!!insidediv!!



Being the Official Discussion Forum for HYPERBOREA®, a role-playing game of swords, sorcery, and weird science-fantasy


Visit us at the HYPERBOREA web site!


You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?

7/24/2014 4:19 pm  #1


Lasting scars and other mutilations

Death in RPGs is always a bit of a problem. When you run out of hit points the character is either permanently removed from the game, or comes back without being affected in any way. Losing a point of constitution when being raised is one little nod towards not treating death as insignficant once resurrection becomes possible. Monsters that can drain levels also leave a nasty mark that doesn't go away by itself, but again there are spells to deal with that.
If you use a rule that characters can have a few negative hit points before they are dead (which I always do), being knocked out is even less of a concern.

An interesting thing I've seen in the videogame Dragon Age is that characters may not die when they run out of hp and will be back up after the fight is over, but they gain an injury that puts a minor penalty on their stats unless their wounds are treated with a special but common healing item or the party returns back to camp.

I kind of like the idea that characters take marks from being severely injured and that falling prey to certain monsters will cost them something that can't be just fixed with a spell. It doesn't even have to have a real impact on the character, but I think players will quite bemoan the loss of fingers and noses, having half their face burned off, or suffering from a permanent limp. Just a permanent reminder to everyone, that it's really bad to be injured in battle.
Any ideas how to make that into a simple system?

A very simple one would be that any time a character falls to -1 hp or less, the GM selects a minor mutilation or scar that fits the type of attack that knocked the character out.
If being hit by a club, they may recieve a badly broken nose or lose a tooth. A sword or axe may cost a finger or limping leg. Fire and acid will be just horrible.
Any ideas how to expand on this?


"Steel isn't strong, boy. Flesh is stronger. What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?"

Spriggan's Den
 

7/24/2014 8:55 pm  #2


Re: Lasting scars and other mutilations

Death has never been a big problem for us. Low level guy dies, roll a new one. Not much time had been invested in him anyway (we don't do elaborate backstories). We just handwave new guy into the group and get going again. High level guy dies, he typically gets resurrected (paying for which can create good adventure hooks).

But... if you wanted a game with less death, the scars are potentially fun, I suppose. I would throw together a table of spots where the scar happens, roll on it whenever you would normally hit death and then massage the effect. If the spot were "left ear," then maybe it gets cut off from sword damage, burned off from fire damage and scraped off from blunt damage. Maybe depending on the magnitude of the scar or at X number of scars, you lose a point of Charisma or something. Either way, I would definitely couple it with a meaningful "time out" in game time - a recovery period for the PC. During this time, monsters could rebuild their numbers and defenses and so on. PC progress would be undone. In my opinion, there ought to be some consequence for losing all of your hit points (and not just a cool scar with little mechanical effect) or else the wins all become pretty shallow. As usual, YMMV.


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
 

7/25/2014 7:00 am  #3


Re: Lasting scars and other mutilations

Sometimes I will randomly issue a debilitating effect on a PC. This could mean dizziness from a nasty hit on the back of the head, continued nausea from a spider bite (in which the save was successful), or in one case where a character was tortured for information, the loss of an eye and some teeth.


HYPERBOREA- A Role-Playing Game of Swords, Sorcery, and Weird Science-Fantasy
 

7/25/2014 9:44 am  #4


Re: Lasting scars and other mutilations

Yora wrote:

Death in RPGs is always a bit of a problem.

Not sure I agree 100 percent with your police work there, Lou. I consider it a feature, not a bug.

But I do find that AS&SH is a lot more forgiving of grievous wounds than, say, AD&D--so if it isn't poison or level draining that takes a PC down, there's a resonable chance of his/her getting back up. One character in our group has been down to -7 *four times*! That's going to leave a mark.

Like Ghul, I pretty much rule it on the fly. She was smashed but good by a hyaena-man chieftain's flail (down to -8), so I ruled she lost a point of DEX and had a limp. She was swallowed by and then cut out of a giant toad (down to -9!), so some definite facial scarring and loss of a point of CHA (no worries--Hyperborea has plenty of creepy bronze masks!). The other times, there were consequences that didn't really have game effect but led to some fun flavor.

Easy-peasy, George and Weezie.
 

 

7/25/2014 10:08 am  #5


Re: Lasting scars and other mutilations

I wish there was an "upvote" feature Handy, because you said just about everything I'd want to say on the subject.

I guess for me it just comes down to the people you're playing with; Some people I've played with would have no interest whatsoever in simulating all of the gory details, but there's others that probably would be able to find a way to turn disfigurement and disability into a good character development tool, but I don't need or want a hard and fast rule for it. YMMV

 

7/25/2014 11:01 am  #6


Re: Lasting scars and other mutilations

There actually is a rule for this in the 1st edition DMG: if you fall below -6 hit points before being revived, you suffer a permanent scar or disability related to your injury.  I've used it many times when running AD&D.  Since AS&SH uses the same "death at -10 hit points" mechanic, this extra rule could just be ported over directly from one game to another.


Michael Sipe 1979-2018
Rest in peace, brother.
 

7/25/2014 11:16 am  #7


Re: Lasting scars and other mutilations

Blackadder23 wrote:

There actually is a rule for this in the 1st edition DMG: if you fall below -6 hit points before being revived, you suffer a permanent scar or disability related to your injury.  I've used it many times when running AD&D.  Since AS&SH uses the same "death at -10 hit points" mechanic, this extra rule could just be ported over directly from one game to another.

Which is probably exactly what I've done--the DMG lives within us now.

 

7/25/2014 11:52 am  #8


Re: Lasting scars and other mutilations

Handy Haversack wrote:

Which is probably exactly what I've done--the DMG lives within us now.

Ha ha so true.

I remember once when a PC (whose Comeliness was around 4 in the first place) went down to -9 hit points from fire-related injuries before the other PCs were able to "bind his wounds".  I ruled that he had a "Freddy Krueger face" thereafter and had to wear a bag over his head to keep from scaring children, causing goodwives to faint, and attracting lynch mobs.  Much hilarity was had.
 

Last edited by Blackadder23 (7/25/2014 11:55 am)


Michael Sipe 1979-2018
Rest in peace, brother.
 

7/25/2014 12:24 pm  #9


Re: Lasting scars and other mutilations

Blackadder23 wrote:

I remember once when a PC (whose Comeliness was around 4 in the first place) went down to -9 hit points from fire-related injuries before the other PCs were able to "bind his wounds".  I ruled that he had a "Freddy Krueger face" thereafter and had to wear a bag over his head to keep from scaring children, causing goodwives to faint, and attracting lynch mobs.  Much hilarity was had.

Hahahaa!


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
 

7/25/2014 1:12 pm  #10


Re: Lasting scars and other mutilations

Handy Haversack wrote:

Yora wrote:

Death in RPGs is always a bit of a problem.

Not sure I agree 100 percent with your police work there, Lou. I consider it a feature, not a bug.

 
I am in no way saying the existance of death is great. Having death in the game is awesome and important. But dealing with it in a way that it enhances the game is difficult.

If combat only has the two possible outcomes of "everything is fine" and the character ceasing to exist, it significantly affects the whole aspect of taking risks and suffering the consequences of your action. If the only consequence is to make a new character, I think something is lost in the life of a protagonist. It's too clean.
And that I do indeed consider a bug.

NAJones wrote:

I wish there was an "upvote" feature Handy, because you said just about everything I'd want to say on the subject.

I guess for me it just comes down to the people you're playing with; Some people I've played with would have no interest whatsoever in simulating all of the gory details, but there's others that probably would be able to find a way to turn disfigurement and disability into a good character development tool, but I don't need or want a hard and fast rule for it. YMMV

 
In the spirit of character development, and that's what this is all about for me, how about leaving it to the players to describe the scars and other marks of their severe injuries? My experience with players is that they love to shot themselves in the foot with great enthusiam if it's just cool enough.
Great thought there.

Last edited by Yora (7/25/2014 1:17 pm)


"Steel isn't strong, boy. Flesh is stronger. What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?"

Spriggan's Den
     Thread Starter
 

7/25/2014 3:07 pm  #11


Re: Lasting scars and other mutilations

Yora wrote:

If combat only has the two possible outcomes of "everything is fine" and the character ceasing to exist, it significantly affects the whole aspect of taking risks and suffering the consequences of your action. If the only consequence is to make a new character, I think something is lost in the life of a protagonist. It's too clean.

This isn't quite accurate.  PCs aren't either dead or "fine".  PCs can be wounded, even severely wounded, in terms of hit points and need days (or possibly weeks, in AD&D) to heal without resort to magic.  That's an important consequence because it increases the risk of continuing to adventure.  Yet if the PCs are under some kind of deadline, or just running low on cash, they may need to venture into danger in spite of their wounds.  It really increases the drama and tension when PCs take the field at less than maximum hit points, even when they still (realistically speaking) have an adequate number.

Also, PCs can be crippled (deafened, blinded, lose limbs, etc.) due to various spells, magic items, tricks, and traps.  I've put hand-chopping blades on more than one door and chest.  Even without any changes to the rules, there is still plenty of middle ground between uninjured and dead.


Michael Sipe 1979-2018
Rest in peace, brother.
 

7/25/2014 5:11 pm  #12


Re: Lasting scars and other mutilations

When the going gets too tough, the PCs can also run away and live to fight another day.


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
 

Board footera






© 2009-2024 North Wind Adventures, LLC. “HYPERBOREA” is a registered trademark of North Wind Adventures, LLC. “Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea,” “AS&SH,” and all other North Wind Adventures product names and their respective logos are trademarks of North Wind Adventures, LLC in the USA and other countries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.