Wounds... Count up or down?

[Ozfer]

I am working on a combat system for my ramshackle homebrew, and I was wondering what you guys thought about this:

I am between two methods of denoting injury, each limb having HP that is lowered by damage, or having each injury be applied to a limb (For instance, my arm has a 3rd degree wound and a 2nd degree wound).

The first method feels a little simpler to me, but the second method is more realistic in that each wound is separate, and this would allow for greater detail in the injury system.

Which one do you think sounds like more fun?

[Grod_The_Giant]

I'd go with the second. It sounds more interesting, and might well wind up being easier to deal with in the end than having 5+ different HP pools.

[erikun]

Depends on if you want a simple counting system or a more awkward but more visually interesting wound-marker system.

If you expect combat to be frequent and taking damage to be common, then a simpler X/Y HP system like D&D uses would be preferably. If you expect combat to be less frequent or if taking damage is less common in combat, then the "third-degree damage" system somewhat like Fate uses would be better.

[Ozfer]

Cool, thanks for the advice. Those were pretty much my thoughts, but I don't trust my opinion completely since I tend to make systems to complicated and include too much detail.

[valadil]

I'm bored of D&D style HP. I'd be more likely to play something that did it differently.

If you're looking for inspiration, check out the original Deadlands. But if finding out your creation isn't unique willl kill your motivation, stay far away from the original Deadlands.

[Ozfer]

Yea, when asking for advice about my system, Deadlands has come up a lot. I'm ok with my creation being similar to other stuff though, so eventually I may check it out.

[Rhynn]

I am between two methods of denoting injury, each limb having HP that is lowered by damage, or having each injury be applied to a limb (For instance, my arm has a 3rd degree wound and a 2nd degree wound).

The first method feels a little simpler to me, but the second method is more realistic in that each wound is separate, and this would allow for greater detail in the injury system.

Second method is preferrable on its own (obviously it all depends on your design goals). Flesh, slight/light, moderate, serious, critical/grave, deadly/fatal, etc.

Cyberpunk 2013 (not 2020), Twilight 2013, Traveller 2300 AD, etc. use a system like this, for instance.

Mongoose RuneQuest 1 & 2 and the new RuneQuest 6 use a combination:

I've been hacking together a Fuzion Cyberpunk 2020 homebrew where wounds are graded Flesh, Light, Moderate, Serious, and Critical, and have thresholds: X points of damage to qualify as this (the lower thresholds being 1 / Strength / Strength + Stamina / STR + STR + STAM / STR + STR + STAM + STAM).

Each grade of wound applies different penalties (both general and location-dependent), and they stack (as in all of CP2013, TW2013, and 2300 AD, IIRC); two flesh wounds make a light wound, two lights make a moderate, etc.

This may sound complicated, but it's not, mostly because you're not going to take very many wounds before you're out of the fight (and if you've got a low Cool, a single gunshot can disable you mentally, possibly for the whole fight). The intention is to emphasize "don't get shot!" and "fight smart & dirty!"

Ultimately, the system has to satisfy your design requirements and goals for the game. What consequences do you want your combat system to have for players choices?

[Partysan]

Don't forget about atmospheric implications.
Counting down to zero remaining gives a feeling of impending loss and invokes an instinct of preservation. This is good for realistic games where injuries are dangerous, hard to treat and scary (note that the number of wounds sustainable must be low for this effect to come into play, otherwise it's just HP).
Piling up wounds focuses more on the hindering effects of those wounds, being bogged down and hindered the more you pile up. It gives a feeling of a war of attrition or alternatively it is nice for succeeding against the odds, adding a heroic angle.

[Rhynn]

Piling up wounds focuses more on the hindering effects of those wounds, being bogged down and hindered the more you pile up. It gives a feeling of a war of attrition or alternatively it is nice for succeeding against the odds, adding a heroic angle.

That really depends on the effects.

In Twilight 2013, it's more like "You're hit in the right arm for 13 points. You drop your gun and fall back against the wall, in shock. At least you're still stable (not dying). Oh also -3 to all skill tests, but you can't take any for the rest of the fight."

It can very much be "guns are deadly don't get shot" rather than anything heroic.