Monday, May 10, 2021

Building Bhakashal - Game Design Notes - Hit Points



Different groups like different things, that has been true about D&D since its inception. And although I have introduced a lot of new mechanics for Bhakashal, and I like new mechanics, I understand that some people interested in Bhakashal are primarily looking at the lore and the setting flavor, or the spells, or the monsters, and have no interest in new, fiddly mechanics.


So for several of the key mechanics in the game Bhakashal will have several options, a “basic” version that minimizes the mechanical complexity, an “expert” version that adds some bells and whistles, and an “advanced” version that pulls out all the stops. 


Play your preference.


Hit points have been maligned for years as they are clearly non-physical in many obvious ways (e.g. the classic 40 HP fighter is not built like a 40 hp hippo), but the nature of the “non-physical” was never really cashed out clearly. Bhakashal leans into the concept and gives you a few options for your game. 


Hit Points in Bhakashal

Description

Hit points represent the amount of punishment you can take in the game, your luck, your ability to dodge, roll with a blow, the favor of the gods, etc. When they are gone, you die. The referee need not specify anything about your HP when you lose them (e.g. were the HP lost in that last blow luck, dodging, physical toughness, etc.)


Class starting hit points are as follows:


Table 1 - Hit Point Progression by Class

Class-Type

Starting Hit Points

0-level NPCs/monsters - do not gain further HP beyond start

4

A. Chimerist/Conjuror/Gyre/

Necromancer/Phantasmist/Seer/

Spellbinder/Vox/Warlock

4

B.Beastial/Cavaral/Jinx/

Myrmidon/Spider/

Thaumaturge/Theurgist 

8

C. Justiciar/Spartan/Slayer

12

D. Monster/Mercenary

16

All classed PCs and NPCs get 4HP per level from 2nd to 10th level


Binding wounds and stabilizing the victim will stop HP loss, and HP are regained at a rate of 1 per day of rest.



All three of the Hit Point systems in Bhakashal share the common core of this description and the hit point progression shown on Table 1.


Basic Hit Points

This is the simplest system in Bhakashal, and hews to what many D&D iterations have done with hit points. You essentially do not unpack the abstraction, and just record the points. The advantage here is some speed and simplicity, and it puts less demand on the ref to describe blows and track damage. 


Procedure:

  1. When a PC is hit/damaged the referee will inform them how much damage they have taken in Hit Points, and the player should record the damage, reducing their HP total

  2. When they reach 0 HP they are unconscious. From that point forward they will lose 1 HP per round until they reach their negative CON value in HP, at which point they are dead.


If you want “quick and dirty” and easy to use, this is it. 


Expert Hit Points

The expert hit point system in Bhakashal incorporates two extra dimensions to the basic version: the potential for lasting damage and specifying location of hit. It is more complicated as it unpacks the abstraction to a greater degree, but it adds two things that players often ask for: one, more consequences for damage, e.g. a 50 HP fighter fights the same when she is at 1 HP, Bhakashal adds some complications to change this, and two, specificity as to where hits land so you aren’t always hearing, “the monster hits you again, you hit the monster again”, etc, etc.


Procedure:

  1. Take a full suit of cards from a standard deck, e.g. the 2-10, J,Q,K and A of one suit, and assign each to a PC. The face cards are set in one pile, the numbered cards 2-10 face down in another beside it, representing each PC.

  2. Take the PCs full HP total and divide by 4 

  3. When a PC is hit/damaged the referee will draw one of the numbered cards for that PC and consult Table 2

Table 2 - Location of Hit  

2 - Right Leg 

3 - Left Leg 

4 - Right arm 

5 - Left arm

6- Chest 

7 - Stomach 

8- Back 

9 - Neck

10 - Head 

  1. The ref will then inform them where they were hit/hurt and how much damage they have taken in hit points, and if the PC is now less than their full HP total but above 3/4 of their total HP the player should record the damage, reducing their HP total.

  2. If the PC is now less than 3/4 their full HP total but above 1/2 of their total HP then the player records the damage and is given a Jack, which means that until they are above 3/4 HP again the PC will take a -1 penalty on everything: “to hits”, “saving throws”, damage rolls, etc. 

  3. If the PC is now less than 1/2 their full HP total but above 1/4 of their total HP then the player records the damage and is given a Queen, which means that until they are above 1/2 their total HP again the PC will take a -2 penalty on everything: “to hits”, “saving throws”, damage rolls, etc. 

  4. If the PC is now less than 1/4 their full HP total but above 0HP then the player records the damage and is given a King, which means that until they are above 1/4 their total HP again the PC will take a -3 penalty on everything: “to hits”, “saving throws”, damage rolls, etc. 

  5. If the PC is now less than 0 HP but above negative CON the player records the damage and the PC is unconscious, from that point forward they will lose 1 hp per round until they reach their negative CON value in HP, at which point they are dead.

  6. If healed back above 0 HP, the PC will have a -4 penalty with respect to whatever part of the body was damaged in bringing them below 0 HP, e.g. if the blow that took them to -5 HP landed on the left arm, then the left arm would be -4 to hit until healed to full HP


The value of this system is threefold, one, it helps the referee to narrate the combat, to locate the blows on the target and describe them to the players. Two, it gives some lasting impacts to taking damage in combat, with game mechanical consequences. Three, the cards make it easy for the ref and player to identify when they are taking 1, 2, 3 or 4 point penalties for lasting damage. I find that tracking situational penalties is easier with a visual reference like this. 



Advanced Hit Points

Bhakashal’s Advanced HP system adds several complexities to make the system more nuanced and challenging. First, the long term consequences of serious damage are tied to the specific parts of the body which were damaged, and second, damage to PCs is tracked by the referee and described, rather than tracked and recorded by the player.

The main advantage of this system is that it creates opacity with respect to the PCs health, this makes the game more exciting, and helps to keep players from metagaming their HP in ways that break, or at least lessen immersion. 

Procedure

  1. Take a full suit of cards from a standard deck, e.g. the 2-10, J,Q,K and A of one suit, and assign each to a single player. The face cards are set in one pile, the numbered cards 2-10 face down in another beside it, representing each player.

  2. Take the PCs full HP total and divide into 4.

  3. When the PC is damaged but is between full HP to 3/4 HP - Near Miss

    1. Blow does not contact the PC

    2. All of the HP lost represent luck, dodging, near misses, etc. 

    3. The referee records this damage and describes it - e.g. tells the player only that they were “nearly missed”, etc.

  4. When the PC is damaged but is between 3/4 to 1/2 HP - Minor wound

    1. The ref draws one of their numbered cards at random from their pile and the location of the blow is noted on the Table 3 - Location of Hit Advanced

    2. The referee records this damage and describes it - e.g. tells the player that they have been nicked, cut, suffered a glancing blow, etc. 

    3. The referee flips the Jack and gives it to the player, until they are above 3/4 HP again they will take a -1 penalty on everything: “to hits”, “saving throws”, damage rolls, etc.

  5. When the PC is damaged but is between 1/2  to 1/4 HP - Major wound

    1. The ref draws one of their numbered cards at random from their pile and the location of the blow is noted on the Table 3 - Location of Hit Advanced

    2. The referee records this damage and describes it - e.g. tells the player that they have been smashed, cut badly, crushed, etc. 

    3. The referee flips the Queen and gives it to the player, until they are above 1/2 HP again they will take a -2 penalty on everything: “to hits”, “saving throws”, damage rolls, etc. 

  6. When a PC is damaged but is between 1/4  to 0 HP - Serious wound

  1. The referee records this damage and flips the King and gives it to the player 

  2. The ref draws one of their numbered cards at random from their pile and the location of the blow is noted on the Table 3 


Table 3 - Location of Hit Advanced 

Card Number - Body Location - [Save vrs Paralysis]/[Save vrs Death]

2 - Right Leg - [broken/cut leg, move 3”]/[severed limb]

3 - Left Leg - [broken/cut leg, move 3”]/[severed limb]

4 - Right arm - [broken/cut arm, -5 to hit]/[severed limb]

5 - Left arm- [broken/cut arm, -5 to hit]/[severed limb]

6- Chest -[broken/cut rib – 5 to dexterity] /[vital organ crushed/pierced - death]

7 - Stomach – [internal damage/cut muscles – 5 to strength]/[disembowelment - death 1-4 rounds]

8- Back - [broken bones/cut muscles – 5 to strength]/[permanent paralysis]

9 - Neck - [1 hp/rd lost to bleeding]/ [broken neck/decapitation - death]

10 - Head - [concussion (unconscious 1-8rds,-3 to hit/1 day)] /[coma 1-2 weeks]


  1. The PC rolls a saving throw versus paralyzation. If that save is successful, the referee describes the damage using Table 3. If that save is failed, they suffer the first consequence listed on Table 3 for that hit location and the referee describes the damage using Table 3


  1. When a PC is damaged and brought below 0 HP - Deadly wound

  1. The referee records this damage and flips the Ace and gives it to the player 

  2. The ref draws one of their numbered cards at random from their pile and the location of the blow is noted on Table 3

  3. If the damage brings them to below their negative CON score, they are dead

  4. If the damage brings them below 0 but not below - CON, then they make a saving throw versus death or suffer the second listed consequence on Table 3 for that hit location. They also lose 1HP per round while that Ace is in their possession unless they are stabilized by an ally. When they reach -CON in HP they are dead.



I have been using the Advanced system but without the cards for about 10 years now, my players can tell from my descriptions alone which of the bands they are in. So when I say, “the mace swings just above your head, your hair pushed aside as it breezes by” they know that means they are in the below full but above 3/4 band. When I describe a “nick” or a “glancing blow” they know they are in the 3/4  to 1/2 band. 


But I added the card system for newer players as the cards are a handy and familiar way of reminding them which zone they are in, and a fun, flavorful addition to the game.


Described damage is one of those things you have to experience in the game to “get”, it creates a whole new level of excitement to the game, and takes away something that has, to be honest, become somewhat procedural and stepwise, and gives back mystery and challenge.


I would warmly recommend it.











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