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View Full Version : 3.5 Idea for new mechanic (P.E.A.C.H.)



Zeful
2010-06-22, 12:04 AM
I had some idea to beef melee fighting and try to balance out high level play (and by balance I mean the ability for non-casters to remain competitive).


Maiming: When a melee attack deals damage equal to or greater than a creature's Constitution score the target must make a Fortitude Save against a DC 10+1/2 attacker's hit dice+Attacker's Strength Mod or be Maimed. A maimed creature suffers a -1 penalty to attack rolls, skill checks and saving throws until he is healed (detailed below). He also has his speed reduced by 5 feet, and receives a 10% spell failure chance for a spell cast with somatic components. A character maimed may make a DC 15 Concentration check as a free action to avoid the penalties until he preforms any of the following: Moves more than 10ft in a round, attacks, casts a spell with a somatic component, or takes damage equal to his constitution modifier. A maimed character may also take a full round action to preform a DC25 Autohypnosis check to avoid the penalties until the end of the encounter, though he takes 1 damage every round from his injuries.
A maimed character is hard to heal. While maimed a creature does not heal naturally (unless the creature possesses the ability to regenerate) and magical healing will not remove the maimed status unless the amount of damage healed at once is equal to or greater than the amount of damage that inflicted the maimed status. To heal a maimed character a DC 15 Heal check is required, this check takes ten minutes to properly set bones, clean the wound and wrap it to prevent further injury. After this the creature heals normally from both natural healing and magical healing.

How balanced would this be?

Zeful
2010-06-23, 12:41 AM
So, a little over 24 hours later, no replies? No one has an opinion about this, or complaining that it adds another check to melee characters?

Knaight
2010-06-23, 01:31 AM
Melee characters can now get crippled fighting monsters. Yay!

Ashtagon
2010-06-23, 01:33 AM
Melee guys will definitely suffer from this more, both because they get attacked more often, and because at high level, attacks that target casters tend be the kind that do not directly attack hp.

AugustNights
2010-06-23, 01:36 AM
Here are my thoughts and questions:

I do think it's another mechanic to keep in mind, and a complicated one at that.

It seems as if rogues would be better at maiming than combat monkeys, while just about anyone higher than fifth level would shrug it off with ease. DC 15 concentration check isn't that difficult to get. Further, with the way it works gish-casters would eat this mechanic up.

Why is the DC based on the Attacker's Hit Dice? If a Human Ranger level 1 with a mace of ruin and favored enemy Chumplump struck me for over 20 damage, and a L.20 wizard slapped me for just over 10 damage, why should the 10 be more physically damaging?

The simple -1 penalty to any roll doesn't seem to merit making everyone keep track of their Constitution score vs Damage received, and it certainly doesn't merit making a saving throw every time over 20 damage is dished out.

Why is it a melee attack? Wouldn't a Boulder be just as maiming as a great club?

DC 15 doesn't seem that difficult to heal either, even with the 10 minute bonus.

Ultimately it seems to be more of a hassle than what the product offers.

As far as balance goes, it's fine. It will be pretty intense at lower levels, but at higher levels, most creatures will either shrug it off, or die from something else sooner.