                             SURVIVAL CHECK SYSTEM

                                       by
                                  Greg Howley
                        <howley_greg@ccsua.ctstateu.edu>


Here follows a new system for calculating what negative HP total a character can go to before death. There is no exact cutoff point, where you live at one HP total, and die one point less.

When a character goes to 0 hit points, he is unconscious. He doesn't begin losing 1 hp/round until he reaches a negative value beyond 1/3 his CON. So, a character with a 3 CON would begin bleeding to death at -2hp, a character with a 6 CON would begin bleeding to death at -3hp, and a character with 18 CON would begin bleeding to death at -7hp.

If the character has begun bleeding to death, then he/she still must be bandaged to survive. Bandaging takes 1 round, and stablizes a character's hit points. Once a character's HP have been stabilized, the negative HP total and the character's CON are summed up (for example, a character with -8 HP and a 13 CON would end up with "5") This number is the bonus (or penalty) to a save vs death which the character must succeed. (Save vs death at +5 or you're toast)

Here's how I work it:

When characters go to a negative HP total up to half their CON...
- A successful survival check indicates unconsciousness
- A failed survival check indicates a coma

When characters go to a negative HP total up to their CON...
- A successful survival check indicates coma
- A failed survival check indicates critical condition

When characters go to a negative HP total beyond their CON...
- A successful survival check indicates critical condition
- A failed survival check indicates death

Definitions of above terms:
- UNCONSCIOUSNESS: The character remains stabilized at the negative HP total he was at, regaining 1HP/day through natural healing, although magical healing can speed the process.
- COMA: The character remains stabilized at the negative HP total he was at, regaining 1HP/2 days (1/2hp per day). Magical healing heals at 1/2 normal rate, round fractions DOWN.
- CRITICAL CONDITION: The character remains temporarily stabilized at the negative HP total he was at. Each day, he must make a system shock check or lose 1HP. If the check succeeds by 50% or more (a 90% system shock check rolling 45% or under), the character regains 1/4 HP. This could leave a character unconscious for months, and it would STILL be uncertain if he/she would survive. Magical healing has NO effect, except for a _heal_ spell, which brings a character to the coma condition.

________________________________________________________________________________
Greg Howley                    |
Central CT State U             |  NEVER accept a teleport spell
Howley_Greg@CCSUa.CTStateU.Edu |  from a mage with no legs.
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