Little background on me and why I've been working on these optional homebrew rules. I've been running D&D for 25+ years, currently have 2 campaigns of 6 players, and have lots and lots of 5e time logged as DM. I learned with AD&D, I Loved 3rd, hated 4th, and love 5th.
I've never been a DM where my players often die, quite the opposite actually. Most of my campaigns run 2-3 years with maybe 1 character death if that, and then we "reset" But one of my biggest gripes with 5th (other than the lucky feat LOL) is how soft death is or how soft going unconscious down is. Even the optional [massive damage] rule seems really soft. A Player can literally have a maximum of 30 hitpoints, do something REALLY stupid, take 45 points and his friend walks over to him and casts a cantrip and he's good! And this can happen over and over in one encounter or many times before a short or long rest. Maybe your groups don't have this problem but I've seen this happen too many times and it just feels... I don't know... lame?
I think if you get hit at one time for more than your maximum health, it should leave a mark for at least 24 hours. I think if you aren't playing smart, and you keep "going down" over and over and over that you should feel like crap from it, be limping a bit... show SOMETHING for being beaten or cutup to near death multiple times. Hence my new condition "Wound" and 3 new special damage events: Excessive Damage, Massive Damage, and Critical Damage. This is what I came up with:
Wounds: Several events or effects in the game can cause a character to receive a wound.
When a character is wounded, they draw a square around one of their Death Save (failure) check boxes in addition to checking it or bubbling it in. While the wound box/square is there the character keeps that death failure checked/bubbled even if the character is healed.
A wound requires 24 hours of time to be removed and that 24 hours of time must include a long rest and either magical healing or a successful heal check DC12 with a healer's kit. (This check is made with disadvantage if the character is performing it on themselves) If the wound is not taken care of within the first 24 hours it then takes 2D6 weeks to heal naturally or level 6+ healing magic.
Condition: 1 Wound
Cannot heal more than 50% of maximum health
-5' Movement speed
Disadvantage on all STR, DEX and CON based skills and saves (including Initiative checks, but not death or special damage saves below)
Condition: 2 Wounds
Cannot heal more than 1 hit point per hit dice
Movement speed is halved.
Disadvantage on all skills and saves (including Initiative checks, but not death or special damage saves below)
Cannot take reactions
Note: Wounds are treated just like Death Save failures and any combination of 3 from wounds or death save failures kills a character. For example, a character that had 2 wounds is later reduced to zero hit points, then rolls their Death Save and fails resulting in 2 wounds plus 1 Death Save Failure would then die.
Excessive Damage - Being reduced to zero hit points three or more times is considered Excessive Damage. The third time and each time after a character is reduced to zero hit points without a short or long rest, the character must make a DC 15 constitution save or suffer a wound. Each time the character takes Excessive damage the DC increases by an accumulative 3.
For example, Brave Sir Robin has been knocked down to zero hit points twice since his last short/long rest. Upon the third time he is reduced to zero hit points he must make a DC 15 constitution save or suffer one wound. A few rounds later he goes down again, but this time he must make a DC 18 constitution save or suffer one wound. He then takes a short rest resetting any chances of taking excessive damage.
Massive Damage - Damage equal to or greater than HALF a character's hit point maximum
When a creature takes damage from a single source equal to or greater than half its hit point maximum, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer one wound and a random effect determined by a roll on the System Shock Massive Damage table. For example, a creature that has a hit point maximum of 30 must make that Constitution save if it takes 15 damage or more from a single source.
System Shock - Massive Damage Table:
d10
Effect
1
The creature drops to 0 hit points.
2–3
The creature drops to 0 hit points but is stable.
4–5
The creature is stunned until the end of its next turn.
6–7
The creature can’t take reactions and has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn.
8–10
The creature can’t take reactions until the end of its next turn.
Critical Damage - Damage equal to or greater than a character's hit point maximum
When a creature takes damage from a single source greater than it's hit point maximum, it automatically suffers 1 wound and must make a DC15 constitution save or suffer an additional wound.
In addition to the 1-2 wounds, the character receives a random effect determined by a roll on the System Shock Critical Damage table
System Shock - Critical Damage Table:
d10
Effect
1-3
Permanent damage! Roll a D6 for effect:
1. Large & ugly Facial Scar
2. Wounded Leg! Permanent -5 to movement
3. Wounded Arm! Disadvantage on athletic checks
4. Wounded Torso! -1 to Strength Statistic
5. Wounded Eye! Loss of depth perception and disadvantage on perception checks
6. Wounded Organ! -1 to Consitituion Statistic
Only a Wish spell or the level 6 Heal Spell (cast within 24 hours) can remove the permanent damage.
4-5
The creature drops to 0 hit points. Only a single heal of 11 or more hit points or a Heal Check DC20 (with a healer's kit) will stabilize them. The first 10 hit points healed are truncated.
6-7
The creature drops to 0 hit points but is stable.
8
The creature is stunned until the end of its next turn.
9
The creature can’t take reactions and has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn.
10
The creature can’t take reactions until the end of its next turn.
For me, this is an enormous amount of bookkeeping both long term and short term for a very small benefit. I agree that the 5e rules are simple but they have two aims:
Model what you see in high fantasy book and movies, and on that count, they are closer (from my perspective) to that than yours
Be quick and streamlined and preserve player fun by allowing them not to spend hours inactive if their character is down (which, as you have loved 3e is probably something that you faced with a heavy system meaning that taking one's turn could literally wait for tens of minutes, and that you could easily stay unconscious for turn after turn).
So if you think that your players and you will enjoy it, go ahead, but consider the two points above...
For me, tracking this isn't hard at all. And for the player, you simply put a box around the death save failure boxes. It shouldn't happen often, but I still think itll add a nice touch to the occasional catastrophic damage event, or the player or group that is pushing non stop... because they can.
That's what it comes down to. You are willing to trade complexity for functionality. If it's a trade that you think brings value to the game in exchange for the added bookkeeping, then it's a good fit for your table.
That's what it comes down to. You are willing to trade complexity for functionality. If it's a trade that you think brings value to the game in exchange for the added bookkeeping, then it's a good fit for your table.
I agree with this, just make sure that the players also appreciate the trade off and consider it a good fit, as they are the ones who will need to implement it.
And if you go ahead, I would prepare small cards with a resume of what it means, so that it speeds up play. Good luck !
Just found your "new" method for damage and wounds and I wanted to let you know I think it is fantastic!
I will be introducing it to my players tomorrow and I'm sure they'll love the extra challenge it brings.
Thanks a ton for posting (and keeping it up!)
~ Lady Lisa
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I began playing D&D in the early 1980's. In 2009 I made the jump to Dungeon Mistress and have recently signed on to run a custom game I created called "Pub Style" at a local hot spot in my area.
I love to write campaigns, creating lush settings rich in variety and challenges for players of all levels.
So what I do with Crits is that you do double damage and you explain what you do (not to op like cutting off it's head) and what I do for death saves is that the dm rolls them in secret so no one (but the dm) know if that player is about to die or become stable, and I also make the 0 hp player able to see because they always do it in movies
I think you’re best way to get that risk you’re looking for without over complicating this is this:
1 Wound = +1 exhaustion level.
You could use new or old exhaustion levels. If you have 2 wounds and 1 exhaustion level, you effectively have 3 exhaustion levels.
Wounds heal 1 per week of Relaxation as per XGtE the downtime rule.
PC’s take a wound when they are below half hp and are hit by a critical hit, or any time they are reduced to 0 HP.
Medicine Checks DC 15+no. of wounds can reduce this to 3days of recovery. Cure wounds spell cures 1 wound if you’re feeling nice, otherwise treat it ability score damage for magical healing.
Little background on me and why I've been working on these optional homebrew rules. I've been running D&D for 25+ years, currently have 2 campaigns of 6 players, and have lots and lots of 5e time logged as DM. I learned with AD&D, I Loved 3rd, hated 4th, and love 5th.
I've never been a DM where my players often die, quite the opposite actually. Most of my campaigns run 2-3 years with maybe 1 character death if that, and then we "reset" But one of my biggest gripes with 5th (other than the lucky feat LOL) is how soft death is or how soft going unconscious down is. Even the optional [massive damage] rule seems really soft. A Player can literally have a maximum of 30 hitpoints, do something REALLY stupid, take 45 points and his friend walks over to him and casts a cantrip and he's good! And this can happen over and over in one encounter or many times before a short or long rest. Maybe your groups don't have this problem but I've seen this happen too many times and it just feels... I don't know... lame?
I think if you get hit at one time for more than your maximum health, it should leave a mark for at least 24 hours. I think if you aren't playing smart, and you keep "going down" over and over and over that you should feel like crap from it, be limping a bit... show SOMETHING for being beaten or cutup to near death multiple times. Hence my new condition "Wound" and 3 new special damage events: Excessive Damage, Massive Damage, and Critical Damage. This is what I came up with:
Wounds: Several events or effects in the game can cause a character to receive a wound.
When a character is wounded, they draw a square around one of their Death Save (failure) check boxes in addition to checking it or bubbling it in. While the wound box/square is there the character keeps that death failure checked/bubbled even if the character is healed.
A wound requires 24 hours of time to be removed and that 24 hours of time must include a long rest and either magical healing or a successful heal check DC12 with a healer's kit. (This check is made with disadvantage if the character is performing it on themselves) If the wound is not taken care of within the first 24 hours it then takes 2D6 weeks to heal naturally or level 6+ healing magic.
Condition: 1 Wound
Condition: 2 Wounds
Note: Wounds are treated just like Death Save failures and any combination of 3 from wounds or death save failures kills a character. For example, a character that had 2 wounds is later reduced to zero hit points, then rolls their Death Save and fails resulting in 2 wounds plus 1 Death Save Failure would then die.
Excessive Damage - Being reduced to zero hit points three or more times is considered Excessive Damage. The third time and each time after a character is reduced to zero hit points without a short or long rest, the character must make a DC 15 constitution save or suffer a wound. Each time the character takes Excessive damage the DC increases by an accumulative 3.
For example, Brave Sir Robin has been knocked down to zero hit points twice since his last short/long rest. Upon the third time he is reduced to zero hit points he must make a DC 15 constitution save or suffer one wound. A few rounds later he goes down again, but this time he must make a DC 18 constitution save or suffer one wound. He then takes a short rest resetting any chances of taking excessive damage.
Massive Damage - Damage equal to or greater than HALF a character's hit point maximum
When a creature takes damage from a single source equal to or greater than half its hit point maximum, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or suffer one wound and a random effect determined by a roll on the System Shock Massive Damage table. For example, a creature that has a hit point maximum of 30 must make that Constitution save if it takes 15 damage or more from a single source.
System Shock - Massive Damage Table:
d10
Effect
1
The creature drops to 0 hit points.
2–3
The creature drops to 0 hit points but is stable.
4–5
The creature is stunned until the end of its next turn.
6–7
The creature can’t take reactions and has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn.
8–10
The creature can’t take reactions until the end of its next turn.
Critical Damage - Damage equal to or greater than a character's hit point maximum
When a creature takes damage from a single source greater than it's hit point maximum, it automatically suffers 1 wound and must make a DC15 constitution save or suffer an additional wound.
In addition to the 1-2 wounds, the character receives a random effect determined by a roll on the System Shock Critical Damage table
System Shock - Critical Damage Table:
d10
Effect
1-3
Permanent damage! Roll a D6 for effect:
1. Large & ugly Facial Scar
2. Wounded Leg! Permanent -5 to movement
3. Wounded Arm! Disadvantage on athletic checks
4. Wounded Torso! -1 to Strength Statistic
5. Wounded Eye! Loss of depth perception and disadvantage on perception checks
6. Wounded Organ! -1 to Consitituion Statistic
Only a Wish spell or the level 6 Heal Spell (cast within 24 hours) can remove the permanent damage.
4-5
The creature drops to 0 hit points. Only a single heal of 11 or more hit points or a Heal Check DC20 (with a healer's kit) will stabilize them. The first 10 hit points healed are truncated.
6-7
The creature drops to 0 hit points but is stable.
8
The creature is stunned until the end of its next turn.
9
The creature can’t take reactions and has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end of its next turn.
10
The creature can’t take reactions until the end of its next turn.
For me, tracking this isn't hard at all. And for the player, you simply put a box around the death save failure boxes. It shouldn't happen often, but I still think itll add a nice touch to the occasional catastrophic damage event, or the player or group that is pushing non stop... because they can.
That's what it comes down to. You are willing to trade complexity for functionality. If it's a trade that you think brings value to the game in exchange for the added bookkeeping, then it's a good fit for your table.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
I like the Wound-Card idea! thanks!!
Hey TheriusDrake,
Just found your "new" method for damage and wounds and I wanted to let you know I think it is fantastic!
I will be introducing it to my players tomorrow and I'm sure they'll love the extra challenge it brings.
Thanks a ton for posting (and keeping it up!)
~ Lady Lisa
I began playing D&D in the early 1980's. In 2009 I made the jump to Dungeon Mistress and have recently signed on to run a custom game I created called "Pub Style" at a local hot spot in my area.
I love to write campaigns, creating lush settings rich in variety and challenges for players of all levels.
So what I do with Crits is that you do double damage and you explain what you do (not to op like cutting off it's head) and what I do for death saves is that the dm rolls them in secret so no one (but the dm) know if that player is about to die or become stable, and I also make the 0 hp player able to see because they always do it in movies
I think you’re best way to get that risk you’re looking for without over complicating this is this:
1 Wound = +1 exhaustion level.
You could use new or old exhaustion levels. If you have 2 wounds and 1 exhaustion level, you effectively have 3 exhaustion levels.
Wounds heal 1 per week of Relaxation as per XGtE the downtime rule.
PC’s take a wound when they are below half hp and are hit by a critical hit, or any time they are reduced to 0 HP.
Medicine Checks DC 15+no. of wounds can reduce this to 3days of recovery. Cure wounds spell cures 1 wound if you’re feeling nice, otherwise treat it ability score damage for magical healing.
My Brews:
Race: Tropical Dwaves Spells: Summon Spirits Rites of Mummification
Monster: Osprey Feat: Skill Mastery–Animal Handler (Provides DCs for training animals applicable to those with and without this feat)