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I'm getting ready to start up a campaign in January and I wanted to add some spice to combat to make players more invested. I've listened to people talk about L5R and other systems (I think GURPS also) that have interesting mechanics that address this, already built into the system. So this started me thinking about house-ruling something for Pathfinder.
I thought maybe something simple such as when a PC reaches the bloodied value they take a -1 to STR and DEX, then perhaps a -2 when they reach 20% of their HP.
So my question is, are there any popular house rules out there that accomplish something like this for Pathfinder? Has anyone come up with something of their own they'd like to share?
I'm not trying to make the game insanely deadly, just spice up combat a bit to make players really feel the significance of damage their characters are taking.
This kind of thing is often called a death spiral - you start taking penalties when you're already getting badly hurt, and so you can't fight as effectively, which means you're even more likely to lose against whatever was already beating you up. Lots of people don't find it fun - it depends a lot on the tone you're going for in your game. Dark and gritty games benefit from it; the sort of default super-heroic fantasy that Pathfinder assumes doesn't, in my opinion.
Modifying Strength and Dex, especially by odd values, is confusing to calculate on the fly and takes a long time. I wouldn't do that.
If I were going to implement this (say, in an E6 or E8 game), I would consider applying the shaken condition to everyone at 25% of max HP or less, or at least those mechanics (-2 to all rolls). I wouldn't make it a fear condition, though. I like the bloodied condition (less than half hit points) as a mechanical hook that triggers other things, which is an innovation from 4e. I wouldn't apply penalties at 50%, though. You'd want to add some mechanics that let tough characters ignore or reduce these penalties - anything that helps to resist pain should reduce these penalties.
I'm thinking about introducing a system that replaces the bonus damage from crits with injuries appropriate to the damage type. Bleed damage, blindness (blood in the eyes), crippled limbs and the like. Also, look up Evik Lincokn's Strain/Injury variant for hp on the homebrew forums, it works pretty well with things like this (where not every loss of hp represents a physical injury).
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It would be more realistic; real fights do have this death spiral thing sometimes.
Personally, I think PF and D&D have a very good reason NOT to have it.
This is supposed to be a more upbeat, macho/action movie kind of game. In an action movie, if you get beat up, you grunt in pain for a moment, then get back on your feet. The rest of the movie you've got a scratch on your face, and you look badass for it, but it doesn't actually hinder you.
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The only rule in D&D/PF that was like this was if a character got hit for more then 1/2 of his TOTAL hps in one attack, he was staggered for one round. I feel this will give you an affect you are looking for without going down the Death Spiral.
No matter which direction you go, I wouldn't impliment anything until 4th or 5th level. HPs are already limited, so most PCs will be at half HP with one attack. Also keep in mind, this will turn the game into a grind fest. Are you going to recalulate all your monsters for these effects as well? So if the PCs have to recalculate their rolls, and you have to do so almost every round, that will become a problem.
I understand what you are looking for, but in the big picture I feel the enjoyment of your game will suffer.
What I've been using for years (Pre-Pathfinder even, based on the 3.5 Ravenloft material, actually):
50% hp = DC 10+hd Fort save, Endurance and pain related bonuses apply. Failure: -2 pain penalty to all d20 rolls.
25% hp = DC 15+hd same thing, penalty stacks.
High fort characters tend to do well, but monsters, even high fort ones, tend to fail more frequently as HD outstrips save progression. Which makes sense, creatures that powerful are likely not frequently wounded that badly, it would be naturally shocking to such a creature to reach that point.
The roll applies to both concentration and spell penetration rolls, so casters can't just ignore it either.
I allow the Diehard feat to render a character immune to the penalties, since I allow Endurance to apply to the save. I also announce when a monster has failed it's save via the description of its reaction to the attack that prompted it.
Overall, it works well enough. The various groups I have run have liked it, as they use it to plan when to drop all or nothing spells with saves. Consequently, they also tend to pay more attention to their own HP and use better tactics. A few times my groups have voted to not use the rule, but that has usually been either due to a desire for a more high-heroics game or to minimize bookkeeping.
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"Consequently, they also tend to pay more attention to their own HP and use better tactics"
That is exactly it. I think it makes players more invested to be honest, taking damage has meaning. Maybe I'm wrong, but I see some good RP elements to the mechanic as well.
I've talked to the players about my wanting to implement some sort of mechanic to address pc's taking damage and they were all in favor of it. They like the idea of the added drama/excitement. Again, I don't want to introduce something that will add a bunch of work to encounters as I have to calculate a ton of stat mods for pcs/monsters. This is why I posted here, looking for something that others may have used that works.
Black Bard's method expands on what I was originally thinking, the -2 to attacks. I like it, and that the players have the opportunity to save against it is great. Plus it also factors in SteelDraco's point, allowing things like DieHard to make the character immune.
Great feedback all around, thanks!
I'd suggest something that will affect spell casters too. As it stands, being shaken isn't going to affect any of the main caster classes as much as it will affect martial classes. Perhaps something to do with making a concentration check to cast spells if you are 'bloodied', or adding an arcane spell failure chance.
Also, have you checked out the rules for Wounds and Vigor in Ultimate Combat? I like them a lot and I think you might dig them.