlds did it pretty nicely.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/...filters=0_0_1600_0_0

I'll let you read it for yourself, as the game maker explains it better then me.

Well, recovery in combat would not be very suspenseful, but it would be pretty cinematic pretty much automatically. 4th ed tried with Healing Surges but it didn't really work. I think temporarily being unable to use an arm or leg makes things pretty suspenseful but I haven't read the Paizo Crit Hit deck, so I don't know if that's already covered.

In reply to shady joker (msg # 2):

That PDF doesn't have anything about Critical Hits and the Wounds list was pretty limited to "shaken", "stunned" and "penalty to rolls".

So it's not bad but it's not nearly at the level of cinematic flavor I'm looking to explore. It reminds me of the conditions track from star wars which I didn't really like. It's still too "up and down" with no curve balls or sidesteps (if you get my drift).


In reply to steelsmiter (msg # 3):

Yeah, simply watching a number go up or down isn't very suspenseful. That's why injuries are better.

The crit deck is very versatile. And it'd be great to add our own things to the deck. Stuff like "can't use arm" and "weapon breaks" and "ability damage" is already in there and we can add more like "broken armor now deals bleed damage to you until you remove it" or "pants on fire, deals fire damage until you put it out (DC20 Reflex, standard action) or remove it (full-round action, no roll needed)".
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:46, Sat 24 Jan 2015.

if you wanted to scrap hit points alltogether, each body part might be Fine, Injured, Crippled, or Severed. Certain classes might get extra Injured slots initially, and you might require that limbs and head have no more than half as many slots as the torso (and the groin only ever have 1 slot).

I don't know maybe I'm overthinking it.

Many years ago there was an unofficial critical hit system produced for Traveller by a guy called Steve Cook. It may still be floating around cyberspace somewhere. It had damage by location and included things like recovery times for broken bones, IIRC.

I honestly DON'T like damage by location charts. They limit your critical effects to HUMANOIDS and you can't use these on the monsters you really want to fight (cutting off a hydra head or kraken tentacle or dragon horn for example). I prefer creating various conditions, penalties and effects that can be explained through cinematic description on the GM's or the player's part.

For example instead of "right arm, left arm, right leg, left leg, head, torso" I'd prefer a simple condition effect and explain what was hit and what caused it after the fact.

Here are some examples:

• 1d6 (ability) damage
• Blinded
• Dazed
• Disabled base speed (roll randomly to see which one)
• Disabled upper limb (roll randomly to see which one)
• Disarmed: they drop one item they are holding (roll randomly to see which one)
• Shakened
• Sickened
• Staggered
• Stunned
• Sundered: you damage one item they are holding or their armor, if any (roll randomly to see which one)

The more severe effects would have shorter durations and show up less often in the deck. However, each time you're injured there's a greater chance of a wound duration lasting longer and requiring greater magic/science/time to heal. At some point time can't fix it (cutting off a hand, gouging out an eye, etc.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:55, Sat 24 Jan 2015.