Yakk
2007-10-24, 12:22 PM
The goal of these rules is to make HP a semi-renewable resource. As many have noted, out of combat healing is extremely cheap: so cheap that players can default to full HP after even a short break.
This also means that damage never carries between combats.
The Soak/HP system provides two different HP resources. Soak is completely renewable, even without carrying around a bundle of cure light wound wands.
HP is slow to renew: it requires significant bed rest to heal up. While magical healing can make bed rest work better, it cannot instantly heal HP under this system.
When you are hit, almost all of the damage applies to Soak, with a small amount leaking through to HP. If you run out of Soak, you start taking painful HP damage.
Characters have almost as much Soak as they had HP under the standard system.
So, the nitty gritty:
Soak:
Each 1d4 gives you 1 soak.
Each 1d6 gives you 2 soak
Each 1d8 gives you 3 soak
Each 1d10 gives you 4 soak
Each 1d12 gives you 5 soak
Add your CON BONUS to your soak per level. If this results in negative SOAK per level, apply the excess negative to your HP per level, until your HP per level reaches 0.
PCs also get to add an extra bonus to their SOAK based on their largest HD. (this is similar to "max HP at first level" rules, but a bit more flexible).
So a L 1 PC fighter has 8 soak, plus their con bonus.
HP:
You start with your CON in HP. (not CON bonus, but raw CON)
Each 1d4 gives you 1 HP
Each 1d6 gives you 2 HP
Each 1d8 gives you 3 HP
Each 1d10 gives you 4 HP
Each 1d12 gives you 5 HP
CON bonuses do not apply to HP, unless you get "underflow" from SOAK.
So a L 5 Fighter with 18 CON has:
44 SOAK, 38 HP
A L 5 Wizard with 12 CON has:
11 SOAK, 17 HP
Damage:
Damage is applied to your SOAK.
Every 10 points of SOAK damage, or fraction thereof, also does 1 point of HP damage.
If you run out of SOAK, the damage applies directly to your HP.
If you run out of HP, you go unconscious, and take Con damage whenever you are hit (this con damage does not change your current HP). Run out of Con, and you die.
Healing:
SOAK heals itself: after a break between encounters, all of your SOAK refreshes. If there is time pressure, the DM can state that only half (or less) of lost SOAK refreshes.
Healing spells work on SOAK. They cannot heal HP directly. The same is true of regeneration magics.
The Heal skill can be used to regain HP. Using the Heal skill requires 6 hours. The patient heals 1 HP for every 10 max HP they have, 1 HP for every 10 points on your heal check, and if you choose to consume a healing spell the patient heals 1 HP for every spell level the spell has (only one spell can be used per patient per 6 hours this way).
For every 4 ranks in Heal skill, the user can treat 1 additional person. If magic is used, each treated person requires a seperate heal cast.
So a L 5 cleric with a +10 heal check, healing the above Fighter, consuming a 3rd level healing spell, will heal between 6 and 8 points of damage in a 6 hour session. One may not "take 10" on this check unless you are doing at least a 24 hour period of healing.
This also means that damage never carries between combats.
The Soak/HP system provides two different HP resources. Soak is completely renewable, even without carrying around a bundle of cure light wound wands.
HP is slow to renew: it requires significant bed rest to heal up. While magical healing can make bed rest work better, it cannot instantly heal HP under this system.
When you are hit, almost all of the damage applies to Soak, with a small amount leaking through to HP. If you run out of Soak, you start taking painful HP damage.
Characters have almost as much Soak as they had HP under the standard system.
So, the nitty gritty:
Soak:
Each 1d4 gives you 1 soak.
Each 1d6 gives you 2 soak
Each 1d8 gives you 3 soak
Each 1d10 gives you 4 soak
Each 1d12 gives you 5 soak
Add your CON BONUS to your soak per level. If this results in negative SOAK per level, apply the excess negative to your HP per level, until your HP per level reaches 0.
PCs also get to add an extra bonus to their SOAK based on their largest HD. (this is similar to "max HP at first level" rules, but a bit more flexible).
So a L 1 PC fighter has 8 soak, plus their con bonus.
HP:
You start with your CON in HP. (not CON bonus, but raw CON)
Each 1d4 gives you 1 HP
Each 1d6 gives you 2 HP
Each 1d8 gives you 3 HP
Each 1d10 gives you 4 HP
Each 1d12 gives you 5 HP
CON bonuses do not apply to HP, unless you get "underflow" from SOAK.
So a L 5 Fighter with 18 CON has:
44 SOAK, 38 HP
A L 5 Wizard with 12 CON has:
11 SOAK, 17 HP
Damage:
Damage is applied to your SOAK.
Every 10 points of SOAK damage, or fraction thereof, also does 1 point of HP damage.
If you run out of SOAK, the damage applies directly to your HP.
If you run out of HP, you go unconscious, and take Con damage whenever you are hit (this con damage does not change your current HP). Run out of Con, and you die.
Healing:
SOAK heals itself: after a break between encounters, all of your SOAK refreshes. If there is time pressure, the DM can state that only half (or less) of lost SOAK refreshes.
Healing spells work on SOAK. They cannot heal HP directly. The same is true of regeneration magics.
The Heal skill can be used to regain HP. Using the Heal skill requires 6 hours. The patient heals 1 HP for every 10 max HP they have, 1 HP for every 10 points on your heal check, and if you choose to consume a healing spell the patient heals 1 HP for every spell level the spell has (only one spell can be used per patient per 6 hours this way).
For every 4 ranks in Heal skill, the user can treat 1 additional person. If magic is used, each treated person requires a seperate heal cast.
So a L 5 cleric with a +10 heal check, healing the above Fighter, consuming a 3rd level healing spell, will heal between 6 and 8 points of damage in a 6 hour session. One may not "take 10" on this check unless you are doing at least a 24 hour period of healing.