User:Spazalicious Chaos/Wounds and Armor Reconsidered (3.5e Variant Rule)

Author: Spazalicious Chaos (talk) Date Created: Feb 23, 2011 Status: finished, structuring would be helpful Editing: Clarity edits only please

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Wounds and Armor: Reconsidered

Hit points and armor class do not make sense most of the time, if not all the time. Somehow one who has gotten lucky enough to kill a dragon is able to survive the fiery torrents of great wizards that normal decimate the surrounding peasants. Having plate mail apparently provides the same kind of protection as being really fast and defensive. Hopefully, the below will add some sanity (or mayhem) to your game.

Hit Points and Wound Points

This variant requires you to keep track of two sets of health scores: Hit Points and Wound Points.

• Your Hit Points are determined in exactly the same way as they are in the Players Handbook. Hit Points represent how much shock your body can take; quite simply, they are a measure of how readily you can stop your own heart in a massive panic attack. Subdual and lethal damage both cause loss of Hit Points, but for different reasons. Most attacks are just scary and have little effect on fighting ability, resulting in bruises, cuts, scrapes, minor burns, and other cosmetic damage. And those are what Hit Points represent. If you ever lose all your Hit Points, you fall into unconsciousness for a number of hours equal to the damage of the last attack to hit you. There are no negative Hit Points in this system, half of all leftover damage from a attack is applied to the Wound Points. Creature with no Constitution score lack Hit Points, see below.
• Your Wound Points are equal to you Constitution score if you are small, medium or large, half your Constitution if you're tiny, one quarter if you're diminutive, 1 if you're fine, twice your Constitution if you're huge, four times your score if you are gargantuan, and eight times your score if you are colossal. And all for a very specific reason: Wounds are physical damage. These are broken bones, severed muscles, punctured lungs, and bleeding arteries. Wounds are only targeted about 5% of the time in a typical combat, but suck when they are lost. And Wounds take their total when hit- whenever you lose Wound Points you become fatigued. If you lose all of your Wound Points, you die. If any theoretical leftover damage would result in negative Wounds equal to your Constitution, your body will end up in 1d3 pieces. If the theoretical negative Wounds would be ten times you Constitution, there is no body to recover, only splatters.

Special- Creatures who lack Constitution scores and objects instead use their hit points as Wound Points. This means that they are immune to subual damage unless made helpless (see below) and to critical hits. It also means that they cannot fall unconsious, and must be stunned or bound, or some other condition must be applied for coup de grace and other attacks that need helpless targets to take effect.

Wounds and Hit Points in Combat

While not many, this health system results in some changes to combat:

• Armor Class: No real changes, but bear in mind the above descriptions of Hit and Wounds before trying to describe damage. Most attacks are going to result in minor cuts and bruises, maybe singed hairs or dropped body temperature in the case of energy attacks. If it was Hit Points that were targeted, this will always be the cases. Most people who fall in combat will die of shock. Read that last bit again. And again. That is why commoners are killed by fireballs when high level characters aren't: they die of shock! The physical damage is the same, the heart attack factor is not.

"How does this related to Armor Class?" I hear you ask. Simple- armor class is the touch zone. As far as Hit Points are concerned, being quick and ending up with a torn sleeve in the place of a severed arm is the same protection as having that sword thud against your armor: you blink for a moment, and if you still have Hit Points you keep going. Similar deal with Wounds- you have been hit all all your defenses have been punched through, and now you are bleeding. However, if you must know whether an attack had grazed of the armor of the subject or utterly missed, just compare the attack to the targets touch armor class: if it would have hit the touch armor class, the attack grazed off the targets armor defenses. Otherwise, you just plain missed.

• Critical Hit: When a critical hit is scored, the following process takes place: first, you roll damage as per a normal hit. This damage is applied to the targets Wound Points. Then, any multiplied or other extraneous damage (see below) is applied to the Hit Points. Reason: critical hits are belows that connected and connected well. However, not all weapons are created equal. Rapiers are deadly accurate, but no where near as scary as a great axe, or a scythe.
• Extraneous Damage: Any damage that would not be multiplied in a critical hit deals no damage to wounds on a critical hit. However, they still can deal their full damage on a Coup De Grace.
• Sneak Attack: As a variant rule, the Sneak Attack ability does one Wound per die when ever the target is unaware of the Rogue. Not just flat-footed, mind you, but completely unaware.
• Subdual Damage and Wounds: Subdual damage may never be used to do Wound damage to any target with Hit Points remaining. However, by spending 10 continuous minutes on a Coup De Grace with a helpless and unconscious target, subdual damage can kill, dealing one tenth of the target wound point of damage to the killer. Any damage reduction possessed by the victim also adds to the damage done to the killer, who will be covered in blood and bits of bone and brain after the act.
• Costitution Damage and Drain: Any damage done to Constitution deals and equal amount of damage to Wound Points. Likewise, any reduction of Constitution also reduces maximum Wound Points.
• Falling: For each die of falling damage to hit points a person would take, 1 Wound is also taken. Any effect that would reduce or eliminate falling damage also reduces or eliminates this Wound damage.

Wounds and Hit Points in Healing

The rules to healing are also different:

• Healing Hit Points: Most of this follows the healing rules and abilities in standard D&D, with the addition of Hit Point can only be regained by resting, which allows anything capable of healing through natural processes to roll one hit die+Constitution each day as it wakes up from rest, gaining the result in Hit Points restored.
• Healing Wounds: All Wounds require the application of the heal skill each day, or else the victim must makes saves against disease. Treated Wounds heal at the rate of 1 per week on a DC 10 Constitution check, or one per month is untreated and a DC 15 Constitution check is made. The cure and vigor series of spells are useless when it comes to healing Wounds. Any spell or effect that restores ability damage or drain heals an equal number of Wounds. The Heal spell likewise recovers all lost Wound Points.

Armor and Hit Location

To add yet another flavor of realism, you can use the below hit location and sectional armor rules. Note: the listed effects are for Wounds taken to the area; Hit Point loss represents cosmetic damage like cuts and bruises, and would never have serious effects on anything but the wuss of heart.

Table: Hit Location

3d6	Area	Target AC	Effect
3-5	Head	+4	Dazed, -1 to all rolls
6-7	Shoulders	+1	Arm Disabled, may not take actions with that arm, take penalty equal to damage on all Climb and Use Rope checks for a number of rounds equal to the damage taken
8-9	Arms	+2	Arm Disabled, as above
10	Hands	+4	Hand Disabled, may not use somatic components or tools with that hand for a number of rounds equal to the damage taken
11-12	Chest	+1	Fatigued, stunned for 1 round per point of damage
13	Stomach	+1	Fatigued, dazed for 1 round per point of damage
14	Vitals X$	+4	Sickened, stunned for one round per point of damage
15	Thighs	+2	Leg Disabled, move at half speed for a number of rounds equal to the damage taken
16-17	Legs	+2	Leg Disabled, as above
18	Feet	+4	Foot Disabled, move at two-thirds speed and take penalty equal to damage on all Balance, Jump and Tumble checks for a number of rounds equal to the damage taken

• Area: the body part under threat. It is highly recommended that hit location only be rolled for critical hits, as normal hits result in superficial injuries that do not matter anyway.
• Target AC: the bonus to armor class for when a foe wants to target a specific area, like smacking a wizard in the mouth to ruin a spell. If successful, the victim suffers the wound penalty for taking a hit to that area for one round, unless a critical is scored, in which case the normal penalties apply.
• Effect: the penalty for when a wound is taken to the area.

As an optional rule, you can have player pay for their armor by section. This allows for more customizable armor and equipment. Use the following chart for costs:

Table: Armor Sections

Type	Penalty	AC Bonus	Cost/Weight
			Head	Shoulders/Arms	Hands	Chest/Stomach/Vitals	Thighs/Legs	Feet
Cloth	0	+1	5 sp/ 1/2 lb	5 sp/ 1/2 lb	5 sp/ 1/2 lb	2 gp/2 lbs	1 gp/1 lb	5 sp/ 1/2 lb
Leather	0	+2	1 gp/1 1/2 lb	1 gp/1 1/2 lb	1 gp/1 1/2 lb	4 gp/6 lbs	2 gp/3 lbs	1 gp/1 1/2 lb
Studded Leather	-1/6	+3	2 gp, 5 sp/2 lbs	2 gp, 5 sp/2 lbs	2 gp, 5 sp/2 lbs	10 gp/8 lbs	5 gp/4 lbs	2 gp, 5 sp/2 lbs
Cour Boulli	-1/2	+3	1 gp, 5 sp/2 1/2 lbs	1 gp, 5 sp/2 1/2 lbs	1 gp, 5 sp/2 1/2 lbs	6 gp/10 lbs	3 gp/5 lbs	1 gp, 5 sp/2 1/2 lbs
Chain	-1	+5	15 gp/4 lbs	15 gp/4 lbs	15 gp/4 lbs	60 gp/16 lbs	30 gp/8 lbs	15 gp/4 lbs
Scale	-1	+4	5 gp/3 lbs	5 gp/3 lbs	5 gp/3 lbs	20 gp/12 lbs	10 gp/6 lbs	5 gp/3 lbs
Banded	-2	+6	25 gp/3 1/2 lbs	25 gp/3 1/2 lbs	25 gp/3 1/2 lbs	100 gp/14 lbs	50 gp/7 lbs	25 gp/3 1/2 lbs
Plate	-2	+8	150 gp/5 lbs	150 gp/5 lbs	150 gp/5 lbs	600 gp/20 lbs	300 gp/10 lbs	150 gp/5 lbs
Padded	-5	+10	1 gp/2 lbs	1 gp/2 lbs	1 gp/2 lbs	4 gp/8 lbs	2 gp/4 lbs	1 gp/2 lbs

How to Use This Table

Type

• Cloth: This is light weight and durable fabric for most traveling clothing and under armor. The cost for Banded, Chain, Cour Boulli, Plate and Scale armor includes cloth as the protective padding and clothing present in all heavy armors to prevent chaffing. Cloth can be worn as normal clothing without penalty.
• Leather: Flexible tanned hide that is favored by explorers and street toughs. Leather can be worn as normal clothing without penalty.
• Studded Leather: Leather reinforced with metal studs and plates. For double the cost these metal reinforcements can be concealed, forcing a DC 20 Spot check to notice them.
• Cour Boulli: Leather boiled in oil and wax for waterproofing and hardness. Any leather treated this way has the same hardness as wood.
• Chain: Interconnected metal rings that forms flexible and heavy armor. Masterwork chain uses smaller, lighter rings, reducing the weight by 25%.
• Scale: Small metal plates sewn onto a backing of leather for a balance of protection and mobility.
• Banded: A series of thin metal strips kept together by rivets, providing cheap but effective armor.
• Plate: Solid metal plates joined by hinges where possible, rivets when not, providing the ultimate in mundane protection.
• Padded: Essentially rolled up carpet strung together around the wearer, padded is the ultimate peasant armor, able to cause even the mightiest sword blows to bounce off, if at the cost of not being able to move at all.

Penalty: The armor check penalty provided by any one piece of armor. To find the total armor check penalty, add the penalties of the respective sections and round to the nearest whole number. Maximum dexterity is 8 minus the armor check penalty. Arcane spell failure is the armor check penalty of the Hands, Chest/Stomach/Vitals and Shoulders/Arms sections multiplied by 5. Yes this variant makes armor a reasonable option for casters. Finally, the armors category is determined by total check penalty: -2 or lower is light, -3 to -5 is medium, and -6 or greater is heavy.

AC Bonus: The listed bonus is for the the armor bonus of a section covered by the armor targeted by a critical hit confirmation. Otherwise, the average armor is used as the armor bonus, which is found by adding all the armor bonuses provide by each section of armor and dividing by 6, rounding down.

Cost/Weight: The cost and weight of a section of armor. Master work armor reduces the armor check penalty by 1/2 to maximum reduction of 0, and costs +30 gold for the Head, Shoulders/Arms, Hands and Feet sections, +60 gold for the Thighs/Legs section, and +120 gold for the Chest/Stomach/Vitals section.

Special: Magic Armor- The rules for magic armor creation remain the same, with the requirement that a full suit of armor must be produced with all six sections, though the material need not be consistent, allowing magical composite armors. AC enhance still works with the same formula as above.

For magical effects unrelated to armor class, each section provides 1/6 of the benefit granted by the ability. Should sections be separated, these sections continue to contribute their section of the effect rounded to the nearest whole number (minimum of 1) to general armor class. However, when a critical hit is scored and a section is targeted, the targeted section applies the full effect of it's magical properties. Example: after a long battle with an owlbear, the party finds a pair of +1 Leather Gloves of Heavy Fortification and Greater Fire Resistance (it could happen...), and gives them to the party Rogue, who has a full suit of leather armor. This does not increase the average Armor Class (about 2.1444, rounded to 2), but grants Fire Resistance 5 and a 16% chance to negate critical and sneak attacks. However, if a critical is scored against the rogues hands later, the Fire Resistance jumps to 30 and the critical is negated, due to 100% fortification, dealing no wound damage.

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