Negative HD
What is this?
A very simple death & dismemberment system for OD&D or other old-school/OSR games that use hit dice.
TL;DR
When an attack reduces a character below 0 HP, calculate how many negative HP they have. Then, roll whatever that character rolls for HD until the total on the dice equals or exceeds the -HP to calculate -HD.
- -1 HD: knocked out, can be revived with magic healing but otherwise must be carried/dragged to safety and allowed to rest & heal.
- -2 HD: maimed and dying without first aid in addition to the above. Use your favorite wounds table or something simple like: 1 - head (killed w/o helmet, otherwise blinded or deafened), 2 - left arm, 3 - right arm, 4 - left leg, 5 - right leg, 6 - torso (-1d6 CON).
- -3 HD or more: Dead
Examples
- Ameila, a veteran with 17 CON, has 4 HP. She gets whalloped by an Ape for 6 damage, leaving her with -2 HP. She rolls a d6+1 and gets a 3, meaning she has just -1 HD. Her companions are able to drag her out of the dungeon & she recovers at camp.
- Brandon, a village priest, has been fighting a Warrior armed with a +3 halberd and has been reduced to 2 HP. The next blow does 6 damage, sending him to -4 HP. He rolls a d6 and gets 3, and then another and rolls 2. He has -2 HD. The Ref rolls and determines that his right arm was severed.
- Chris, a medium, has 2 HP. He takes 5 damage from a Chimera, putting him at -3 HP. He rolls a d6 and gets 1, then another and gets 1. Since he has at least -3 HD his soul departs for the realms beyond.
Commentary
Conceptually, an OD&D 'hit die' represents the combat power of a typical soldier. The fact that HD and damage dice both use a d6 reflects an abstracted system where one 'hit' is enough to fell one typical troop. In a wargame context, it makes sense that 0 HP represents a 'casualty', neutralized for combat purposes. But in a more character-focused game, the distinction between 'casualty (stunned)', 'casualty (maimed)', and 'casualty (dead)' may be relevant. I like the idea that one soldier's combat power is enough to knock one out, two to maim, and three to kill.
This does make characters a lot less likely to die outright since a standard d6 attack is unlikely to put one past -1 HD. I guess I'm a softie but I kind of like this -- downed but alive characters add stakes to the outcome of a battle and introduce possibilities for the "defeated" status Dwiz wrote about this week. (For a simpler, more lethal game I'd ditch "maimed" and say -1HD = knocked out, -2HD = killed).
Other advantages over other types of Death & Dismemberment or negative HP:
- Repurposes a familiar mechanic
- Only requires d6
- The basic outline is easy to memorize (-1 HD: knocked out, -2 HD maimed, -3 HD dead).
- (YMMV on this one) typical d6 damage attacks are unlikely to kill outright, whereas 2d6 attacks from higher-level creatures & magic weapons remain scary.
- Suspenseful, since dice are rolled sequentially
- CON modifiers can be applied to the rolls
- If applied to foes as well, it offers more opportunities to use the subdual & monster recruitment rules.
I haven't tested it for B/X or other systems with variable HD but I think it would work fine, giving Fighters an additional nice survival edge.
Appendix: Prosthetics Rules
In my (ever-limited) experience, games with death & dismemberment rules are often vague about what to do when your character gets her leg chopped off. Here's a very loose 'vernacular D&D' outline for getting back in the fight after losing an appendage. Prices assume the silly OD&D gold standard, and are generally cheap because breaking the bank for this just seems kinda shitty.
- Any adventurer can apply a tourniquet to stop a severed limb from bleeding out. Properly sealing such a wound requires a bucket of pitch (pretty cheap, say 5 silver, at any settlement) or a healing potion or use of Cure Light Wounds. Installing a prosthesis requires a chirurgeon (100 silver/job) or a Cleric in the party.
- Peg leg: 1 g.p. -- movement halved, disadvantage on rolls related to sure-footedness
- Mechanical leg: 50 g.p. -- 3/4 movement, or as encumbered 1 level.
- Magic/cyber leg: 1,000 g.p. or loot onl -- fully restores movement
- Wheelchair: 50 g.p. -- probably impractical for melee, but certainly useful for mages & archers.
- Hook hand: 5 g.p. -- can hold lanterns, pull levers, etc. +1 unarmed damage.
- Mechanical hand: 50 g.p. -- can hold shield but not weapon, can manipulate items but lacks fine dexterity.
- Magic/cyber hand: 5,000 g.p. or loot only -- fully functional