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<p>This is the old version of âOh, Injuryâ.
<a href="https://idiomdrottning.org/oh-injury">The rewrite is here.</a></p>
<h1 id="oh-injury">Oh, Injury!</h1>
<p>We use this rule set in conjuction with <a href="https://idiomdrottning.org/introducing-late-night-fighting">Introducing late night fighting</a>; they work on a separate layer and you can use one without using the other, and vice versa.</p>
<p><small>So many people across multiple forums have helped me work on this, and my own group has helped me so much. The initial idea came from Paul Taliesin.</small></p>
<h2 id="good-news--bad-news">Good News & Bad News</h2>
<p>So the bad news is that monsters no longer need to roll to hit you.</p>
<p>But the good news is that you can make <a href="#defense-rolls">defense rolls</a> to avoid getting hit.</p>
<p>But the bad news is that you can still fail those rolls if youâre unlucky.</p>
<p>But the good news is that attacks now only deal one damage each.</p>
<p>But the bad news is that that one damage comes in the from of lingering injuries, death save failures, or just dying outright.</p>
<p>But the good news is that you have something called Hit Points that you can spend to prevent, block, avoid or negate a hit.</p>
<p>But the bad news is that it can get expensive quickly; for example an arrow from a skeletonâs bow is a 5-damage, meaning itâs a damage that costs 5 hit points to negate. It costs 10 hit points to negate it if youâre vulnerable to piercing, and two to negate it if youâre resistant. And itâs free to negate if youâre immune (talk about discount)! Burning Hands is a 3d6-damage; in other words it costs you 3d6 hit points to negate being burninated.</p>
<p>The even worse news is that in order to make defense rolls you need to say how youâre defending yourself; it doesnât need to be particularly clever or varied, coud be the same old shield block every time, it just has to fit the situation and how itâs been described.</p>
<p>And the same is true for spending hit points to avoid damage; what you did to get to do a defense roll didnât work, so whatâs your next line of defense? For example alternating parrying with sword and blocking with shield.</p>
<h2 id="defense-rolls">Defense rolls</h2>
<p>Your defense roll mod is your old AC minus 12 (note it on the sheet instead of the AC), and the DC is the monsterâs old to hit bonus +10. so +3 = 13, +7 = 17 etc. Should be fast enough for ya DMs out there.</p>
<p>If you roll a 1, that means that the attack on you was a crit.</p>
<p>Defense rolls are neither ability checks, attack rolls, or saving throws; theyâre their own thing. Hobbit luck does not apply. Anything that gives advantage on attacks instead give disadvantage on defense rolls, and vice versa.</p>
<h2 id="monsters-can-now-inflict-harm-in-the-form-of">Monsters can now inflict harm in the form ofâŠ</h2>
<ul>
<li>outright death</li>
<li>unconsciousness</li>
<li>death safe failures</li>
<li>death save rolls</li>
<li><a href="#injury-rolls">injury rolls</a></li>
<li>wounds</li>
</ul>
<p>A wound works the same as a âfestering woundâ (DMG p 272) with the exception that the âHealerâ feat can get rid of non-festering wound, unlike festering wounds. Wounds start counting as festering after one failed check to treat them, or one skipped day of treatment, but that does not reset the count. The only difference that makes is related to that obscure âHealerâ feat. An injury roll can still land you a wound thatâs festering right away.</p>
<p>Any <strong>magical</strong> healing, even the lowliest little goodberry, gets rid of <strong>all</strong> open wounds whether festering or not.</p>
<h2 id="injury-rolls">Injury rolls</h2>
<p>This is based on the table in the DMG page 272, and see there for details on the entries.</p>
<ul>
<li>1â3: Lose whatâs most appropriate from arm, hand, foot, leg or eye. (If unknown: 1: eye, 2: arm, 3: leg.)</li>
<li>4â6: Horrible scar</li>
<li>7â10 Minor scar</li>
<li>11â14: Broken bone or swollen eye. Function is temporarily lost as above, but any magical healing restores it. A swollen eye heals up by itself in 24h. (If unknown: 11: limp, 12â14: broken ribs.)</li>
<li>15â17: Internal injury</li>
<li>18â20: Festering wound</li>
</ul>
<p>It has the exact same probabilities but is usable even if itâs very clear exactly what part of the body is in danger, and it also lets all the âeasily fixable by magical healingâ stuff be on an 11+.</p>
<h2 id="for-dms">For DMs</h2>
<h3 id="flow-monsters-attacking-heroes">Flow: Monsters attacking heroes</h3>
<ol>
<li>Describe set up of attack. âThe skeleton swings her sword at you like so <em>[show]</em>, what do you do?â</li>
<li>Hero describes defense. If they donât, inflict harm, otherwise:</li>
<li>Say âOK! Please make a <a href="#defense-rolls">defense roll</a>, DC so-and-so-much.â</li>
<li>If they fail, describe the continuation of the attack âthe sword glides past your shieldâ or âthe skeleton anticipated your duckingâ or similar, âwhat do you do?â</li>
<li>Hero describes defense. If they donât, inflict harm, otherwise:</li>
<li>Say âOK! It costs so-and-so-many HP to do that.â</li>
<li>If they canât pay, inflict harm.</li>
</ol>
<p>Obv if they make the defense roll, thatâs that!</p>
<p>Itâs OK if steps c and f become short handed once youâre all very used to the system. This flow is a starting point for you and your group.</p>
<h3 id="flow-heroes-attacking-monsters">Flow: Heroes attacking monsters</h3>
<ol>
<li>Hero describes set up of attack. If they donât, ask them to be specific (youâre gonna need to know so you can do step c.)</li>
<li>Ask them to make an attack roll vs AC so-and-so much and damage roll.</li>
<li>Say âShe spends so-and-so-many HP toâ and describe how they defend.</li>
</ol>
<p>Obv if the attack roll failed, you donât have to do the âShe spends so-and-so-many HP toâ part, just describe the defense.</p>
<p>You see how monsters, unlike PCs, donât have two lines of defense since they donât have the luxury of getting to make defense rolls. Roll the attack & damage roll in one step.</p>
<h3 id="more-than-just-descriptions">More Than Just Descriptions</h3>
<p>The above flow is then normal back and forth of attacking but what happens when the player makes an inappropriate diegetic move? Letâs go through some of the things that can happen</p>
<h4 id="when-they-dont-have-enough-actions-to-do-it">When they donât have enough actions to do it</h4>
<p>Letâs say Alice says âI step forward and jam my spear into itâ when they donât have enough actions available to trigger an attack roll. Thatâs your cue to be the Time Master; either negate the attack (âIt grabs your spear and turns it asideâ or whatever), or say âJust as youâre about to do thatâ. Then turn the spotlight to another player and ask what they do.</p>
<p>So monsters have three âgatesâ you need to get through to hurt them: your action econ, their AC or saves, and their HP econ.</p>
<h4 id="when-they-dont-have-enough-hp-to-do-it">When they donât have enough HP to do it</h4>
<p>Youâre obv in step g in the <a href="#flow-monsters-attacking-heroes">monster attack flow</a> so inflict harm!</p>
<h4 id="when-they-dont-roll-well-enough-to-do-it">When they donât roll well enough to do it</h4>
<p>Youâre obv in step d in the <a href="#flow-monsters-attacking-heroes">monster attack flow</a> so describe the escalated situation clearly & ask what they do next.</p>
<h4 id="when-they-are-encrouching-on-a-codified-move-in-the-game-that-they-can-do">When they are encrouching on a codified move in the game (that they <em>can</em> do)</h4>
<p>Grappling, shoving, disarm, climbing on the enemy etc.</p>
<p>Just go into it. Thatâs part of the awesomeness of this system. Hereâs an example.</p>
<p>âI swing my sword as hard as I ever-lovinâ can, tryna knock itâs sword out of its handâ</p>
<p>This triggers Disarm: monster defends with strexterity instead of AC.
I say:</p>
<p>âRoll an attack roll, vs 12 instead of the normal 13.â</p>
<h4 id="when-they-are-encrouching-on-a-codified-move-in-the-game-that-they-cant-do">When they are encrouching on a codified move in the game (that they <em>canât</em> do)</h4>
<p>Just narrate them failing it.</p>
<p>âI run up on the wall and run along the wall to get to the other goblinâ</p>
<p>Running on the wall is reserved for monks level 9 or higher, or âSpider Climbâ spell. So if they donât have either of those effects going, just let them fail. I say:</p>
<p>âYou take one step and then you fall prone on your back. The skeleton is over you, and her sword is coming down hard and fast, what do you do?â</p>
<h4 id="when-their-description-triggers-another-codified-move-in-the-game">When their description triggers another codified move in the game</h4>
<p>Just trigger it. Taking a step back is great color but letâs say they go a bit further, and really do try to leave. <a href="https://idiomdrottning.org/introducing-late-night-fighting#movement">That triggers OA</a> so Iâd say something like:</p>
<p>âWhen you move that far back, the skeleton can stab at you again without having to fear your sword; his spear is lunging towards you again, what do you do?â</p>
<h3 id="messy-monster-attacks">âMessyâ monster attacks</h3>
<p>Now, a normal ânon-effectâ poison that <em>only</em> deals extra damage does <em>not</em> fall in this category. (For those, itâs just that tough people who are good at making con saves are gonna get a HP discount dodging the poisoned blade, or whatever.)</p>
<p>No, for the âmessyâ category we are looking at attacks with on-hit effects, such as a crocodileâs grappling bite or a ghoulâs paralyzing claw; how do they work?</p>
<p>Here are some tools so you can carefully emulate those attacks even while using the Oh, Injury! system.</p>
<h4 id="wounds">Wounds</h4>
<p>Much milder than an <a href="#injury-rolls">injury roll</a>, you can hand these out like candy. Hope your heroes have magical healingâŠ</p>
<h4 id="saves-as-additional-costs">Saves as additional costs</h4>
<p>Sometimes you donât just need to spend HP, you also need to make a save.</p>
<p>Hereâs an example that put both wounds and saves together:</p>
<h5 id="ghoul-paralyzation">Ghoul paralyzation</h5>
<p>If you fail a defense roll vs a ghoulâs claw attack, and you try to do a second-line defense such as yanking your arm away,</p>
<p>Spend 10 hp and make a DC 10 con save to do that.</p>
<p>If you fail the save, the HP is still spent, you take a wound, and the whole paralyze for 1 min, save ends starts.</p>
<p>âSave endsâ means you are trying to shake the effects of the paralyzation and need to roll saves in order to do that.</p>
<h4 id="action-costs">Action costs</h4>
<p>Sometimes you can charge them future actions for some of the moves they are trying to do, and some of these future actions also require successful ability checks.</p>
<h4 id="frame-trapping">Frame trapping</h4>
<p>Thereâs actually one more thing that monsterâs <a href="#monsters-can-now-inflict-harm-in-the-form-of">can inflict, beyond the ones listed above</a>. âFrame trappingâ; that means that you, DM, make a note of a HP amount that is added to a cost of a future hero action. You donât need to tell the players this in the heat of the moment. (They are free to look through this ruleset though. Hi, players!)</p>
<p>There are two types of frame trap points you can inflict [in your notes]. One type is HP loss that theyâre definitely are going to have to pay, the other is the equiv of attacks rolls on them: HP loss that they might be able to defend-roll their way out of, depending.</p>
<p>Hereâs an example that puts wounds, action costs and frame trapping together:</p>
<h5 id="crocodiles-grappling-bite">Crocodileâs grappling bite</h5>
<p>If you fail the defense roll against a crocodile biting, the second line defense (yanking the limb away in time) is unusually expensive, it costs:</p>
<ul>
<li>The normal 7 hp,</li>
<li>Your upcoming main action, spent in advance,</li>
<li>And a successful DC 12 dex check.</li>
</ul>
<p>(The player hears the entire cost before deciding; but if they do decide to try it, they have to spend the 7 hp before rolling.)</p>
<p>If they donât try, or if they fail, they get a wound because the crocodile is now biting them, having them grappled&restrained and its jaws around their limb.</p>
<p>Trying to strength their way out requires a main action and a DC 12 strength check as normal, but if they didnât try to yank loose earlier, the DM has noted the frame trap of 7 hp, so thatâs what the DM is gonna charge for trying to strength their way loose.</p>
<p>Future rounds, when the crocodile is chewing (all this is going on under water probably, one of my fave CR 1/2 monstersâ„), just keep on piling on the wounds & frame trap points.</p>
<p>(You can also charge their ally the 7hp when they try to pry open the jaws to save their friend; that taking it pretty far from the 5e RAW though. Normally youâd charge the grappled hero as theyâre tryna carefully move their hand out of those pried-open jaws.)</p>
<p>You can use a similar solution for when the ghouls are gnawing on the poor paralyzed heroes. Just say âOK, you take another wound as the ghoul keeps gnawing on your armâ and then in your own notes, add the frame trap points in. Once they <em>do</em> shake it, they might lose that limb (or die outright) if they canât pay the HP cost youâre gonna charge.</p>
<h3 id="inflicting-harm">Inflicting harm</h3>
<p>Thereâs a lot of different kind of harm I can inflict, how can I choose?</p>
<p>Iâll help ya out!</p>
<p>The <a href="#monsters-can-now-inflict-harm-in-the-form-of">harm</a> falls into three categories:</p>
<dl>
<dt>Out of action</dt>
<dd>Death & unconsciousness. Obv be careful with inflicting these unless itâs extremely warranted by the diegesis (they just stand still while a piano falls on their head or whatever).</dd>
<dt>Only on paper</dt>
<dd>Death save failures, the true âmeat pointsâ of D&D 5e, are scary because you die as you get your third. But in and of themselves they arenât bad.</dd>
<dt>Permanent bodily harm</dt>
<dd>Wounds and <a href="#injury-rolls">injury rolls</a>.</dd>
</dl>
<p>There are also there distinct situations where you are inflicting harm: âmessyâ monster attacks, when the player canât afford to defend due to lack of HP, and when the player just donât defend for some other reason.</p>
<h4 id="messy-attacks">Messy attacks</h4>
<p><strong>Stick to wounds</strong> (and frame traps and the other <a href="#messy-monster-attacks">âmessyâ attack tools</a>) for this, more than one wound if you need to. The occasional <abbr title="Death Save Failure">DSF</abbr> or <abbr title="Death Save Roll">DSR</abbr> <em>maaaybe</em> but thatâs iffy. The player canât help that their character got bit by a crocodile! Donât inflict unconsciousness & injury rolls!</p>
<h4 id="out-of-hp">Out of HP</h4>
<p>This part of the game is already incredibly codified so shouldnât requiry any judgment calls from you.</p>
<p>They either die outright if the un-paid-for damage, once theyâve paid all they had, is equal to their HP max,
or theyâre unconscious & itâs time to start making <abbr title="Death Save Rolls">DSRs</abbr>.</p>
<p>Thereâs also the optional rule in the DMG that you have to make an <a href="#injury-rolls">injury roll</a> in some codified circumstances. For options what those circumstances might be, see the DMG p 272. In our group, we have selected to have you roll it when you cross a certain HP threshold.</p>
<h4 id="weird-reasons">Weird reasons</h4>
<p>Weird & unusual reasons are when you can exert your own judgment! This is when the player describes the hero getting hurt, or when they fail their defense or whatever. Maybe thereâs an emotional reason and they donât want to defend against their own gnome mom, or maybe they canât figure out a way to defend because of the way the attack is being described, or maybe they havenât understood this ruleset fully and are used to saying âI get hitâ or whatever.</p>
<p>Some guidelines:</p>
<p>Wounds & frame trap is a great start, especially if they are being generous trying to describe the situation realistically, or if theyâre being confused. <em>In a safe</em> situation, like itâs a one-and-done trap rather than in a combat situation, if they have plenty of healing magic, you can inflict unconsciousness which theyâll wake up from with a healing word or whatever.</p>
<p>If theyâre trying to abuse the system by describing themselves taking light graces in the hopes of getting out of HP costs (which, uh, youâre also <a href="#frame-trapping">frame trapping</a> them so good luck with that), you can inflict <a href="#injury-rolls">injury rolls</a>.</p>
<p>It doesnât have to be system abuse, it could also be some dramatic reason or other strange reason why they describe themselves taking a sword through the belly or getting their own arm chopped. Just take two <abbr title="Death Save Failures">DSFs</abbr> and call me in the morning. Maybe an injury roll + say theyâre bleeding so much that itâs a <abbr title="Death Save Roll">DSR</abbr> every round.</p>
<p>I mean, be careful with this stuff. Usually wounds & frame trap do the job unless itâs really getting escalated, in which case injury roll and a couple of <abbr title="Death Save Failures">DSFs</abbr> is the next step up.</p>
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