Game Theory: Bleeding Wounds

If you have read through the Dungeon Master’s Guide, you will likely see on page 27 of the 3.5 Edition rules a sidebar on the variant getting clobbered. For the most part, I will address that model in my own personal gaming sessions, and add to that a variant of my own.

Typically, unless an attack specifies the special ability “wounding,” any damage taken will only have that toll on the body. The body’s natural systems will stymie the flow of blood so that the wound does not remain serious. However, I have noticed that even the hardiest of individuals have a point where they take so much damage that the body cannot keep up with the punishment it receives. To address this issue, use the “Variant: Wounds” rule, that helps to determine that breaking point.

As the body gets weaker or takes more punishment, the wounds rule will reflect this to reflect this. Getting clobbered is one example, where a combatant takes damage equal to or greater than half their current HP. If a fighter, for instance, has 15 HP, and someone hits him for eight points of damage, he is clobbered (or dazed) by the blow, or put off-balance by the strike. With this in place, even the toughest fighter will be in dire straits if they do not get any help.

The dying status, which the Player’s Handbook addresses on page 145, 3.5 Edition, uses this same principle when the character’s HP is below zero hit points. The wounds variant extends this HP loss to one quarter of the character’s maximum HP. Such a wound, addressed as a bleeding wound here, will continue to bleed if left unchecked or if the character succeeds in a “Stabilize” check, also addressed under death and dying of the PHB. Naturally, if left unchecked, the character will bleed out until they pass out and/or die.

Massive damage is another way to cause bleeding wounds. If a character survives the awesome amount of damage that such a blow causes, they will still bleed just based on the sheer power of the strike. The character will need attention for that wound in order to keep from bleeding.

As a further note, dungeon masters must consider whether or not the medical attention is magical-based. One suggestion the author received from a fellow player and DM was to allow for the magic to give a buffer, itself. How large a buffer should be left to the current dungeon master, but the best rule of thumb is to keep it fair.