Mini Module: Descriptor-Based Damage

The default assumption in d20 Advanced is that characters who fall unconscious in battle are just that: unconscious. It's somewhat unrealistic, but it's appropriate for cinematic battles where the heroes survive impossible odds. For a more realistic game, different attacks should do different kinds of damage. While a blow from a quarterstaff might only leave a character unconscious, dropping a foe with a slash from a sword could very well kill them. The only time when this matters is when a character is dropped Helpless. Check the descriptor of the attack: if the attack is believed to be a definitively lethal one, then the blow leaves the character bleeding and Dying.
Lethal Damage, Death, and Dying: Characters who are dropped by a lethal attack are Dying, and "bleed" for one point of Constitution drain every round. A character whose Constitution drops below 0 must make a Fortitude check (DC 15) to avoid having his or her Constitution score crippled. Characters whose Constitution scores are crippled have died. It takes a DC 15 Science check for Medicine to stabilize a dying character. Each round, the character may attempt a Recuperation check (DC 15) to stabilize as a free action (even if unconscious). A player may also spend a Hero Die to stabilize automatically (with no roll needed).
Maiming, or "I'm Not Dead Yet!": Rather than killing a character off, you may want to keep them around. A character whose condition becomes dead may instead, at the player’s option (if this variant is available), become maimed instead, suffering a lasting injury in the form of a Complication (often variants of the Disability complication). Depending on how bad the injury was, or the attack that did the lethal damage, the injury may a regular or common complication.	
	
The default assumption in d20 Advanced is that characters who fall unconscious in battle are just that: unconscious. It's somewhat unrealistic, but it's appropriate for cinematic battles where the heroes survive impossible odds. For a more realistic game, different attacks should do different kinds of damage. While a blow from a quarterstaff might only leave a character unconscious, dropping a foe with a slash from a sword could very well kill them. The only time when this matters is when a character is dropped Helpless. Check the descriptor of the attack: if the attack is believed to be a definitively lethal one, then the blow leaves the character bleeding and Dying.
Lethal Damage, Death, and Dying: Characters who are dropped by a lethal attack are Dying, and "bleed" for one point of Constitution drain every round. A character whose Constitution drops below 0 must make a Fortitude check (DC 15) to avoid having his or her Constitution score crippled. Characters whose Constitution scores are crippled have died. It takes a DC 15 Science check for Medicine to stabilize a dying character. Each round, the character may attempt a Recuperation check (DC 15) to stabilize as a free action (even if unconscious). A player may also spend a Hero Die to stabilize automatically (with no roll needed).
Maiming, or "I'm Not Dead Yet!": Rather than killing a character off, you may want to keep them around. A character whose condition becomes dead may instead, at the player’s option (if this variant is available), become maimed instead, suffering a lasting injury in the form of a Complication (often variants of the Disability complication). Depending on how bad the injury was, or the attack that did the lethal damage, the injury may a regular or common complication.	
	
The default assumption in d20 Advanced is that characters who fall unconscious in battle are just that: unconscious. It's somewhat unrealistic, but it's appropriate for cinematic battles where the heroes survive impossible odds. For a more realistic game, different attacks should do different kinds of damage. While a blow from a quarterstaff might only leave a character unconscious, dropping a foe with a slash from a sword could very well kill them. The only time when this matters is when a character is dropped Helpless. Check the descriptor of the attack: if the attack is believed to be a definitively lethal one, then the blow leaves the character bleeding and Dying.
Lethal Damage, Death, and Dying: Characters who are dropped by a lethal attack are Dying, and "bleed" for one point of Constitution drain every round. A character whose Constitution drops below 0 must make a Fortitude check (DC 15) to avoid having his or her Constitution score crippled. Characters whose Constitution scores are crippled have died. It takes a DC 15 Science check for Medicine to stabilize a dying character. Each round, the character may attempt a Recuperation check (DC 15) to stabilize as a free action (even if unconscious). A player may also spend a Hero Die to stabilize automatically (with no roll needed).
Maiming, or "I'm Not Dead Yet!": Rather than killing a character off, you may want to keep them around. A character whose condition becomes dead may instead, at the player’s option (if this variant is available), become maimed instead, suffering a lasting injury in the form of a Complication (often variants of the Disability complication). Depending on how bad the injury was, or the attack that did the lethal damage, the injury may a regular or common complication.	
	
The default assumption in d20 Advanced is that characters who fall unconscious in battle are just that: unconscious. It's somewhat unrealistic, but it's appropriate for cinematic battles where the heroes survive impossible odds. For a more realistic game, different attacks should do different kinds of damage. While a blow from a quarterstaff might only leave a character unconscious, dropping a foe with a slash from a sword could very well kill them. The only time when this matters is when a character is dropped Helpless. Check the descriptor of the attack: if the attack is believed to be a definitively lethal one, then the blow leaves the character bleeding and Dying.
Lethal Damage, Death, and Dying: Characters who are dropped by a lethal attack are Dying, and "bleed" for one point of Constitution drain every round. A character whose Constitution drops below 0 must make a Fortitude check (DC 15) to avoid having his or her Constitution score crippled. Characters whose Constitution scores are crippled have died. It takes a DC 15 Science check for Medicine to stabilize a dying character. Each round, the character may attempt a Recuperation check (DC 15) to stabilize as a free action (even if unconscious). A player may also spend a Hero Die to stabilize automatically (with no roll needed).
Maiming, or "I'm Not Dead Yet!": Rather than killing a character off, you may want to keep them around. A character whose condition becomes dead may instead, at the player’s option (if this variant is available), become maimed instead, suffering a lasting injury in the form of a Complication (often variants of the Disability complication). Depending on how bad the injury was, or the attack that did the lethal damage, the injury may a regular or common complication.	
Category:Rulebook
Category:Action
Category:Combat
Category:Mini Module