Most of the damage adventurers take are just bruises and superficial cuts. Wounds, however, are violent blows that cause the adventurer more lasting harm.
Whenever you take a Wound, you also take a level of exhaustion.
Whenever you lose a number of hit points equal to or higher than your Wound threshold, you take a Wound. Your Wound threshold is equal to the highest of:
- a quarter of your maximum hit points (rounded up)
- 4 + your Constitution modifier
Whenever your maximum hit points or Constitution modifier changes, your Wound threshold is recalculated accordingly. Only creatures with maximum hit points equal to or higher than 4 have a Wound threshold.
Whenever you take a Wound, you roll a corresponding disability whose effects can only be healed with time or through the use of magic. Roll 1d10 to determine what part of the body has been hit and what penalties the character thus suffers from. If the result rolled does not make sense, you are winded (equivalent to the poisoned condition).
d10 | Location and effects |
---|
1 | Face. You are blinded for 1 minute. Afterward, you have disadvantage on ability checks based on sight and on attack rolls. |
2-3 | Back. You are paralyzed for 1d4 rounds. Afterward, you have disadvantage on ability checks and on attack rolls based on Strength or Dexterity. |
4-5 | Lower limb. Your speed is halved and you have disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls that require the use of the Wounded limb. |
6-7 | Upper limb. You cannot hold two-handed items and have disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls that require the use of the Wounded limb. |
8-9 | Torso. You are winded (equivalent to the poisoned condition). |
10 | Head. You are stunned for 1d4 rounds. Afterward, you have disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls based on Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. |
When you take a Wound, it must be dressed, or it will never heal. Each Wound requires a successful DC 13 Medicine check. If the check is successful, the Wound is dressed and can now heal; on a failure, no further check can be attempted until the next day.
To recover from a Wound, you must either wait for it to heal naturally or use magic. Once your Wound has been dressed, it heals with long rests. When you finish a long rest, you can choose to either remove a Wound (and the corresponding level of exhaustion) or recover your maximum hit points. Magic can heal a Wound. The magic effect must heal hit points. Compare the amount of hit points healed to your Wound threshold: if it is equal to or higher than your Wound threshold, the effect removes a Wound (and the corresponding level of exhaustion) instead of healing hit points.