Injuries for 4th Edition

So i rapidly started GMing a 4th ed campaign this week.  This was an injury-dismemberment idea i came up for it (though we aren't using it, because my players have been playing Dark Heresy for years and their sick of getting limbs blown off, which i think is a fair reason not to want a dismemberment system).

What i have tried to do is to piggy back as much as is possible on to the healing surges and death save system already in place in 4th ed.  This is what i came up with:

When you are dropped to 0 or less HP, in each of your turns you roll a d20 and consult the table below. On the first roll on the table after you are dropped to 0 you can get a result that is lower than 1 and risk dismemberment or injury.  Otherwise when you are dropped to zero HP and remain unconscious, any of the subsequent rolls have a minimum roll value of 1 (as you roll this each turn).  If you are healed to full by another player or creature before your first roll on the table, you make a roll on it anyway to see if you lost an arm or some such, and can ignore the effects that aren't dismemberment or injury.

For each time you have already been dropped to 0 or less HP in a day you apply a negative of -1 to this table, and therefore repeated unconsciousness is how you end up risking dismemberment.  This means if you have already been dropped to 0 HP or less twice in one day and are rolling on this table for your third bout of being a 0 or lower HP, you are at a -2 penalty, so you are more likely to bleed out, and actually risking injury.

On a natural 20 you always regain consciousness and use a healing surge, but if you have suffered an injury then this effect persists once you are up an fighting again.


A character dies when they reach their bloodied value in a negative HP. This represents dying of injuries and bloodloss, or catastrophic injury like decapitation.

D20

-5 or lower Loss of limb. Roll d20 – 1-5 Left Leg, 6-10 Right Leg, 11-15 Left Arm, 16-20 right arm. You evidently cannot use that limb anymore for checks or attacks and suffer appropriate penalties permanently. Some effects are summarised here. Loss of leg results in halving of movement speed and dexterity scores and imposes a -5 circumstance penalty on athletics and acrobatics checks and the like. Loss of arm results in an inability to wield weapons or implements with that arm anymore (obvious) and a -5 circumstance penalty on certain checks (disable device, search etc). You are bleeding out unless tourniquet is applied (DC15 heal check) and when you lose 1 hp in a round from rolling on this table you lose D3 HP instead of 1.

-4-3 Serious injury. When awake and for 2d4 weeks afterwards (unless magically healed) you grant combat advantage to enemies attacking you as your injury hampers your movement, using secondwind removes this penalty for the duration of an encounter. You temporarily lose a healing surge whilst injured. You are bleeding out unless tourniquet is applied (DC15 heal check) and when you lose 1 hp in a round from rolling on this table you lose d2 HP instead of 1.

-2-0 Light Injury. Whence awake and for 2d4 days afterwards (unless magically healed) you grant combat advantage to enemies attacking you as your injury hampers your movement etc. Using secondwind removes this penalty for the duration of the encounter.

0-10 Lose 1 hp.

11-19 No change

Maiming and Laming PCs

As I am trying to run a grim dark campaign world I like the idea of my PCs being properly beaten and hacked apart in combat.

I use this system in conjunction with a modified HP system for 3.5. Essentially the HP of all mortal creatures (at GMs discretion) and characters is changed to their Con score with additional fixed numbers per hit die they would normally receive. Sorcerers and Wizards receive not d4 + con bonus HP per level, but rather 1 hit point. Rogues with d6 hit die per level receive +1 HP on odd levels, and +2 HP on even levels. Classes with D8 hit die per level receive +2 HP per level, D10 equates to +2/+3 and D12 to +3. Thus characters have a lot less health, but peasants and NPCs have more, so a peasant can indeed survive several dagger stabs, just not as many as a trained warrior. In my system Armour also provides damage reduction as well as an AC bonus.

ANYWAY.
The injury system. This takes inspiration from DH and M&M.

When a mortal creature (PC, NPC or animal) takes damage they must make a Fortitude save to avoid Injury. The DC is 5+ the damage they receive (after Armour DR in this case).

If they pass it is assumed that they grit their teeth and keep on fighting, or manage to place themselves so that whilst they take damage, they have avoided the most serious part of the damage. A fail indicates the degree to which they are injured via the following table.

Degree of Failure	What Happens	Effects
1-5 STAGGERED	Blood in eyes, dazed, still reeling from attack	The creature may only make a half action in their next turn and any checks they make in that turn are a -4, including attempts to attack. They are also counted as flat footed.
6-10 INJURY	Cracked Ribs, Major Laceration, Concussion, Mangled fingers	They are staggered, in addition the creature beings to bleed and has a 10% chance per round until treated of losing 1 hp. They in addition suffer a -2 penalty on an appropriate score or ability checks (refer to where they are hit). This penalty lasts for 3d6 days. A DC 15 heal check stops the bleeding and a DC 20 Heal check reduces the penalty to -1.
11-15 SERIOUS INJURY	Broken bones, cracked skulls, severing of tendons, loss of hand or foot	They are staggered, in addition they bleedat 1 hp per round. They suffer a -4 penalty on the appropriate score or ability check. This penalty lasts for 6d6 days. A DC 15 heal check stops the bleeding and a DC 20 Heal check reduces the penalty to -2.
15+ CRITICAL INJURY	Loss of limb, instant unconsciousness, evisceration	The creature immediately falls prone. They bleed at 1 hp per round. A fortitude save of DC20 and full action is required to stand back up and keep fighting. They suffer -6 to the relevant ability score checks which lasts for 6d6 days. A DC 15 heal check stops the bleeding and a DC 20 Heal check reduces the penalty to -4 for those 6d6 days, however even after this time is over the penalty will not go away entirely, it remains permanent at -2. This result is also likely to result in permanent loss of limb.

I then use the WFRP D100 hit allocation system to figure out where the character is hit and therefore apply a relevant negative, both shown below.

1-15 HEAD - penalty on all checks

16-30 RIGHT ARM – penalty on strength or attack rolls

31-45 LEFT ARM – penalty on strength or attack rolls

46-70 BODY – penalty on con score

71-85 RIGHT LEG – penalty on dex or move speed

96-100 LEFT LEG – penalty on dex or move speed

While the system above is fine, to generate more specific injuries I use an expanded breakdown. This is so that I don't fall back to GM fiat as to whether a player loses a limb or hand, but rather both my players and I know the possible outcomes of a given circumstance.

I use the D100 allocation roll to determine where the attack hits, and then provide DCs of reflex saves to avoid losing that bit of a body based on how bad the injury is. I use reflex saves as I figure that they are the most appropriate save, modelling a character avoiding the worst result, but still being heinously injured just not completely limbless. Note that in this breakdown when i use a certain injury type, I also mean that greater injury results also entail that possibility (eg: a Serious Injury incurs the same result as a Injury if there are specific effects).

HEAD (1-15) Injuries result in penalties to all checks. A serious injury result on any head check results in unconsciousness if a DC15 reflex save is failed. A critical injury result hit requires a DC20 reflex save to avoid decapitation and instant death, and even if passed the character is considered to be immediately unconscious. In addition see below.

1-2 EYES - A Serious Injury failed reflex save of DC20 results in the loss of an eye (-4 to spot permanently with losing the second resulting in blindness).

3-4 EARS –An Injury and failing a reflex save of DC 15 and they lose an ear (-1 to listen permanently).

5-6 NOSE –A Serious Injury and failing a reflex save of DC 20 results in loss of nose (-4 Charisma permanently).

7-15 REST OF HEAD – No risk of additional maiming.

RIGHT ARM (16-30) Injuries result in a penalty to attack rolls and any relevant skill checks requiring the arms use, eg: Climb, Pick Lock. In addition see below.

16-20 HAND – If an Injury failure of a DC 15 reflex save results in loss of a finger, if a Serious Injury a DC20 reflex save is required to avoid losing that hand.

20-25 FOREARM – If a Critical Injury is received here a DC 20 reflex save is required to avoid losing the forearm.

26-30 UPPER ARM/SHOULDER – In addition to the attack bonus penalty injuries on this part of the body cause a strength penalty of the same magnitude. If a Critical Injury is received here a DC 20 reflex save is required to avoid losing the entire arm.

LEFT ARM (31-45) Injuries result in a penalty to attack rolls and any relevant skill checks requiring the arms use, eg: Climb, Pick Lock. In addition see below.

31-35 HAND – If an Injury failure of a DC 15 reflex save results in loss of a finger, if a Serious Injury a DC20 reflex save is required to avoid losing that hand.

36-40 FOREARM – If a Critical Injury is received here a DC 20 reflex save is required to avoid losing the forearm.

41-35 UPPER ARM/SHOULDER – In addition to the attack bonus penalty injuries on this part of the body cause a strength penalty of the same magnitude. If a Critical Injury is received here a DC 20 reflex save is required to avoid losing the entire arm.

BODY (45-70) – Penalties are to Constitution. In addition see below.

45-57 ABDOMEN – No additional maiming, just make sure to describe suitably gruesome evisceration, and maybe make the character hold in their entrails if they are Critically Injured and fall prone.

58-70 CHEST – In addition the Constitution penalty they take an Attack Bonus penalty as well.

RIGHT LEG (71-85) Penalties are to Dexterity and to Movement speed.

71-78 THIGH – If a Critical Injury is received here a DC 20 reflex save is required to avoid losing the entire leg.

79-83 LOWER LEG – If a Critical Injury is received here a DC 20 reflex save is required to avoid losing everything below the knee.

84-85 FOOT – If a Serious Injury a DC20 reflex save is required to avoid losing the foot.

LEFT LEG (86-100) Penalties are to Dexterity and to Movement speed.

86-93 THIGH – If a Critical Injury is received here a DC 20 reflex save is required to avoid losing the entire leg.

94-99 LOWER LEG – If a Critical Injury is received here a DC 20 reflex save is required to avoid losing everything below the knee.

99-100 FOOT – If a Serious Injury a DC20 reflex save is required to avoid losing the foot.

Unfortunately none of my PCs have lost a body part yet. Though our Dwarf Cleric did get eviscerated quite nicely by a fellow PC, who whilst frenzied got a critical hit on him with a greatsword. The party is now trying to journey to the Elves to beg them for regeneration so the Cleric can get the 2 Constitution, he lost from the evisceration, back. It was pretty funny when it happened, almost as funny as when said greatsword wielding frenzied warrior almost killed another PC because said PC was a werewolf, and no one, not even the werewolf PC knew about it yet. The greatsword fighter and the werewolf characters are also brothers in game.