Wounds

Persistent injuries come about as the result of accidents, mistakes, and lapses in judgement from a variety of sources. Many encounters incorporate natural injuries, and the most common avoidance is having a skill or technology to offset hazardous conditions. A character who is “Wounded” suffers immediate (damage) and longer term effects. The source of the wound may describe other specific effects, but always suffers the Common Wounding (the “Wounded” Condition) effects. Surviving persistent injuries is usually just a matter of time and natural healing, though some are so grievous they will alter the form and function of a character forever. One cannot have a Wound and be Hale.

Systemic: Damage done to the entire dermal, organ and bone at a single impact.

Minor Wounds: Wounds that can be gotten over quickly.

Major Wounds: Wounds that will take a long time to heal and recover from.

Grievous Wounds: Permanent disfigurement, chronic pain, and deep scars.

D20 Wound Properties

Common Wounding: 1) The target gains a level of Exhaustion (cumulative, to a maximum of 5 – i.e. cannot kill), 2) Their sequence of Death Saves starts with one failure. They lose any advantage on their physical ability checks, and lose 5′ of movement. A character automatically becomes Wounded when:

  • They take a Critical Hit = Minor Wound
  • They Critically fumble a Saving Throw
  • They take a Critical Hit while already having a Minor Wound = One becomes a Major Wound
  • They drop to 0 hit points (of non-fatigue damage) but are not killed outright = Major Wound; any healing spell that is equal to or more than the negative HP value that is cast upon the target in the same round, will return them to 1 HP without the Wounded condition.

Minor Wounding: The effects of 1 Minor Wound are typically negated after a Short Rest is completed; Additional ones take a Short Rest for each. Lesser Restoration can heal 1 Minor Wound. Heal and Regeneration will both remove all Minor Wounds.

Major Wounding: The effects of 1 Major Wound are negated after a Long Rest is completed; Additional ones take a Long Rest for each. Greater Restoration can heal one Major Wound or all Minor Wounds. A character that takes a number of Major Wounds equal to or greater than their Proficiency Bonus dies immediately unless they accept a Grievous Wound: Grievous Wounds can also be the result of traumatic fumble of horrible situation.

Grievous Wounding:

  1. -5′ Movement
  2. -1 on Death Saves
  3. -1 Initiative Checks
  4. -1 Athletics/Acrobatics Checks
  5. -1 Max. DEX adjustment for Armor
  6. Cannot Perform DASH Action without a DC 10 Constitution check
  7. -1 Social and Language (speech) Checks
  8. -1 Intelligence/Lore Checks
  9. -1 Attack with Thrown Weapon and Ranged Weapons
  10. -1 Attack with Melee Weapons
  11. -1 Damage with Melee Weapons
  12. First Exhaustion effect adds 2 levels
  13. Any time the character takes a critical hit, they take another D4/2 damage
  14. All checks against poison and disease are made with a -1 penalty
  15. The character gains vulnerability to Disease damage
  16. The character Fumbles on a 1 or 2 (if a 2 fails)
  17. -1 Perception checks and Passive Perception
  18. -1 Survival and Constitution checks
  19. -1 to healing rate
  20. -1 from HP maximum

iCore Wound Properties