Death
There are several things that are unsatisfactory about death & unconsciousness in 3.5. I will start by saying that in my experience if a character dies in campaign play it is up to the DM whether or not they 'let' them come back (through access to the usual spells).
Looking at the mechanics when a person suffers hit points damage less than their total hit points (i.e. when they are still on positive hit points) they suffer no loss of function. Thus it makes sense that this loss of hit points does not signify broken bones, serious mechanical injury or anything of the sort. It can only be reasonably presumed that damage represents, bruising, grazes, flesh wounds, winding and so forth.
Secondly when curing occurs it repairs such damage. The only time this is not correct is if the person is dead (excluding unusual methods of prevention such as clay golem wounds).
Thirdly when a character with 12 hp goes to -10 they die. When they have 160hp is reduced to -10 they die, this feels bit strange.
In 3.5 characters go up levels much faster than in previous editions. Thus whereas in first edition a character capable of raising the dead was the type of character who would rule over a small realm, in 3.5 they get to that level in a few short weeks of adventuring. This means that raising the dead is much more accessible in a game sense.
In addition there are numerous effects in D&D which are save or die, which leads to the ‘game mechanic necessity’ that characters be able to come back to life.
In classic fantasy novels or films dead usually is the end. In D&D it would be fair to say that death is a “condition” that can be removed by spells such as raise dead, resurrection etc (admittedly leaving a penalty but still you are alive). This makes death prosaic when it should be dramatic and significant.
From a simulationist point of view if one accepts that curative spells repair injuries then providing the severe injuries to a body are repaired or adequately attended to within a short space of time (say 3 minutes ) and the body is able to function it is reasonable it should recover and a character survive. I while I hesitate to mention reality- people can die from the slightest unlucky blow and they can equally survive a remarkable amount of trauma Let us assume PC's are in the second category.
I would rather have death be much much rarer for PC’s but also much much harder to come back from. From a backward compatible stance I would rather there was a condition called say ‘critical’ which is what happens when you hit -10 which had a similar game mechanic to current death but was not death. Death should be something you do not come back from, except maybe with a 9th level spell, or exotic magic of some sort.
OK so that is the philosophy to this approach now what are the mechanical rules?
a. Whenever a character would die under the current rules (including failing a save against a death effect like a bodaks stare) they now become critically injured and unconscious (i.e. they have the ‘critical’ and ‘unconscious’ condition) and their hit points drop to and remain at -10
b. Critical condition means you may only take a single move action and can only be healed up to 1 hit point until they have the critical condition removed (additional healing is wasted) further you have 1 negative level, even when you become conscious
c. You cannot acquire the Critical condition after you already have it.
d. Once on -10 any further hit points damage is ignored. If left untended the character must make a DC15 con check every minute for 3 minutes then every 10 minutes. If made they go to -9 hit points.(If you wish it to be more lethal you die if you fail 3- I dont encourage this as I want death to be virtually permanent)
e. On -9 or more hit points you recover 1 hit point per round until you reach 1 hit point.
f. Removal of the critical condition can only occur through rest, 1 day per level or through a 5th level cleric spells Raise dead/Greater restoration/Regenerate/ Resurrection (with the similar components) however the negative level will remain until the character has earned 1000exp per level they had when they became critical.
g. An alternative to the negative level can be some injury appropriate to the Critical, i.e. character becomes vulnerable to fire, cannot speak loudly, loses 5’ movement, loses a few fingers. These scars should fade with time (as would the negative level), or be healable with appropriate efforts and become roleplaying elements
h. This system only applies to PC’s and important NPC’s others just die.
How does PC death actually occur?
a. The body is destroyed or the head removed (DM Fiat)
b. The player elects to allow the character to die (Character Fiat)
Even though at first glance this looks like a completely backward incompatible idea, and a bit soft on the PC's the only difference is that you call the thing you become at -10 something other than death and PC's can recover a bit from it.
As an added benefit given you would get rid of Raise dead and resurection (though keep a type of true resurrection) it would help explain why those important NPC's like kings and generals who die arent just immediately raised from the dead.
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Interesting idea, but it seems a little complex to implement. I feel like the core rules should be relatively simple, and I'm a little loathe to change something as big as death and dying. Don't get me wrong, I understand where you're coming from. The hit points mechanic is a bit of a necessary evil. It scales well and works well mechanically, but it has never really been explained in a concrete fashion. As for Raise Dead and it's ilk, the game suffers without them. In my experience, encounters in DnD are a bit more deadly than those in SWRPG or D20 modern. Maybe I'm not playing correctly, but party members get dropped all the time. In a game with magic, even one that is "realistic", not having a way for players to start playing again is a real burden. Nobody wants their character to die and start over from scratch.
Anyways, I implement a rationale that is similar to your new set of rules without changing a whole lot. When you lose HP, but are still in the positive, you've just taken minor scratches, or close misses, or you've become a little winded. Once you reach 0 or -1, though, you suffer an injury, which has to be healed separately from just HP. Similar to your rules in storytelling, but with changing very little.
Anyways, just my 2 cp. Still, an interesting idea. Don't let my critique stop you! ;p