Refreshing a houserule I posted before, so here it is in point form because long posts are too long.
“These blast points... too accurate for Sand People. Only Imperial stormtroopers are so precise" -Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars Episode IV
So why do they keep missing the heroes then? Because heroes have plot immunity off course; they won’t get hurt unless the story calls for it, regardless how good their enemies are. This houserule attempts to re-fluff hit points as a finite resource of plot immunity rather than a measure of how physically tough character and monsters are.
This houserule has two main goals:
First: “humanize” high level characters who can otherwise withstand superhuman levels of damage, sometimes to the point of breaking suspension of disbelief.
Second: remove the reliance on magical healing in a typical D&D/Pathfinder game.
enough presentation: Plot-Immunity Points
Rename “hit points” with “plot-immunity points” (pips for short). Pips function exactly as hp except that you spend pips to avoid getting seriously injured rather than losing health to enemies’ blows. Same difference really. Pips represent tiring parries, narrow escapes, minor injuries, favourable environment, dumb luck and other “close calls”.
When you’re out of pips, you get disabled (if at 0 pips), dying (if below 0 pips) or just plain dead (if current pips < than negative CON), as in RaW. Dying rules apply as RaW.
Calculate your 50% pips mark (rounded down). That’s your weary threshold. Mark it somewhere convenient. When your pips drop below this mark, you’re weary. This has no mechanical effect other than you being able to complain to your cleric that you feel weak.
Lost pips are not injuries; they regenerate quickly. You gain your weary threshold in pips with a 15 minute rest. Good night sleep restores you to full pips. Cure spells and magical healing restore pips as if they were hp. Poisons and other secondary effects (such as disease, bleed, ability damage etc.) affect a character normally even if pips suggest that no serious injury has occurred (scratches can prove more problematic than expected).
There’s a new condition in the game: wounded. You acquire this condition upon receiving a critical hit, failing a saving throw causing damage or running out of pips. Nonlethal damage never cause a character to become wounded.
When you’re wounded, you CAN’T regenerate past your weary threshold. You don’t need to adjust your pips if your current total is still above the weary threshold, but you still cannot regenerate past this mark with rest or sleep.
If the character is conscious, a successful Heal (long-term care) check removes the wounded condition after 8 hours of treatment. The character can henceforth rest for 15 minutes to regenerate its weary threshold, or sleep another 8 hours to be restored to full pips.
If the character is dying, it MUST be brought back to consciousness (positive pips) with a successful Heal (treat deadly wounds) check before long term care can be attempted. A seriously injured character may take several days to treat as per Heal skill rules.
A cure, heal, regeneration or similar spell always removes the wounded condition (but spells or effects granting temporary hp do not), in addition to their usual effects.
Other than that, things function pretty much as RaW
'findel
