As in some of my posts before I need to elaborate. Please bear with me.
Let me get this straight (all based on RQ Deluxe):
Remaining Hit Points are
Between 0 and max HP: equals a minor wound
Between -1 and –max HP: equals a serious wound
Less than –max HP: major wound
Example:
Cedric has 5HP per arm. As long as his hit points are 0 or above he suffers only from a minor wound. When he is between -5 and -1 HP he has a serious wound. When he is at -6 or less HP he has a major wound
Minor Wound
First Aid will heal 1D3 HP
Natural Healing restores 1HP per day (only light activity allowed)
Serious Wound
First Aid will restore location to 0 HP, i.e. only a minor wound remains
Natural healing restores 1HP per day (only light activity allowed) if the character succeeds with a Resilience test.
If head, chest or abdomen: immediate Resilience test and Resilience test every round to remain conscious (until either location restored to 1 HP or First Aid has been applied)
If arms or legs: locations useless (until either location restored to 1 HP or First Aid has been applied)
Major Wound
First Aid will only stop blood loss, i.e. no more Resilience rolls each round
Healing will heal 1HP.
No Natural healing possible, unless Healing (the skill) has been applied successfully. From that point on natural healing restores 1HP per day (only light activity allowed) if the character succeeds with a Resilience test.
If head, chest or abdomen: immediate resilience test or die. If alive second immediate Resilience test to stay conscious. Both (!) Resilience tests every round to prevent death or unconsciousness (until either location restored to 1 HP or First Aid has been applied). Death from blood loss within (CON+POW)/2 rounds
If arms or legs: immediate Resilience test and Resilience test every round to remain conscious (until either location restored to 1 HP or First Aid has been applied). Death from blood loss within (CON+POW) rounds
Personal note: that’s the kind of write up I do for my personal GM screen… I never purchase the official ones
Question at this point:
A major wound in a limb will sever/mangle the limp. How far into the negative can this actually go ? I seem to remember from RQIII that the max negative HP you can get is the max HP. I.e. Cedric above could have max -5HP in his arm. You would not further reduce the HPs in this location, but if he only suffers a mere 1HP in that location, his arm would be mangled/severed and he now has a major wound. I mean: how much damage can an arm take after it is severed ? Can it be hacked to multiple pieces or what ?
If that were the case the rules for the Healing skill would – for me - make more sense. This would heal 1HP, i.e. set him to -4HP in the arm (= major wound) and from then on natural healing would be as written as the rules would now indicate a serious wound.
If that interpretation is not the case, Cedric could be at -9HP in his arm. Healing skill would set him to -8HP. In order for natural healing to kick in, you’d need to make a special note that this wound is now only a serious wound and no longer a major wound.
so that Resilience rolls were only rolled once (when the wound is received) to remove further bookkeeping
I see your point. Thus, you “choose to ignore” the pain and shock experienced when suffering from a serious injury (to head, chest or abdomen) for the sake of less bookkeeping. No fainting after the initial test. Do you also apply this rule for major wounds ? I.e. do you ignore the possibility of death due to blood loss ?
made Major Wound Resilience tests to the torso or head immediately lethal on a failure
Umm… but that actually is the rule as written ?
For Serious or Major Wounds I use opposed rolls of Resilience versus the attacker's Weapon skill, to avoid unconsciousness/death
make the resilience roll against the actual attack roll rather than having the attacker make a second roll?
Its also still compatible with situational modifiers which may have boosted your weapon skill, since being attacked from behind or above should have a better chance of striking more lethally
Definitely will take this up !
However, I can’t really see, why being on lower ground (and thus suffer -20% to defence) or fighting in partial darkness (again -20%) should make that resilience roll more difficult. I guess, you’d only apply those situational modifiers to the attack roll ? Yup, makes more sense I think.
If I decide against the “single resilience roll only” (not sure yet), I would make those repetitive resilience rolls non-opposed and at base value though.
Example:
Cedric is being attacked by a griffin, which is on higher ground (+20% to its attack). The griffin rolls a 77 (success, due to effective weapon skill of 80%) for its attack, Cedric rolls 34 (-20% to skill due to lower ground; effective Dodge skill 37; success) for his dodge. Cedric’s success is denoted to failure. Thus he suffers damage and needs to give ground, he immediately moves back 4 meters. As his companions Byron and Alaric are also battling the griffin, the griffin does not follow (as it would be prone to free attacks from those two – if they have available reactions left - when moving). Cedric suffers 12 damage to his abdomen. Cedric is SIZe 13, so no knockback occurs. Fortunately, he’s wearing a ring shirt, thus the damage is reduced to 9. His abdomen is now at -2HP, a serious wound. He needs to beat the griffin’s successful attack roll of 77 with a Resilience roll (as in an opposed roll, but the griffin’s result is already determined by the attack roll). His Resilience is 43%. Hard luck, a normal success won’t beat the griffin’s 77. Cedric rolls a 03, critical success ! Cedric remains conscious. Suffering from massive pain in his abdomen, Cedric will need to repeat the Resilience test every round to stay conscious, but he will only need a normal success, i.e. a roll lower than his Resilience skill of 43%. Cedric removes his first aid kit (1 combat) and starts to treat his wound (which will take 3 CAs, he rolled a 2). Cedric has 2 combat actions, thus at the end of the round he needs to make another Resilience test. He rolls a 42 and barely remains conscious. At the end of the next round (Cedric spent his two combat actions to treat the wound), Cedric rolls for his first aid skill. His skill is 37%, but as he is treating himself, he’s at -10%, i.e. 27%. Unfortunately he rolls a 83, a failure. As it is the end of the combat round he needs to repeat the resilience test. With a roll of 53 he fails and faints.
Parting shots:
I think First Aid is far more useful than low magnitude healing spells… even though it takes more time to apply. And it’s a real life safer when that ”death due to blood loss” is hanging over your head. But I suppose you have at least 10 rounds to evade that and even low magnitude spells should suffice to heal you up to 1HP and thus save your hide. Has anyone in your games ever died of blood loss ? I guess no.