LOTRfan
2011-05-15, 09:59 PM
Alright, I'm trying to bring the 4e concept of "Bloodied" to the 3.5 system. I fear I might not have done such a good job. Does anyone have any suggestions?
New Condition: Bloodied
In most D&D settings, the Hit Point system is not very good at accurately portraying injury. If you have 140 hit points, you will be fighting just as well if you only have 1 hp remaining. 4e introduced the term “bloodied,” which means that a player or monster is at ½ total hit point value or less. This seems to be an interesting idea. This is an attempt to introduce this concept into the game.
When a creature is reduced to ½ its total hit point total, a creature is considered “bloodied.” In this state, they take a -2 penalty on all skill checks, saving throws, attack and damage rolls, and their Armor Class. In addition, they must make a fortitude save (DC 15), or take 2 points of Constitution damage. If they fail the fortitude save, they take 1 point of damage for every hit die they have as a result from this Con loss.
When brought down to ¼ its total hit point total, the penalties are doubled to -4. In addition to this, the creature loses any Dexterity bonus it has to its Armor Class. This leaves the creature vulnerable to sneak attacks, sudden strikes, or skirmish damage.
This condition lasts until the creature is above ½ its current hit points.
Some abilities work differently when using this variant. For example:
• Creatures with either the Ferocity special quality or the Die Hard feat have their damage multiplied by 1.5, rounding down. For example, a bloodied boar that would have dealt 12 points of damage damage instead deals 18 damage.
• Barbarians who begin raging while bloodied do not lose their Dexterity bonus to their Armor Class, and do not suffer penalties from being blooded until after they stop raging. Monks never lose their Dexterity bonus due to becoming bloodied.
• Precision damage (like that caused by sudden strikes or sneak attacks) dealt to bloodied targets is doubled.
• Constructs, Deathless, Plants, and Undead are not affected by this system.
How does this affect the game?
This variant makes combat finish more quickly, while increasing the lethality of combat. This makes the need for healing magic much more apparent. This system is best used at higher levels, as a single blow in a level 1-3 campaign may cause instant death (or suckyness, depending on how many hit points a character has).
New Condition: Bloodied
In most D&D settings, the Hit Point system is not very good at accurately portraying injury. If you have 140 hit points, you will be fighting just as well if you only have 1 hp remaining. 4e introduced the term “bloodied,” which means that a player or monster is at ½ total hit point value or less. This seems to be an interesting idea. This is an attempt to introduce this concept into the game.
When a creature is reduced to ½ its total hit point total, a creature is considered “bloodied.” In this state, they take a -2 penalty on all skill checks, saving throws, attack and damage rolls, and their Armor Class. In addition, they must make a fortitude save (DC 15), or take 2 points of Constitution damage. If they fail the fortitude save, they take 1 point of damage for every hit die they have as a result from this Con loss.
When brought down to ¼ its total hit point total, the penalties are doubled to -4. In addition to this, the creature loses any Dexterity bonus it has to its Armor Class. This leaves the creature vulnerable to sneak attacks, sudden strikes, or skirmish damage.
This condition lasts until the creature is above ½ its current hit points.
Some abilities work differently when using this variant. For example:
• Creatures with either the Ferocity special quality or the Die Hard feat have their damage multiplied by 1.5, rounding down. For example, a bloodied boar that would have dealt 12 points of damage damage instead deals 18 damage.
• Barbarians who begin raging while bloodied do not lose their Dexterity bonus to their Armor Class, and do not suffer penalties from being blooded until after they stop raging. Monks never lose their Dexterity bonus due to becoming bloodied.
• Precision damage (like that caused by sudden strikes or sneak attacks) dealt to bloodied targets is doubled.
• Constructs, Deathless, Plants, and Undead are not affected by this system.
How does this affect the game?
This variant makes combat finish more quickly, while increasing the lethality of combat. This makes the need for healing magic much more apparent. This system is best used at higher levels, as a single blow in a level 1-3 campaign may cause instant death (or suckyness, depending on how many hit points a character has).