I've been thinking on a hp variant for my Pathfinder games and wanted to post my initial thoughts for feedback. I was considering the whole "I'm fine down to 1 hp, not so great just -1 hp later, and dying just -2 hp later." I'd like something more realistic, but at the same time most variant systems either over-complicate combat or make combat too deadly for my tastes. I don't want to go fiddling with every monster stat block to fit into a new system, either.
So then I thought, why not just get rid of the negative hp bit and replace that number with the character's Constitution score. Any damage you take up to your max hp is then not real damage, just wearing you down. Damage that would force you under 0 hp instead drops you to 0 hp (but doesn't do "real" damage yet). Further damage becomes Con damage (not drain).
At half Con you're Disabled (take a single move or standard action each turn (but not both, nor can you take full-round actions). You can take move actions without further injuring yourself, but if you perform any standard action (or any other strenuous action) you take 1 point of damage)
When you hit 0 Con you're Dying (Fort save, with -5 penalty from having a 0 Con, vs. DC 15, failure means you die, success means you're still dying and save next turn, success by 10 or more means your Stable). A critical becomes important in this system in that if the critical also results in dropping your hp to 0, the remaining damage is immediately applied as Con damage (this ties into a Called Shots system of feats I use also, which would bypass hp like this as well). A critical or Called Shot that drops hp to 0 and Con to 0 in one hit makes the character immediately enter the Dying state. And this ties back around to the thing that first got me thinking about this--save-or-die spells drop the character into a Dying state as well on a failed save. Yes, I like save-or-die effects and refuse to give them up...
And a final thought, with hp now being more "hero points" than "hit points" most monsters won't have them, so damage is applied straight to Con (making a "mooks" or "ensign" type of monster that's easier to take down as with the Savage Worlds or 4e systems). The important bad guys will have hp just like the characters. And I'm thinking on a feat that would allow Charisma modifier to grant bonus hp rather than Con--this would reflect a person that perseveres through luck or force of personality versus the guy that's just really tough. In fact, I thought about making this the default state, actually, or perhaps an option chosen at character creation.
Any feedback is welcome!
I thought of a system where everyone gets average, or at least a static amount of, hit points. Then, each time you lost a level's worth of hit points, you gain 1 negative level (that would never lead to actual level loss). So if you're not at full hit points, you're taking penalties on ability checks, skill checks, attack rolls, saving throws, etc., and you're losing mojo (highest level spells).
It also makes Consitution a much more important ability. The Toughness feat would probably have to be replaced with Improved Toughness.
Hmm, interesting though I'm not sure I want to get that much into tracking level-breaks and imposing penalties.
I did tidy my idea up a bit for play-testing this weekend:
Characters gain hit points (now more properly called hero points) per class level as normal, but at character creation the player may choose Constitution or Charisma as the relevant ability score for determining bonus hp.
Damage a character takes initially subtracts from hp as normal--this is not real damage but rather wearing the character's reserves/defenses down. When most attacks would drop the character below 0 hp, that attack instead drops the character to 0 hp and any extra damage is lost. Any further damage applies directly to the characters Constitution as Ability Damage. A critical hit or successful Called Shot that drops a character below 0 hp does not lose the extra damage, applying the extra damage directly as Ability Damage. A critical or Called Shot that drops hp to 0 and Con to 0 makes the character immediately enter the Dying condition. Certain spells, such as finger of death may also force a character immediately into the Dying condition.
When a character's Constitution drops to half his normal maximum, the character is Staggered - a staggered character may take a single move action or standard action each round (but not both, nor can he take full-round actions).
When a character's Constitution drops below 3, the character is Disabled - a disabled character may take a single move action or standard action each round (but not both, nor can he take full-round actions) and moves at half speed. Taking move actions doesn’t risk further injury, but performing any standard action (or any other action the DM deems strenuous, including some free actions such as casting a quickened spell) deals 1 point of ability damage after the completion of the act.
When a character's Constitution drops to 0, the character is Dying - a dying character can take no actions and is unconscious (knocked out and helpless). At the end of each round (starting with the round in which the character's Constitution drops to 0), the character rolls a Fortitude save, DC 15 (with a -5 penalty from having a 0 Con). Failure means the character is dead - the character’s soul leaves his body,. he cannot benefit from normal or magical healing, but can be restored to life via magic.Success means the character is still dying and must attempt the save again on the next round. Success by 10 or more means the character is Stable.
General NPCs and monsters do not have hp - damage is applied directly to Constitution. Undead creatures that do not have a Constitution score instead have a number of hp determined by size -Tiny to smaller creatures: 1 hp; Small: 5 hp; Medium: 10 hp; Large: 20 hp; Huge: 30 hp; Gargantuan: 40 hp; Colossal: 60 hp. Constructs that do not have a Constitution score likewise have a number of hp determined by size -Tiny to smaller creatures: 1 hp; Small: 10 hp; Medium: 20 hp; Large: 30 hp; Huge: 40 hp; Gargantuan: 60 hp; Colossal: 80 hp.