User:MadmanFromSpace/Wound Cards (3.5e Variant Rule)
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Contents
The Purpose[edit]
This is to make combat more realistic and make critical hits better. It can also make combats rather quick, especially if opponents decide it's time to surrender unless they want to act like the black knight from Monty Python.
Wounds and Wound Cards[edit]
Extra damage from striking vital spots on a creature's body now create wounds. Whenever a creature takes a critical hit (or, optionally, is dealt extra precision damage from a source such as sneak attack), the DM rolls a number or draws a numbered card from a deck that corresponds with the Wound Table below. If the DM decides the wound doesn't make sense or is too punishing, they may reroll or redraw. The roll for wounds is always done in secret.
The player then receives a wound card with a number of "wound points" on it equal to the extra damage dealt from the critical hit. The effects of that wound persist until each point of damage is healed. For every point of healing you receive, you remove 1 wound point from a wound card on your character. Nonmagical healing from resting is half as effective - you remove 1 wound point for every 2 points of healing from rests instead of for every 1 point of healing.
Effects of wounds cannot be negated by changing shape or form. If a creature is affected by alter self or a similar effect, the creature will still have its wounds in its new form. Effects that emulate gaseous form suppress the effects of the wound until the effect ends. Wounds can still exist on ethereal planes - it's just that many ethereal creatures tend to not have Constitution scores.
If a spell or effect would remove the effects of a wound (such as using restoration to cure ability damage), it instead suppresses the effect for the rest of the day.
Wound Tables[edit]
| Roll/Card | Wound | Effect | Infection |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wound | Effect Description | Infection type/description |
| 2 | Wound | Effect Description | Infection type/description |
| 3 | Wound | Effect Description | Infection type/description |
| 4 | Wound | Effect Description | Infection type/description |
| 5 | Wound | Effect Description | Infection type/description |
| 6 | Wound | Effect Description | Infection type/description |
| 7 | Wound | Effect Description | Infection type/description |
| 8 | Wound: | Effect Description | Infection type/description |
| 9 | Wound: | Effect Description | Infection type/description |
| 10 | Wound: | Effect Description | Infection type/description |
If you already have a wound card and would receive another wound of the same type, you don't get a second wound card. Instead, you just add the appropriate amount of wound points onto the wound card you already have.
Optional Rule for Some Forms of Damage (Sneak Attack, Sudden Strike, true strike, etc.)[edit]
Precision Damage: Extra damage from precision damage dice such as sneak attack is considered to be a wounding blow, but the number of wound points on the card is equal to the amount of dice rolled, not the total roll result of all the dice. If the source of precision damage doesn't use dice, then it deals wound points equal to its total damage, and this number stacks with any sneak attack/sudden strike/etc. dice.
Optional Rule for Critical Hit/Precision Damage Immunity[edit]
I like to have the immunity to critical hits and precision damage be replaced with immunity to wound cards. That way rogues and such can still be effective against such creatures; they just don't give them wounds.
Specific Wounds or Wounding Events[edit]
Some effects may have a specific type of Wound card associated with them. Here are some suggestions. You can feel free to make up your own, or not use any of the ones listed here.
Crushing Damage: Whenever you receive crushing damage, put that many wound points on a Disabled wound card.
Negative Energy: Whenever you receive negative energy damage, put that many wound points on this wound card. Spells and other effects have a % chance of treating you as undead equal to the amount of wound points on this wound card - only applies when being undead would be advantageous to the source of the effect and disadvantageous to you.
Teleportation:' Whenever you take damage from being pushed away from a space after teleporting into a solid object, you get a Concussion wound card with that many wound points on it.
Feat-Specific Option: Wounding Strikes[edit]
It's possible that you may find this to be too dangerous for your Player Characters, or you don't want all creatures to have this power with critical hits. You could still incorporate this option by allowing a PC to take a feat that gives them access to bestowing wounds to creatures on critical hits and such.
Requirements: BAB +5, Improved Critical with selected weapon, Power Critical or Weapon Finesse
Benefits: You apply the Wound Cards variant rule on critical hits you confirm with the selected weapon.
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