Monday 30 September 2013

The Lost Tables #3

Wounds and Injuries


This document is a part of my compilation book Pages of Virtue, created and compiled from The Rules Encyclopedia, The Alphatian/Thyatian Gazetteer, and several Dragon Magazine articles, and some AD&D sources, like the DMG, and the Survival guides  Some parts I added myself where it was clear that information was missing. As thus it is consistent with the AV rules applied in the Alphatian/Thyatian Gazetteer,  which (at least to me and all my gamers) seem much more logical.
This system is also very good to be used in those cases when Raise Dead spells are not  available (the church/immortal could refuse to give the --like the church of Darokin, the campaign (DM) could not have these, or the cleric is unavailable or does not have the spell.
                                                                                                                                                              
Bron; Wikipedia
In combat the character must make a Hit roll on 1d20 to see if he is able to hit a target. The number needed to his is determined by class, training and experience, and even by magic. The number on the rolled dice is important to the sort damage inflicted on the target. To see how the roll will effect the damage done see following table.



If the result was a hit, the attacker now rolls for damage. First, he rolls the damage listed for the weapon or attack. Adjust the roll with any multipliers, such as a thief's Backstab ability, or a charge bonus. Then, the attacker adds or subtracts any pertinent bonuses (Strength adjustments, (added to melee attacks), Magic bonuses or penalties (from magic weapons or magic spells affecting the character), the attacker's entire Strength score is added to the damage if he performed a smash maneuver to damage. The sum of the number rolled on the damage dice and the pertinent bonuses is the amount of damage the victim takes.

Hitroll Table
1       Always misses. The character must save vs. DR or lose the weapon in hand, or (DM) some mishap occurs (the bowstring looses or snaps, or the blade of the weapon shifts, or the weapon is dropped from the hand of the user).

2-17  Hits with normal damage, determined by hit roll (THAC0), Armor Value is normally deducted (minimum 1 point of damage even when the AV is greater) from any damage.          
       Any wound can be normally, or magically cured (be it potion, spell, item or else).  A character will fall unconscious to the ground when his Hp have reached 0 or lower.         If he has any wounds he will lose 1 hit point each round until he reaches -10, at which moment he dies. Before he reaches -10 however, he can be cured with any magic (Only, spell, item, ointment, or special, but not Potions!!). He will regain consciousness when he reaches 1 hit point.
         A wounded person can also naturally stabilize. The character must make each round a successful Constitution check penalized by the amount of negative Hp. If successful the hit point drop stabilizes to a loss off –1 each Turn instead each round.
         A Healer (or anyone with a Healing skill) can keep a person under 0 Hp alive (even without the use of magic) and allow him or her to regain Hp instead of losing them. Therefore the Healer must attend all Time to the healing of the character. For every hour he heals he must make a Healing skill check. When he fails the patient will fall back 1 hour. For every hour successfully healed the patient must make a successful save vs. DR penalized at the damage below 0 (a character at -6 must make his save at -6 etc.). When this is successful he will gain a hit point. The patient will only lose Hp when the healing skill of the healer in question fails (this is not always his failure, but could also be that the patient was to far away to be cured, or the affliction was to great). A healer can do this with as many persons as given (Int / 3 round down = maximum amount patients kept alive and healing).
         A healer can also apply a binding of wounds, stitching, stabilizing broken bones, etc. but if he does this he can’t heal the patient like the method mentioned above. This method can be done with a single set of wounds, an can remove 1d3 points of damage at the cost of one set of bindings. Wounds can reopen, however, under active motion.
         When the character reaches 0 Hp he will heal naturally, even without magical healing, but must at least rest for two weeks (as with the Raise Dead spell).            When the hit was 8 or better than the AC needed to hit a Critical hit is made and the character must roll on the Critical Hit Table accordingly.

18     The hit is better than normal and will cause maximal damage according to the weapon and weapon Mastery and then added with the magical and Strength bonuses. A person hit may deduct his Armor Value still though as per normal hits. 
       When the hit was 8 or better than the AC needed to hit a Critical hit is made and the character must roll on the Critical Hit Table accordingly. This also applies to all ”20^” on the attack roll table.

19     The hit is better still and even by passes the Armor somehow (through one of the minute soft spots, or open spots an armor always has (ex. Armpits, Neck, Crotch, and other movable parts, or when Armor parts are connected or have movable joints). The damage done is maximum and no Armor Value may be deducted. 
       When the hit was 8 or better than the AC needed to hit a Critical hit is made and the character must roll on the Critical Hit Table accordingly. This also applies to all ”20)” on the attack roll table.

20     The hit is the best a character ever could make. It will always hit regardless of THAC0 and AC. Only creatures with an AC 6 steps or better than the maximum possible to hit by that character can’t be hit. When a Character is hit he will sustain double maximum damage of the weapon and weapon Mastery, (double again if a smash attack is made) then the Strength, weapon mastery and magic bonuses are added. Any constructed Armor must make a material save or lose an AV point permanently (until repaired, if possible). Apply all damages as normal and use the Critical Hit Table also. Held, sleeping or unconscious targets can be killed in a single blow by any well-targeted melee weapon. This also applies to all ”20*” on the attack roll table.

Some weapons shift the last three attacks forms forward when the user has a higher weapon mastery, example the dagger. When there is said the damage is doubled with a rolled 19 and 20,  then the other rolls are lower by 1 also. I.e. 18 becomes equal to a normal 19, and a 17 becomes in fact equal like a normal 18. To be sure, read the Weapon Mastery table of your weapon (rules encyclopedia)



The damage from a single attack is a wound, and a wound can have bloodloss, slowly weakening the character. The character may roll a Constitution check to stop 1 hp bleeding each round, until the wound closes, this is called stabilizing. Thus a critical wound needs 3 successful Constitution checks, a healing skill applied with 3hp, or a Cure Critical Wounds spell to close. Even when the magic did not completely heal the damage done, there is no further blood loss. Simply said, the +x of the spell actually closes the wound, while the total rolled amount heals the damage taken. This is depicted in the next table under the “cured by” column. A critical wound (see there) has also bloodloss, but that is treated differently. A victim losing his hit point below zero is dying, slowly. When death finally sets in the attacker(s) get the victims experience value in XP. A character below –10 hp is virtually indistinguishable from those truly dead, even if his spirit hasn’t left the body and healing (magic or skill) still works.

A healer will always see what kind of wound (and thus what kind of weapon was used) the patient sustained, on an successful skill check. The same way he’ll see the natural healing Time average (as in the table). Another check will reveal to him if the patient has sustained an infection, and how to treat that.

Critical Hits

A hit is critical when the hit roll is 18, 19, and when a natural 20 is thrown. 
Whatever level or class a natural 20 always hits, unless the difference is too great to be hit  (21 or more on Attack roll chart). Only the natural 20 roll (this includes natural weaponry) will be able to result in a double damage from which no Armor Value may be deducted. Under some strict circumstances (example; Called Shots, et. Judged by the DM!! only!!) other critical hits may be made. Use following table to see how the damage has to be calculated. 

Weapons

Piercing;                  Creates a small but deep wound, often internal bleeding.   Done by Swords, Spears, Lances, Pikes, etc.
Smashing;               Creates an internal  wound, with lots of bloodloss. Done by Hammers, Maces, Clubs, Boulders, Polearms, etc.
Slashing;                 Creates a large wound with much bloodloss. Done by Axes, Swords, Polearms, etc.
Crushing;                Creates massive damage to internal structure.  Done by Warhammer, Boulders, Giant crushing, and the ground (or wall) on the other side of the character. If not than see Smashing. (DM!!).
Ripping/Rending;         As Slashing, but made by Claws or Bite attacks, infection risk high.

Damage

Source; Enworld.org,  Artist unknown


A Character its life-force is measured in Hit points (Hp). This number will be different for each race, Class and level of this class. They are calculated upon the Hit Dice (HD) of a creature. The experience a creature gains, the higher his level becomes until it is enough to gain another Hit Dice or level. They are also adjusted by the average health of a character (Constitution adjustment), and vary upon each class. Combat and damage high classes like the fighter,  natural Humanoids, or warrior cleric are rolled each new level / HD on 1d8, while weaker classes like the thief and mage use a 1d4 instead. Other use 1d6. when they reach name level, no more HD are gained and only additional Hp are gained instead upon reaching a new level or attack rank (depending upon gained experience). These Hit point are further a constant, once rolled they never change. Each level, Attack rank or HD has its own amount of gained Hit points. And together as a total they stand for the life force of a character.

A character will often suffer damage and this is revealed in a lowering of Hit Points. A character can lose Hit Points through damage by weapons, magic, physical attacks, deprivation, poisoning, diseases, Life Power draining, accidents, heat or cold.
•              Hit point loss caused by Diseases, Poison can only be revived by removing the cause of loss, and then letting the character (slowly) revive naturally or apply magic to enhance this partially or wholly.
•              Hit point loss caused by deprivation can only be recovered by reversing the process. A deprivation of food can thus only be restored by eating. This recovery will go as fast as the deprivation, and can naturally not be speeded up. Some (very rare) magic could bypass this however.(read more about this in the other Lost Tables within this Blog.)
•              Hit Point loss caused by Life power draining can only be recovered by regaining that drained level or HD. This will take time, and needs new experience. Life force draining is one of the most feared attack forms existing and is utmost evil. Some magic can restore these losses. These can be spells, items, potions or sometimes even essence of the draining creature killed somehow (DM will know if this is possible).
•              Hit point loss by damage, caused through magic, weapons, claws, teeth, falling, etc. are called wounds.  And they are resolved differently.

Other Injuries and Treatment

With certain exceptions, the rules of the game do not account for specific injuries or the effect of wounds on particular parts of the body. Lost Hp are simply lost Hp; in practically every case when a character is injured, the exact nature of his injury is not specified and does not need to be. 
However . . . there are occasions when logic and circumstances strongly indicate that an injured character has a specific problem. If this is the case, then prompt action on the part of an injured character or a comrade can sometimes reduce the adverse effect of a wound or other type of injury.

Some special methods of treatment are discussed in the description of the healing skill. These methods include: restoring lost Hp by promptly tending to a wound; caring for an injured comrade to improve his recuperative powers; and aiding a character who has been poisoned or has come down with a disease. Besides these special skills, available only to a character with healing skill, there are some general first-aid methods that are common knowledge among most adventurers and which can be used by anyone who takes the Time to perform them, assuming that the necessary materials are available. Most of these general methods are only useful if the DM rules—with proper reason, of course—that a character has suffered a specific type of injury.
 
Art Larry Elmore. Title Lifegiver, Source Dungeonsmaster.com

Natural Healing

A person will always heal naturally, unless the wound was done by ripping damage (Claws), a Karaash Sword (often used by Orcs), or if somehow infected like a Mummy Curse. This rate of healing is not done in Hp, a critical wound will be completely closed, even if the natural healing rate of a character (1+con bonus=>if resting 24 Hr, or 1 if not resting) will still reveal damage. A 12 hp Grace wound could be closed in 2 days on a character with Con 14=+1, while the remaining damage could still be a loss of 4 hp (4 days x{1+1}) or even 8 days if the character was not resting continuously. This means that the wound will thus not reopen upon movement, but that the character must heal further to be completely healed. Natural healing will leave scars. Magical healing will circumvent this and thus also always prevents scars.

Binding of a wound

This must be done by applying one full set of bandages to each set of wounds ( is total of current wounds). This includes any stitching if necessary. But does not include any needles. mostly these are clean, else they’ll Imply another 15% infection chance, cumulative the existing chance. This takes 1 Turn or more (DM!!). 


When ever magic is used to heal a wound it takes precedence over any healing practices. When magic is applied, it sees no difference between bound and open wounds, it will cure them as far as the power can heal. A magically healed wound always closes up any wounds, even if the magic is not enough to heal all lost Hp. This way it prevents any further bloodloss, infection, and reopening of the wounds. A binding/stitching is of no further use once any healing magic is applied. Any bound wounds with damages higher than the amount cured can still reopen as normal.



Infection danger


There is a danger of infection when the wound is not completely cured, or dirty bandages are used, or the wounds is not bound at all (an open wound). The chance of infection depends on the sort of wound and is increased by 10% if the patient entered an area like Swamps. Sewers, Graves, Battlefields, etc. .If the wound is infected the patient must roll a Save vs. poison each day the wound was not healed completely, or suffer further infection effects  (See diseases; Infection).

Reopening wounds


Wounds have a chance of reopening equal to the chance of infection when the patient moves or attacks, or makes other strenuous moves with the afflicted bodypart before natural healing is completed. When the wound does reopen bleeding damage does occur again. When a wound does reopen it will bring damage equal to the sort wound it currently is. This means a wound will be treated as if unbound. Magical healing will close wounds preventing bloodloss and reopening of the wounds (as seen under Bleeding). 


Bleeding

Any bleeding caused by any sort of critical hit is additional to bleeding of the wound as normal.
Minor Bleeding Damage gives 1 points of damage each Turn until healed or bound or a unmodified Constitution check after at least 1 Turn. The binding of a Minor Wound takes 1d6 rounds, and will stop the bleeding unless the patient is exerting itself (new combat within natural healing period), which will give a reopening wounds chance Any magical curing will stabilize the patient instantly, and closes the wound in addition to restoring Hp.
Major Bleeding Damage gives 1 points of damage each Round until successfully healed or bound. The binding will restore 2d6 points of bleeding damage or less if the wound was smaller), and makes the wound into a Minor Bleeding Wound after at least 1 Hour of binding the wound. This healing can Imply the usage of needle and thread.
Any Cure Wounds closes the wound immediately for the amount of the dice adjustment in the spell (CLW=1d6+1 thus 1), and closes the wound in addition to restoring Hp for the remainder of the rolled healing. If however the spells cast upon the patient heal less than needed it turns the wound only in a Minor Bleeding Wound, any lower healing will have no effect at all at the closer and bloodloss of the wound. Any Further Healing is only natural or magical, no skill will enable the wound to close any further.
Sever Bleeding  Damage gives 2 points of damage each round until healed. Only a Healing Skill at -4 will enable the wound to close to a Major Bleeding Wound, after at least one hour. This healing mostly Implies the usage of needle and thread.
Any Cure Wounds closes the wound immediately for the amount of the dice adjustment in the spell (CLW=1d6+1 thus 1), and closes the wound in addition to restoring Hp for the remainder of the rolled healing. If however the spells cast upon the patient heal less than needed it turns the wound only in a less rapid Bleeding Wound, any lower healing will have no effect at all at the closer and bloodloss of the wound. Any Further Healing is only natural or magical, no skill will enable the wound to close any further.

Crush/Destroy

When a patient his body (not the extremities) is crushed, or destroyed, he must save vs. Death Ray or die in 1d8 rounds with horrible pain. When the Save is successful, the patient has a 35% chance to recover +/-10% per Constitution bonus or penalty in 4+1d8  months. The patient will always heal, but when his healing chance fails he never does fully recover and his body will be permanently disfigured.

When the Head is crushed or destroyed, the patient will have only a 10% chance to stay alive, but then he will be permanently disfigured. This could result in Blindness, Muteness, Deafness, a 5 penalty on Charisma, and at least a lowering of 10 points in comeliness, this can result in a number of 3 or lower, any penalty resulting from this must be used on the Charisma also. When the Charisma is lowered beyond 3 he will seem to become a monster according to his own society (Humanoids not included, because they don’t react according Comeliness and Charisma as thus). As thus he will mostly be totally rejected, or even killed by his own kind thereof.

Only when the patient died (or somehow kept alive while cut open), can the bones be restored by Mages with the Mending spell, after which the Cleric or Healer can restore the body and raise the Character. This process is seldom seen as death (although the patient actually is dead for a short period of Time), thus making it more acceptable to cure such a patient. Actually only the attending Clerics and Healers (and sometimes the Mage in the process) know the character died in the process. This curing method will take at least 1 day in an enclosed clean room, and up to 1 week in any other circumstances. There are rumors that some mages knew of a spell that could “Teleport“ the bones out of the body, while paralyzing the body itself by muscle-cramps, thus enabling any manipulation of the bones. Even a Dwarf could thus mend the bones together, with screws and small plates of Gold, Silver or Platinum (any other metal would affect the body as if poison), or even replace bones with metal variants. This spell seems to be lost to actual knowledge. The usage of this spell is normally Chaotic and Evil, but not with this use.


Severation

Only healed by regeneration. A Cure Critical Wounds or better spell will close the wound, or a torch for 3d10 days. If reopened due to stress, motion, or Time span, the bleeding will start as Minor Bleeding for a Turn, then major bleeding for another Turn and Severe Bleeding for yet another if the character is still alive. The fire does inflict damage but will close the wound. The complete closure of the wound will take 3d10 months. If Legs, Hands. Feet or Arms are missing, the character must practice for 5+2d10 weeks to learn to function with one body part less.  The decapitation of the head always results in Death instantly. This could be so fast (50% chance) that the character will not be able to locate the gate to the Plane of Limbo towards eternal rest, and thus preventing the character to die properly. This will always result in the character becoming a Ghost or similar Undead. As a Raise dead spell calls back a soul from Limbo, such a dead character cannot be raised before the soul is put to rest and travels to Limbo.

Broken Bones

When ever a Break results from a wound the character must make a check on the following table or if it is a called shot (i.e. an attack on a particular body part). When more breaks result in one piece of bone, the healing skill check is reduced by one point per additional break, as is the Time to heal naturally enlarged by 10% per break. The effects will be cumulative per broken body part, but not per break!! Thus when the patient has both legs broken and  also of which one is broken twice; he will still be lowered his Dexterity by only 2, and his movement is only ¼ ( ½ x ½). When a Patient still used the afflicted body part there is a 75% chance that the bone will be disfigured and needs to be broken again to be restored normally. As long as the bone is disfigured the break effects still do apply (this can even be permanent if the character never finds a Healer, who can restore the bone(s)).The natural healing of a  bone is affected by the overall health of the character afflicted, the patient  makes the natural healing roll and subtracts his Constitution bonus to it. Thus a negative bonus is added to the roll and thus prolongs the healing Time. Broken bones also occur with massive damage (boulder and smash attacks of giants, some animals or dragons), falling down or something or someone  falling on the character. 
DM’s be aware, this real world effect can hinder a campaign if the characters are too stupid to think about their actions, or when a DM overuses this effect. Keep in mind not only the reality in the fantasy world but also the game fun. Take the characters aside, and explain them the real danger of their actions, but also explain those with a healing skill or healing magic how he can help the victims. This is as real as death, characters and players must learn to live with it and try to prevent it. One tip in this can be given; There can’t be more bones broken than the total sustained damage, even by use of specific magic, as each break will give an automatic 1 point of damage minimal.
There are a few very dangerous bones that can be broken while they don’t heal naturally, like the Neck. The character must make a Save vs. Death Ray (adjusted by the character’s current Constitution adjustment) or die in 20-current Constitution rounds. Even when the roll is successful the character is paralyzed for life unless magically cured by a Cure All (or Heal) spell and a Cure Paralysis, (or a Wish). No other cure is possible.

The back is similarly dangerous, but has a slim chance to cure by itself naturally. The character will permanently lose a Dexterity point, unless cured magically. A natural curing will never remove the lost point, as the bones and nervous tissues are severely damaged (the character has sustained a Permanent Hernia). When the character has naturally healed only a Wish can restore the permanent damage, the normal magical way of curing by a Mend Bones spell and a Cure Paralysis, or a Cure All (or Heal) and a Cure Paralysis will never remove a healed disfigured back.

Putting a splint on the injury will keep the ends of the broken bone properly aligned and make healing possible. A character who suffers a broken bone in an extremity will not be able to regain any Hp lost due to the injury until he is fitted with a splint, and if he attempts to use the injured extremity even while it is splinted he will immediately suffer an excruciating pain, in addition, he will Neutralize any natural healing of the broken bone that had taken place up to that Time. For purposes of administering this rule, assume that for a character with several injuries, the broken bone is the last injury for which Hp are regained. Most other types of injuries (burns, wounds, etc.) will heal before a broken bone is mended. 

Tissue Damage

Minor burn:
The best treatment for a burn is to deprive the affected area of air by immediately immersing it in water for at least two turns or by wrapping it tightly with a clean cloth. If these measures are taken, the burn will heal at 1 hp per day. If the burn is not protected from the air, the victim must take a -1 penalty on all attack rolls and Saves because of distraction due to the pain of the injury, and the burn will heal only half as fast as normal. Minor burns are caused by touching hot or very cold objects (mostly metal or stone). A magic missile actually causes a Minor Burn, but may be resolved as normal damage (If the DM wants to).

Major burn:
If more than half of a character’s body has been burned, he must be treated as described above and in addition he must be allowed to rest until he has regained at least half of the Hp lost due to the burn. If he moves under his  own power or performs any other voluntary physical activity before he is well on the way to recovery, he will forfeit all the Hp he had regained up to that point and will suffer an additional ld4 damage for each round of activity. Also, the victim’s “pain penalty” is -3 instead of - 1, applied on all attack rolls and Saves. A character suffering from major burns will usually still be able to ride a mount or be carried by a comrade or on a stretcher, so the party is not necessarily immobilized during his recovery period. A major burn is mostly caused by a heavy exposure to fire or a long exposure to heat or extreme cold. A Fire Ball, or Ice storm actually cause major fire or frost burn, but may be resolved as normal damage (If the DM wants to).

Skin ailments:
This category of injury includes rashes and insect bites. Neither type of injury is important, and neither one should be dealt with in game terms, unless the DM rules that the ailment has a noticeable effect on the victim. The itching or pain that results from such an ailment may impair a character’s ability to perform a delicate task, such as a thief attempting to disarm a trap or a spell-caster concentrating during the casting of a spell. The DM should attach a penalty to the chance of success that is appropriate for the situation. For instance, a thief’s chance to remove a trap should be reduced by 10% to 25% the usual percentage, depending on the severity of the affliction; the chance of a spell being ruined during casting should be set at from 2% to 10%. A magic-user casting feather fall (look at casting Time) will be able to get the spell off even if he is itching like crazy, but he is better off not trying to cast find familiar (casting Time at least 1 hour)  until the itching or pain has subsided. A minor skin disorder will clear up by itself in ld3 days if it is not aggravated, and the healing Time can be reduced by the application of an appropriate medicinal plant (see What can be Bought; Herbs).

Other types of injuries—sprains, concussions, internal injuries, pulled muscles, torn ligaments, and so forth—are not considered here for two primary reasons. First, adventurers (who are generally presumed to be in good shape and possessed of good sense) don’t suffer these sorts of injuries very often, and so any rules concerning their likelihood and their treatment would probably have little usefulness. Second, there is a tremendous amount of variability in the intensity of these sorts of injuries and their effect on the victim. If it is important to the participants in a campaign to have rules on how to handle a minor sprain versus a severe sprain or a pulled leg muscle versus a pulled shoulder muscle, it should be a fairly simple Matter for the DM to develop rules for how such injuries affect a character and how the injury is best treated to enable the victim to heal as quickly as possible. ;

Strangulation

Strangulation can either be caused by a thread, wire, rope, Vine, string of Cloth, Jewelry or a set of hands, wrapped around the neck of the creature. Strangulation is actually noting more than asphyxiation by suffocation (preventing breathing Air, Water, etc.). Creatures which do not breath cannot be strangled (Magical constructs, Undead, etc). thus it is possible to strangle a Dragon (a truly remarkable feat), but not a Beholder as it has no neck to strangle. Insectoids  (and similar) can thus also not be strangled as they breath through the skin. 

Some rare creatures can only be strangled by another place than the neck as it passes the entry area and the main body. Your DM will know if a creature strangely can be strangled.
Example; an underwater creature with breathing tubes could be strangled by squeezing these very tubes. Any strangulation will need as many rounds as the creature currently has HD. Thus a 6 HD Wolf can be strangled in no less than 6 rounds. The strangler needs to make either one of the attack methods and then must hold on (possibly becoming target to the creatures attacks, crushing moves into structures, or the ground), and has no control of the movement of the creature. It may tumble down a cliff, with adversary effects for the strangler, and maybe none for the creature. A swimming character could thus try to escape a strangler by diving down a step cliff, hoping to drop the strangler somewhere along the fall.


New Spell 

(source; Mentioned on the Pandius site, explained here)

Mend Bones                       

Range:                                    touch
Duration;                                 Permanent
Casting Time:                          10+(1 round per Break point cured)
Effect:                                    Cures Lvl+ Wis adjustment Broken bone points.
Component                             Vocal Repara Skeles
Save:                                      Negates pain
Cleric 3, Healer 2, Exorcist 4, Humanoid Shaman 3, Druid 3, Dervish 3 spell 
Since 1009 AC Especially by Chardastes who invented the spell, but some rare Immortals with healers also grant this spell to their followers (if requested).
Source; Wikipedia+ Own Table
This spell will cure broken bones as according the following basic rule. Any bone that could be restored by a Cure Wounds effect counts as according the table. The character generates a Curing Power equal to his level adjusted by its Wisdom adjustment. The character can restore break points for each Curing power point. But a break will not be cured if not all its break points are removed this way. A broken Neck needs a Mend Bones together with a Cure Paralysis, and a broken Back needs a Cure All/Heal respectively. The conscious character may make a Save vs. spells penalized by the Pain Factor (see table) to negate the pain. If failed the curing will cause such tremendous pain that the character can’t remain silent unless restrained somehow, and silenced. This recent (1009 AC) addition to the Healer spell list is spread over all Immortals which make use of Healers, or which followers promote a healthy life. Other Immortals refrain of granting this spell to their followers by diverse reasons.

For those questioning why the Mend Bones spell brings pain, this is due the setting of the Bones. While the caster casts the spell he/she sofltly glides over the break with his/her hands, and the magic correctly sets the bone and mends it, but setting of bones is never without pain(personal experience--auw). This is different with the use of Cure wounds spells. Here the bone must be manually (succesful healing skill required) set, before the magic is used, otherwise the bone might incorrectly be repaired and needs to be broken and correctly set again later, thus causing more often the same pain. And Cure wounds spells always will cure only one break!!(see table Broken bones). Thus a Broken Leg needs one Cure Serious wounds per break it has, with correctly setting the bone before, or only one Mend Bones spell, for all breaks the character has up to the break points total the caster can affect.
Do it right directly. Less pain, More fun. (Saying from the Healer Ballia of Norwold).



Special Skills

Healing
Source; AD&D Wilderness Survival Guide

Character proficient in healing knows how to use natural medicines and basic principles of first aid and doctoring. If the character tends another within one round of wounding (and makes a successful Skill check), his ministrations restore 1d3 hit points (but no more hit points can be restored than were lost in the previous round). Only one healing attempt can be made on a character per day per set of wounds. If a wounded character remains under the care of someone with healing Skill, that character can recover lost hit points at the rate of 1 per day even when traveling or engaging in nonstrenuous activity. If the wounded character gets complete rest, he can recover 1+con hit points per day while under such care. Only characters with both healing and Herbalism Skills can help others recover at the rate of 2+ con hit points per day of rest. This care does require a Skill check, only the regular attention of the proficient character. Up to 1 patient / Wisdom bonus (not penalty) can be cared for at any time.

character with healing Skill can also attempt to aid a poisoned individual, provided the poison entered through a wound. If the poisoned character can be tended to immediately (the round after the character is poisoned) and the care continues for the next 5 rounds, the victim gains a +2 bonus to his save (delay his save until the last round of tending). A Skill check is required, and the poisoned character must be tended to immediately (normally by sacrificing any other action by the Healer character) and can’t do anything himself. If the care and rest are interrupted, the poisoned character must immediately roll a normal save for the poison. This result is unalterable by normal means (i.e., more healing doesn't help). Only characters with both healing and Herbalism Skills can attempt the same treatment for poisons the victim has swallowed or touched (the character uses his healing to diagnose the poison and his herbalist knowledge to prepare a purgative).

A character with healing Skill can also attempt to diagnose and treat diseases. When dealing with normal diseases, a successful Skill check automatically reduces the disease to its mildest form and shortest duration. Those who also have Herbalism knowledge gain an additional +2 bonus to this check. A proficient character can also attempt to deal with magical diseases, whether caused by spells or creatures. In this case, a successful Skill check diagnoses the cause of the disease. However, since the disease is magical in nature, it can be treated only by magical means.

The binding of a Minor Wound takes 1d6 rounds, and will stop the bleeding unless the patient is exerting itself (new combat within natural healing period), which will give a reopening wounds chance.

The binding of a Major Bleeding Wound will restore 2d6 points of bleeding damage or less if the wound was smaller), and makes the wound into a Minor Bleeding Wound after at least 1 Hour of binding the wound. This healing can imply the usage of needle and thread.
Only a Healing Skill at -4 will enable a Severe Bleeding Wound to close to a Major Bleeding Wound, after at least one hour. This healing mostly implies the usage of needle and thread. The skill takes as much time as needed.

Healing, Natural

A Character with this skill is knowledgeable in the use of seaweed, mollusk and herbal cures. On a successful natural Healing check, any character that has been poisoned is allowed a second saving throw at –2. It also doubles the character basic normal healing, on a successful check and if sufficient materials are available. This skill takes a Turn at least to prepare the Healing materials, and to serve them to the poisoned characters. When the character has prepared the ingredients beforehand, they will remain alive or usable for no more than 2 hour, if living mollusks or 24 hours for other materials. The character knows where and how to find the necessary components. Searching for them will take 3d4 Turns in component native surroundings, and 3d4 hours in component related surroundings.

Healing, Tribal

The character knows some tribal medicinal secrets that help heal wounds. He can reduce further hp loss for a companion under 0 hp, and heal the patient to a maximum of 1point each day. He can also heal someone at 0 hp or above, at the rate of 1 hp each day in addition to the natural healing if the patient is resting, This skill can later be replaced by a normal healing skill after a study of 20- Wisdom in months. The treatment takes several rounds a day spread so that at least one round of treatment is used every two Turns.

Healing, Veterinary

This is the same as Healing, but this skill pertains to creatures that are neither Humans, Humanoids, nor DemiHumans—in other words, non-Humans, monsters, animals, and so forth. A successful roll will allow a character to restore 1d3 points to a wounded character. It can also be used to stabilize a patient below 0 hp, so that patient will not die within the first 8 hours. The skill can’t be used on a wounded patient more than once per set of wounds.  If the patient receives new wounds, healing can be used only against the second set of wounds.  The skill is used against a set of wounds, not individually against each injury. (The term “set of wounds” usually refers to all the hit points lost in a single combat situation). If a healer actually rolls a natural 20 when using the skill, he actually inflicts 1d3 points of damage to the patient, and he can’t treat the same set of wounds again. Successful use of the skill will allow the character to diagnose type of illness. A roll made by 5 or more will allow the character to determine whether an illness is natural or magical induced. A character can take this skill in one of two ways; As a general Veterinary healing skill, which means that he makes his roll with a +1 penalty for every type of creature he treats;                                                                                                                                                      or
As a specialized veterinary healing skill that pertains to one class of creatures (such as Equines = horses, Centaur, mules, etc.). The character with the specialized veterinary healing skill takes no penalty when treating the creatures, which are his specialty, but he takes a +2 penalty with all other types of creatures. A character could have this skill twice, one general and one specialized; he would have his listed rolls for creatures that were his specialty and have only a +1 penalty when treating other creatures. A character with a veterinary healing skill that tries to heal a Demi-Human-oid rolls always at +3 penalty, and any failure would cause damage instead of healing (a 20 even double damage). Treatment takes 1 round per point cured, per disease checked it takes 1 turn, all other usage will take at least 0ne turn.

character with healing Skill can also attempt to diagnose and treat diseases. When dealing with normal diseases, a successful Skill check automatically reduces the disease to its mildest form and shortest duration. Those who also have Herbalism knowledge gain an additional +2 bonus to this check. A proficient character can also attempt to deal with magical diseases, whether caused by spells or creatures. In this case, a successful Skill check diagnoses the cause of the disease. However, since the disease is magical in nature, it can be treated only by magical means.

The binding of a Minor Wound takes 1d6 rounds, and will stop the bleeding unless the patient is exerting itself (new combat within natural healing period), which will give a reopening wounds chance.

The binding of a Major Bleeding Wound will restore 2d6 points of bleeding damage or less if the wound was smaller), and makes the wound into a Minor Bleeding Wound after at least 1 Hour of binding the wound. This healing can imply the usage of needle and thread.
Only a Healing Skill at -4 will enable a Severe Bleeding Wound to close to a Major Bleeding Wound, after at least one hour. This healing mostly implies the usage of needle and thread. Important; also read the page about hit rolls. The skill takes as much time as needed.


Equipment

Bandages  
Prevents further bloodloss enough for 1 set of wounds / character    1  sp   1 cn unless in use
Splint set 
to set broken bones                                                                                    40 sp            15cn
Crutches 
to help a handicapped person to stand or walk mostly two needed        10   sp       5cn  each
Wound packing       
per 4 oz, to stop bleeding                                                                       1 sp            5cn
Source; Unknown by the Internet



Sunday 22 September 2013

The Lost Tables part 2



The following table is a compilation of the AD&D material saving throw table and the additions located in several adventures.(like I, Tyrant) The tables I clarified here with some use of corresponding Dragon Magazine articles.

Why do I place it here in D&D?.

There is actually only one reason; several Canon Mystara adventures and materials spoke of the material saves or even the Table itself, or were AD&D adventures, alternatively placed on Mystara, or some spells or even skills mentiioned the use of these saves.
So not only logic dictates the use of this table, it was mentioned to use in many cases.

Now it is available is one single easy to examine/use table.
Now the DM can literally ruin your equipment if you're careless.(thus acting unprepared, unprotected, not cleaning directly afterwards.

Examples; You wade through water, All your items will be affected by water (use the Acid rioll for this on soft items like paper, leather, liquids, organics and on metals) and forget to clean your equipment. Paper will cling together, often unable to seperate anew, metals will rust (weapons -1 hit and/or damage, Armor -1 AV), use you common sense and imaginatiion.
In this example any failed save will cause the water to affect the item. Metals will rust in a few days uless well treated (cleaned, oiled, sharpened), papers while wet can be carefully seperated and dried, etc. An item in this example will always be lost or unrepairable if this is NOT done on time. Some damages take longer to affect the item.And some protections (well-packaged, Sheated, wrapped, etc will give bonusses to the saves required. (1 to 4 maximum).

So if your PC fighter taunts the DM by willingly not using his mighty magic sword of giant slaying as he or she should do, or you want to get rid of an game unbalancing weapon, then make a material save now and then to see if the blade is rusted and is loose or breaks in the first hit...
"oops".......
"ya should take care of y'r stuff, fighter"
BASH!!
myarmoury.com

So have fun.


Tuesday 17 September 2013

The Lost Tables

I've compiled here some of the D&D tables for use in the game which have become lost in time.
These come from the Rules Cyclopedia, The Basic, Expert, Companion, Master Sets, Various Dragon Magazine articles and The AD&D wilderness and survival guides.
As in all my work of compilation I tried to make them as complete as possible and as usable as possible.
My gaming group uses these several years now, and I found it's time  to make them available to others.

I Hope you can find use in them. Later other Lost Tables editions will be posted here.
Especially EVIL (ahum... aren't we all) DM's can make great use of these to torment their players.
Don't forget to give them  some experience if passing through these dire circumstances succesful.

Chance of finding water
http://adventure.howstuffworks.com
It is practically impossible to start out on a journey of several days (not to mention weeks or longer) in duration carrying as much water as they will need for the trip. It will spoil, evaporate, bug or disease infested, or just leak away, if brought in large cumbersome barrels at a chance of 5% each week cumulative. The characters must be able to find sources of drinking water along the way. This is not a problem if the terrain contains bodies of fresh water (lakes, rivers, creaks, ponds or similar), or if the characters can collect water from precipitation, or if they have access to water producing, or purifying magic. However, sources of magic aren’t always easy to find. On a trek across the desert, a foray into a craggy mountain range, or a sloppy journey through a swamp, characters who don’t have the skill and luck on their side could go for days without locating drinkable water to replenish their waterskins.A single character or a whole group traveling together can make two water finding checks each day, if searches are conducted more often, they’ll automatically fail. Characters with a Survival skill which they made a succesful roll in can make as many checks as wanted. A Search Water without this skill  takes about 4 or even more hours, a same check with the wrong area of Survival, or a failed Survival skill check takes about 2 hours, and a succesful Survival check of the right area takes about 1 hour. However, the table should not be used in any circumstances where water is obvious and readily available. The area searched for is 10.000 sq.yards. Some circumstances are given here. The percentages given are the percentages that water is available.The same percentage must be rolled to find any of this water, but a succesful Survival skill adds 5% per succesful skill point (to a maximum of 50%) to the chance to find. A Water Elementalist or other water bound creature adds another 5% to this roll.


Important Note; Characters need Water as often as described in the Deprivation tables further given.

na means; not applicable, thus the area does not exist, like arctic forest, or Arctic Swamp.



Snow/ice cover
If the ground is covered with snow or ice (as is normally the case in arctic conditions, and usually true at least during the cold seasons in sub-arctic and temperate climates), then water is there for the taking as long as characters ar able and willing to melt the snow or ice. The numbers on the table are when no snow exists. Remember, ice eating will cause dehydration if more than a few chunks are used. 1 cubic foot of ice will produce about 6 quarts of drinkable water, and 1 cubic foot of snow about 2 quarts. A mere dusting does not provide enough liquid.

Nearby body of fresh water
The water of a river, creak, bog or lake has a chance of containing impurities. River or creak water is likely to be pure closer to the source of the river, than it is downstream, by which time the water may have flowed over several mineral deposits or picked up bacteria. Lake water is more likely to be pure at the spot where a river or creak flows into the lake than along the shoreline opposite of the river, where water may have stagnated and become a breeding ground for many kinds of organic and inorganic impurities, fast-flowing water is generally more pure than stagnant water, ground water (found by digging several feet beneath the surface) is usually more pure than water found above the ground.

Spoiled water consumed causes muscle cramps or diarrhea, effectively reducing Constitution by 1. until 1 hour after good water is consumed. A Remove Poison would have the same effect but causes the victim to regurgitate the spoiled water.

Seacoast location
The poet who wrote “Water, water everywhere, and no drop to drink” knew what he was talking about. It is not healthy to drink salty water, a character will become dehydrated from ingesting salt water in large quantities or over a long period of time, because the salt he consumes doubles his body’s need for water. Fresh water may be dug from the ground beyond the tidal line (else the deeper one digs the saltier the water will become). Dunes are well known water filters and contain almost pure mineral water.

Finding Edible plants.or  Fuel
www.thediyworld.com
The following tables work similar as with Finding Water. The correct Survival check gives enhanced chances.Other skills, like knowledge of Plants, Know Region, Apothecary, Herbalogy, Fungyology could work similar in their own area of expertise.The search has to be made for either one of the choice of desired plants, i.e.; Medicinal, OR Edible, OR Functionable, and can't be made for a combined search.
Each availability is adusted by the zone the characters are in. The NOT mentioned zones (Temperate) does not need adjustments.
Only skilled (Survival, Sometimes farming, etc.) can decide if a plant is edible. The chance to find indeible plants is double the normal chance. Thus a character might think he or she found edible plants, until the stomach cramps, regurgitating, overal weakness, fever, loss of consciousness and   even a chance of death due poisoning. a Remove Poison instantly removes any ongoing effects (through regurgitating) but damages done hve to be cured by time, or other means. Poison can range from 1 to 10 damage each round, for up to 1 to 10 rounds or death (saving vs poison for half) or use the Poison table.(this will also be given in a next page).
Animal based food requires a hunting skill and does NOT use this table.

Fuel is needed to make a fire, for warmth, cooking food, boiling water to purify, etc.

















Food Spoilage
Food will spoil  in time. This is a law of nature, it will be consumed by micro-organisms. Special treatments can slow this down. Only in a permanet frozen state this proces will be stopped. The food will loose about 50% of its taste and/or consistency if thawed up, by cellular destruction.
If rolled lower than the number needed to roll, the food has become spoiled and is inedible, unpalatable or worse. If rolled the number, it has tghe scent and taste of spoiled food but does cause no harm.
Spoiled food will be regurgitated in 1d8 turns after eaten, Inedible, or rotten food will cause stomach-cramps, regurgitation, and an overall weakness (Str -2,  Con.-2, Dex –2, Cha.-3 Com –3, Int.-4, Wis  –4)added to any other problems like malnutrition. Keep in mind that continoius eating of 1 sort of food may cause Scurvy or other malnutrition diseases.
From my first compilation Book What can be Bought (soon available here with clear revised tables) .

The usable times mentioned here are in closed, protected packages (Iron Ration=canned, Dry or Elven ratiions=watertight box, Sea-iron, Packed and pickled, Dwarven Ration in Jar or can). when opened normal spoilage rates apply. The numers after the check line are penalties (or bonusses inncase with meats and salt water) to the roll if applicable.example; Elven rations are dried foods, when wet they spoil rapidly. Sea-Iron and Iron rations are as equal in this, as Funghi, Elven and Dried 












Food and/or Water Deprivation
How long can a body go without food and/or water. This depends on the physical state of the body and the direct environment. as can be seen in this table. This table is a compiled mixture of the info from the Rules Cyclopedia and the Wilderness guide, added with some real life info (in D&D stats).

A character needs 1 to 2 pounds of food daily (spread in about three meals over the day at best). When a character over a longer period neglects the need for food, or lowers the amount just to stay alive he will slowly lose weight at 1d3x2 % /week less eaten, affecting his corporeal statistics until a healthy natural weight is restored. When a character eats more than he actually need he will gain weight at 3% per week eaten to much. This will limit his abilities accordingly (see weight table). This will also happen when the character eats only, or high amounts of fattening food. Each character needs to consume a basic amount of food and water daily. If he does not, he will lose hit points according the following table.
These levels are tolerance levels. The modifiers for the tolerance level of water are cumulative. When this amount goes below 0, double the daily needed amount for each number it goes below 0. A character needs water according to the circumstances and the activity of the character, spread evenly over the day (at best).

Starvation caused by food/water deprivation
When a character does not follow the advises of food and Water consumption, he will succumb to starvation. This loss can only be recovered by consumption of Food and Water in slow amounts, any faster could result more damage. When the tolerance level of water was a negative, add this to the daily damage the character gets. For each 10 points damage the character gets his abilities drop by 1 point (Str., Int., etc.).
































Minimal Rest is normal 6 Hours. Awake is the roll needed to awake the person in question. this is rolled on his or her Constitution. A person which lost 99% of hus or her Hp due to starvation does NOT awake when fallen asleep.

Tolerance levels  for lack of food is the character's Strength and Constitution added together. This is the base after which the starvation damage begins, if a continued deprivation is in effect.
About 1 LBS is needed daily.

The Base of Water deprivation is the given basic value, with the modifiers added. When the requirements are higher than what the character takes in, he or she will suffer water deprivation after this time.


Until the next episode.

Have Fun !!  ;)

Robin