Lingering Injuries
Adventuring is a dangerous business, and combat a more dangerous business still. Heroes are consistently encountering monsters, traps, hazards, and all manner of opportunities for injury and death. Lingering Injuries provide an interesting way to give adventures and conflict a risk of more permanent consequences.
DC 8 - You know if the patient has 0 HP and is dying DC 10 - You know if the patient has 15 or less HP DC 15 - You know if the patient is above or below DC 20 - You know the patient's exact HP
If the surgeon chooses to assess the patient, they make their next surgeons' tools ability check with disadvantage. Splitting their attention between the patient's vital signs and the surgery itself is distracting and they need their whole focus to do their best surgical work.
Why play with Lingering Injuries
Overcome Your Limitations
Dungeons and Dragons is a game about narrative, creative problem solving, and overcoming obstacles. Whether it be an alchemist who paid an arm and a leg for his powers, a blind geomancer who "sees" through vibrations in the earth, a psionic professor confined to his wheelchair, or a blind attorney with his own version of justice, there are plenty of examples of characters in the media who never let their physical limitations stand in the way of their goals. Injuries are an opportunity for your characters to experience unique challenges and triumph over them. There is no injury so great that your character cannot be a hero.Risk and Reward
When adventurers can seemingly heal from even the more grievous injuries with a full night's rest, sometimes it's difficult to maintain immersion. Lingering injuries provide a ever-present risk that any combat encounter will have a serious consequence. Even so, the Lingering Injuries were designed so that the probability the most serious injuries (such as losing an arm, leg, vision, or hearing) are relatively small compared to that chance your characters will end up with a purely cosmetic scar.Scars are Fun
These give your heroes the opportunity to pick up purely cosmetic reminders of struggles past (some of which even have some unique properties!). Have your adventurers show off their battle scars in the local tavern, laugh at the hideous scar one took when they were fighting rats at Level 1 now that they are fighting dragons at Level 12. Let the Barbarian (who seems to take 90% of the party's damage) turn into a physical roadmap of your adventure history. Scars are interesting way to evolve your characters' appearance and bookmark the memories of their past struggles.Surgical Treatment
There are some injuries that potions, salves, and bandages just aren't enough for. Surgery, a new skill challenge that allows your heroes the chance to mitigate the effects of injuries they've taken. With some skill and luck, your adventurers will be able to reattach an arm severed by a mighty attack, remove an arrowhead left behind in the chest of their comrade, neutralize acid threatening to permanently damage the vision of the sharp-eyed rogue, and more. Surgery is not without its risks, however, and no surgery is guaranteed to be successful. Ultimately, Surgery offers a second chance for your characters to avoid the permanent effects of some of the more dire lingering injuries.Magical Healing
Though the DM always has the final ruling, magical healing is intended to be ineffective at treating lingering injuries unless the treatment section of the lingering injury chart specifies otherwise. Narratively, the magic is considered ineffective at treating the source of the injury or effect. For example, magical healing fixes up the damage from a standard long sword wound without any trouble, but can't knit together a broken bone.How It Works
There are three different circumstances that will cause characters to roll on the Linger Injury tables:Critical Hits
Any time one of your characters receives a critical hit from any source (combat, traps, spell attacks, etc.) they roll 3d6 on the table that matches that damage type. If the critical hit deals more than one type of damage, they roll on the on the table for the type that dealt the majority.Critically Failed Saving Throws
Any time one of your characters critically fails a saving throw that would cause them to take damage (including spells, traps, environmental effects, etc.) they roll 3d6 on the table that matches that damage type. If the failed saving throw would cause them to take more than one type of damage, they roll on the table for the type that dealt the majority.Falling Below 0 HP
Any time one of your characters falls below 0 HP they roll 3d6 on the table that matches that damage type. If the damage bringing them below 0 HP is than one type of damage, they roll on the table for the type that dealt the majority.Rolling on the Anatomy Tables
Some options may have you roll to determine the location of the injury or scar. The DM may always directly choose the location instead of rolling if it better fits the situation's narrative. If, by chance, you roll a situation that is physically impossible or simply doesn't make sense given the established narrative (one of your characters takes shrapnel to their left leg when it is already missing, for example), then there is no effect, and the character (luckily) escapes the situation without an injury. The DM narrates the result of the injury and describes any of its mechanical effects to the player. You may need to consult information in the section that describes the nonfunctional and missing conditions below.Nonfunctional and Missing Conditions
Lingering Injuries introduces two new conditions, nonfunctional and missing. These two conditions are the same in terms of how they affect characters mechanically. They may differ, however, in how the injury is treated surgically, or what types of items are available to characters to assist with their injury. If the distinction is important, it will be listed in the surgery or item's description.Nonfunctional
Nonfunctional describes a limb or sense that has been damaged to the point where it ceases to function. A leg broken by a greatclub, ears temporarily deafened by a violent percussive attack, or fingers in the early stages of frostbite are considered to have the nonfunctional condition.Missing
Missing describes a limb or sense that is permanently gone, destroyed, or otherwise unattached from the body. An arm severed by the mighty swing of a greatsword, a leg incinerated by the flame of a dragon, or an untreated spray of acid into a character's eyes are all considered to have the missing condition.Treatment
Some (though not all) injuries are treatable. Treatment allows characters to reduce the duration of injuries, or even potentially cure them altogether. Unless otherwise stated, any treatment that requires a Wisdom (Medicine) check takes one action. In general, it is assumed that each character will have one opportunity to attempt this Wisdom (Medicine) check. The DM may allow repeated attempts at a failed treatment check at their discretion, but after a success further treatment attempts are not allowed (to further decrease the injury’s duration). As long as a character has a Healer's Kit it is assumed they will have any equipment needed for a treatment that requires a Wisdom (Medicine) check. Some more serious injuries will require surgery to treat, detailed below. Even if an injury has no treatment listed, the DM is welcome to work with the character to find a cure that works well within the campaign's narrative.Surgery
Surgery pits the skill of the surgeon against the life force of the patient. Surgeries are meant to be difficult, and many of them may require multiple consecutive attempts before the surgery is successful. Be careful, however, as the longer the surgery takes, the more unstable your patient may become... Attempting surgery requires four things:A Set of Surgeons' Tools
From catgut to clamps, from bandages to bone saws, surgeon's tools contain all the necessary equipment to attempt any surgery.A Character Proficient with Surgeons' Tools
Surgery is a specialized skill and impossible to attempt by anyone untrained.A Controlled Environment
This means a stable setting free of threats and distractions for the duration of the surgery. Ideally a dedicated room. At the least, a stable encampment.Concentration
Surgery requires concentration, so the surgeon may not also concentrate on a spell at the same time as performing surgery.Initiating Surgery
Once the four requirements above are met, a character may initiate the skill challenge. Each round of the skill challenge takes place as follows:Surgeons' Tools Check
The character attempting the surgery makes an surgeons' tools ability check (generally using either Dexterity or Intelligence) opposed by the DC of the surgery. Each attempt takes 30 minutes. If the character meets or exceeds the DC, the surgery is a success. If they fail to meet the DC, they have not yet succeeded and may be able to reattempt.Max Hit Point Damage
The character undergoing surgery takes damage to their maximum hit points equal to their class's hit die (for example, a Barbarian takes 1d12 of damage to their maximum hit points). If the DC is failed by 10 or more, the character undergoing surgery takes two hit dice worth of damage to their max hit points instead. This damage represents trauma to the body through surgery and loss of blood. It occurs whether or not the surgery was a success.Decision to Continue
If the DC was not met, it increases (cumulatively) by 1. The surgeon may choose to either proceed with surgery and make another surgeons' tools ability check or abandon the surgery.Dying Patients
If the character's maximum hit points are ever reduced to 0, they are dying. If the surgeon immediately abandons the surgery at this point they are stabilized and regain 1 to their max hit points. If the surgeon proceeds with the surgery, the character dies.Assisting with Surgery
A character may aid the surgeon in a few different ways:Second Surgeon
A character may use the help action to assist with surgery only if they are also proficient in surgeons' tools. In this case, the surgeon rolls their surgeons' tools check with advantage.Assessing the Patient
A character proficient in Wisdom (Medicine) may assist the surgeon by assessing the patient's condition. After max hit point damage is done, they may roll a Wisdom (Medicine) ability check:DC 8 - You know if the patient has 0 HP and is dying DC 10 - You know if the patient has 15 or less HP DC 15 - You know if the patient is above or below DC 20 - You know the patient's exact HP
If the surgeon chooses to assess the patient, they make their next surgeons' tools ability check with disadvantage. Splitting their attention between the patient's vital signs and the surgery itself is distracting and they need their whole focus to do their best surgical work.
