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Scaling Wound Thresholds Variant Idea
Provided link is to Wound Thresholds from Pathfinder Unchained as reprinted on Legacy.aonprd.com, for a reference point.
I run a Pathfinder 1e game set in Ustalav. In my campaign, we use a lot of variant rules. Among those rules are the Wound Thresholds rules from Pathfinder Unchained. These apply mechanical penalties as a character's hit points decrease. (Specifically, we use the Gritty Mode Wound Thresholds, which double the penalties.)
I introduced Gritty Mode Wound Thresholds at level 9 of the campaign on a trial basis, but the players seemed to like them so we've been running with them since. (They like them because I apply them equally to monsters as well, which means they can death-spiral monsters. I rule that anything immune to critical hits is also immune to wound thresholds, so incorporeals, oozes, and such.)
Background information about my campaign and my situation is behind a spoiler tag as it's extraneous information.
spoiler
Background: My Pathfinder 1e game, which started in 2012, has been on hiatus since December 2019, initially for our seasonal 3 month winter break, but then because Covid lockdowns started in March 2020, and finally because my family wanted to minimize exposure to other people so pressed me not to resume play right away. In May 2023 my family agreed it was reasonable that I take-up in-person play again. I had told my players I would give them a month's notice when the game was set to resolve again, so that meant gaming in June, but they weren't available, so that meant gaming in July. We scheduled for 29 July but since then all my players (except one that never responses to group messages) have canceled, with one being unavailable until June 2024, and the others (a couple) being indefinitely unavailable. I asked the couple if they wanted to drop out of the game permanently or still hoped to resume later, and the response I got back was that they hope to resume later. So I told them I would put the campaign back on long-term hiatus.
So there's no telling when or if we'll actually play again, but the campaign is not technically abandoned, as I specifically asked for clarity on that from the players.
I told my campaign players that I will seek to run some one-shots or smaller stuff while our campaign is on hiatus, so I can get my game fix.
So the meat of the situation is this: We've been playing with Gritty Mode Wound Levels and I like them. I want to incorporate them into my games in the future. However, we started using them at level 9 in our campaign, when the players had high enough modifiers that it wasn't game breaking that they take some penalties. If I introduce them to a campaign at level 1 (and I also like to run at "level 0" (NPC classes) at the start of a campaign), I think they'll make the game far too hard.
So I'm considering scaling Wound Thresholds instead. Because Gritty Mode is -2 at every wound threshold, and there are three (75% or lower hp is -2 penalties, 50% or lower hp is -4 penalties, and 25% or lower hp is -6 penalties), I'm thinking I should introduce them gradually. But I don't want to surprise the players with them, so I want to write them into my table rules appropriately.
Basically, because the Gritty Mode is -2 at the first penalty, I think I should house-rule that the first penalty (Grazed, hp 75% or lower, -2 penalties) starts at level 4, the second penalty (Wounded, hp 50% or lower, -4 penalties) starts at level 6, and the third penalty (Critical at hp 25% or lower, -6 penalties) starts at level 8.
The Wound Thresholds system has a benefit as well, and that is that the Disabled condition isn't just at 0 hp, but at 0 hp to the negative of the CON modifier for characters that have a positive CON modifier. So a fighter with 16 CON is disabled at 0 hp to -3 hp, and only begins dying at -4 hp (but still dies at -16 hp). I would leave this benefit of the Wound Thresholds system intact from level 1 onward. (If we do "level 0," it would not apply at level 0.)
I have also buffed the Critical Cure feat to make it more effective, but it just now occurs to me that I need to recover my revised wording for that feat from a file format I can no longer easily access.
Anyone have any thoughts about this idea? Besides the general consensus that "Wound Thresholds are terrible," I mean? I've heard that already.
Pathfinder1e homebrew back-conversion of the P2e bogey (hybridized with P1e redkind).
I used the #Pathfinder1e #redkind as the base creature on which I built this back-conversion of the Pathfinder2e #bogey, but it still has some redkind abilities I thought were cool for the bogey, so it's not an exact conversion. Notably it has the redkind's situational blindness and twisted shadows abilities, as well as some of the redkind's spell-like abilities. It's also got some tweaks I made to my #P1e #bogeyman as well, specifically unspoken name as a constant spell-like ability. The creature is intended to replace the redkind at my own table in my #Ustalav campaign so the overlap in special abilities is a non-issue for my use.
You'll note that it can hear "a personal name" and "bogeyman" but not "bogey" with its unspoken name constant spell-like ability. This is intentional, as I thought it should only be able to hear mention of the final form, not just the creature it is, though it can hear its own name if spoken. This also might help the bogey locate a bogeyman if someone is talking about one and it is not already in the company of one.
It has the devour soul ability of the Pathfinder2e bogey. I also gave my Pathfinder1e bogeyman the devour soul ability of the Pathfinder2e bogeyman, as this gives mechanics to a concept that was only hinted at in the P1e bogeyman lore. I haven't statted a bugaboo yet, though it's mentioned in the stat-block below. I'm not sure if I will stat one. If I do, it will just be a bogey increased to medium with increased sneak attack dice, and more hit dice, falling roughly halfway between a bogey and a bogeyman.
In places a superscript V (V) appears. This is my notation of a variant ability I'm giving the creature. It's essentially meaningless in this context, but makes sense when compared with my bogeyman and the standard redkind. I left it in anyway. The sources listed in the stat block are for the P1e redkind and the P2e bogey, as listed on aonPRD.
Bogey CR 3 XP 800 Source Taldor, The First Empire, page 62, Pathfinder #152: Legacy of the Lost God, page 78 NE Small fey Init +4; Senses low‑light vision, unspoken name; Perception +7 Aura twisted shadows (30 ft., DC 14) DEFENSE AC 18, touch 18, flat‑footed 13 (+2 deflection, +4 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 size) hp 27 (5 HD; 5d6+10) Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +3 DR 5/cold iron; SR 14 Weaknesses situational blindness OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +7 (1d4) Special Attacks devour soulV, sneak attack +2d6 Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +7) Constant—unspoken nameV (a personal name, “bogeyman”) At‑will—darkness, detect thoughts (DC 13), ghost sound (DC 12), knockV, lullaby (DC 12), messageV 1/day—gaseous form, minor image (DC 14) STATISTICS Str 10 (+0), Dex 19 (+4), Con 14 (+2), Int 10 (+0), Wis 9 (‑1), Cha 15 (+2) Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 15 Feats Dodge, Great Fortitude, Weapon Finesse Skills Disable Device +9, Escape Artist +12, Intimidate +9, Perception +7, Sense Motive +7, Stealth +16 (+20 in darkness); Racial modifiers +2 Intimidate, +4 Stealth in darkness Languages Aklo, Sylvan ECOLOGY Environment any Organization solitary, pairV (bogeyman and bogey), or gaggleV (2‑5 bogeys, plus 1 bogeyman) Treasure standard SPECIAL ABILITIES Devour Soul (Su) When a bogey is adjacent to a creature he has killed within the last round, the bogey can consume the creature’s soul. Consuming the soul is a full‑round action. The soul is utterly destroyed—nothing short of a miracle, wish, or a similar effect can restore it to life, and only after the bogey has been slain. The bogey regains hit points equal to double the hit dice of the consumed creature. After devouring three souls within a year, the bogey transforms into a bugaboo. Situational Blindness (Su) Bogeys have trouble targeting creatures who can’t see them. Any creature that can’t see a bogey (such as by closing its own eyes) gains partial concealment from it. Any creature that covers itself entirely (such as by hiding under a blanket) gains full concealment, even if the creature would not otherwise be considered hidden. Twisted Shadows (Su) In areas of dim illumination or darker, a bogey’s presence animates the shadows within 30 feet of it into leering or wicked shapes. The first time a creature ends its turn within this aura, it must succeed at a DC 14 Will saving throw or become shaken for as long as it stays within the aura. If the creature succeeds at the saving throw, it cannot be affected again by the same bogey’s twisted shadows for 24 hours. This is a fear effect. The save DC is Charisma‑based.