Bleeding (POSM)

A common effect of many critical strikes is bleeding. Bleeding falls into three categories: minor, major, and severe. In many cases, bleeding may prove more dangerous than the original injury.
Minor bleeding causes the victim to lose 1d2 hit points per full turn until the wound is magically healed or bound. There is a chance that minor bleeding will stop on its own; every time the character suffers damage from the bleeding, he may attempt a saving throw vs. death magic. If he succeeds, the bleeding stops.
Anybody (including the injured character!) can stop minor bleeding by applying a bandage. This requires one round.
Major bleeding is much more dangerous, resulting in a loss of 1d2 hit points per round (not turn) until the injury is healed or bound. In effect, the standard negative 10 rule represents major bleeding; the character loses 1 hit point per round when reduced to negative hit points.
Major bleeding can be stopped by a cure light wounds spell or the healing of 5 points of damage by any other means. In addition, the successful use of the healing proficiency halts major bleeding. If the wound is bound by an untrained character, make an Intelligence check for the would-be medic; if he fails, he is unable to help, but if he succeeds, the bleeding is reduced to minor.
Severe bleeding causes the victim to lose 10% to 60% (1d6 x 10%) of his unwounded hit point total every round. For example, a fighter with 43 hit points would lose 4 (10%) to 24 (60%) of his hit points every round. A cure light wounds or 5 hit points of healing will reduce severe bleeding to major bleeding; a cure serious wounds or 10 hit points of healing reduces it to minor bleeding; and a cure critical wounds or 20 hit points of healing stops it altogether.
An untrained character has no chance to bind a torso, abdomen, or head wound with severe bleeding, but a trained healer can attempt a proficiency check with a –4 penalty to reduce severe bleeding to major bleeding in these areas. A trained healer can reduce severe bleeding from a limb to major bleeding with an unpenalized proficiency check, and an untrained character can do the same with a successful Intelligence check at a –4 penalty. Note that once severe bleeding has been reduced to major bleeding, the character may be able to then reduce the major bleeding to minor bleeding.
Bleeding from several wounds is cumulative; a character with three cases of minor bleeding from three separate injuries suffers 3d2 damage every turn. After a character is reduced to 0 hit points by any level of bleeding, the bleeding stops, and he simply loses 1 hit point a round until he reaches –10 and dies.
Source: Critical Strikes (POSM)
Category:Status Effects