WOUND, STRAIN, TARNISH
In theory this is technically a continuation of my last post BODY, MIND, SPIRIT, though it may be more accurate to describe it as an errata of sorts.
In my previous post I posited a three attribute system for characters that described their physical, mental, and interpersonal skills as an alternative to the standard 6 attribute array we all know and love. I thought it was a solid system, achieving the goals I set out to achieve in a simple and concise way. That view, however, was somewhat shattered by a seemingly innocuous question: 'When a character takes BODY damage, which slot is removed?'. At first, being the epitome of a quick-thinking and confident game designer, I brushed this comment off with a simple ruling - 'The bottommost slot, of course.' - and thought nothing further of it.
Of course, the fact I am making this post probably clues you in to where this is going...
The Cracks Bleed Light
That night I found myself in the early hours laying there staring at the ceiling with that question rattling around my head. Now, a saner man than I might've simply adjusted the wording to better state the ruling in ink (or I guess pixels in this case), however I started ruminating on a different thought path entirely - What was I trying to achieve with this system?
As stated in the post the original idea stemmed from wanting to remove derived stats and roll the classic Hit Points in to the attributes themselves. Alongside this I wanted to fix the common problem that the only Hit Point that matters is the last one. When every injury has a consequence, the stakes are naturally higher and attrition becomes a more prevalent force when making the choice to carry on deeper in to the treasure filled abyss that our characters oft find themselves in.
Technically I achieved this, but now looking back over it I feel a bit like a mother bird having raised their chick with pride, watching as it tries to take it's first flight from the nest only to plummet to the ground. That is to say, the system fulfils its design goals but in practice it falls flat. Armed with the magical power of hindsight, I think this is due to two reasons - one being that it strays too far from the norm, and the other being that I didn't let it stray far enough. Let me explain, and introduce the next layer to the puzzle.
The general ideas of GLOG have always been broadly compatible with the mainstream retroclones and TSR era D&D, whilst also carving out its own unique flavour. Most GLOGhacks still use the standard array of attributes decided by 3D6 down the line, derived ability scores, and D20 resolution mechanics. This is one of the communities greatest strengths - it doesn't matter which GLOGhack you are playing, you can still utilise 99% of the great GLOG-osphere and near limitless repertoire of classic and OSR(-adjacent) content.
Where I am building a system around 2D6 resolution mechanics that inherent compatibility is stretched, and rewriting the way health is managed just goes to widen the chasm further. It is easy enough to convert a DC or to-hit roll on the fly during a game to support this, but it's a lot harder to convert a monster stat block to take in to account that a single point of damage on a level one characters weakest attribute could put them down permanently. Furthermore, monsters can no longer do more than one damage at lower levels as doing so would make every encounter far too risky to interact with. In short, the scale of the numbers for both damage and health were just not able to be aligned to existing content.
On the flip side, I stand by the idea of slots being reduced to simulate injury was the strongest component of the system, however I didn't push this aspect of the idea far enough to be able to let it shine to it's full potential. I realised - nudged in the right direction by the earlier which slot gets removed question - that this is the part I should've been building my health system around.
Funnily enough I think a part of me already knew this while writing; the starting numbers for the inventory and mental slots were not plucked out of thin air - as surprising as that may seem - but were in fact inspired by the maximum HP rolls of a Fighter and Magic-User1 respectively. The Fighters 7HP (1d6+1) became the 7 inventory slots, and the Magic-Users 4HP (1d4) became the 4 starting mental slots2.
All the pieces were already there, I just had yet to see the bigger picture.
WOUND, STRAIN, TARNISH
Oh hey look, we are finally looping back to the title of this post, I bet you all had thought I had forgotten what all this rambling was in aid of - I know I did at one point.
Both the issue of straying too far from the established numbers of HP and damage, and of not letting the slot reduction mechanic reach it's full potential can be solved with one change: instead of attacks damaging the core attribute, they instead damage the slots that attribute governs.
A character is struck by an enemies blade, taking 3 damage to their BODY. Three Inventory slots starting from the bottom are marked with a WOUND.
If a slot with a WOUND contains an item the character cannot move until that item is dropped. If all Inventory slots are filled with WOUNDs, that character perishes instantly as their strength finally gives in.
A character is blasted by an opponents magic, taking 2 damage to their MIND. Two Mental slots starting from the bottom are marked with STRAIN.
Slots with a STRAIN cannot use the Spell or any abilities of the Template contained within. If all Mental slots are filled with STRAIN, that character falls in to a coma as their mind crumbles under the pressure.
A character is the victim of a wicked scheme to undermine their reputation, taking 1 damage to their SPIRIT. One Connection slot of the players choice is marked with a TARNISH.
If that slot contained a Hireling they leave your employ immediately, taking with them anything they were holding on to. If the slot instead contained a Divine Gift, it is lost. If all Connection slots are filled with TARNISH, that character will find themselves ostracised.
Naturally characters using this system will be a bit tougher than your typical starting character - having multiple forms of HP - however the consequences for losing even parts of these different pools are far greater than oh, I'm a little closer to zero HP. I think this balances things out and keeps all combat encounters tense and tactical - is it really worth provoking that measly lone kobold if a lucky strike from their dagger means you might not have the strength to carry back the gemstone he is holding on to, even if you otherwise leave the encounter alive?