Breath of Mystara: 2013

Sunday, 27 October 2013

The Lost Tables

Jumping and Falling

This compilation is created with the use of the Boxed set of Alphatia/Thyats, The Rules Cyclopedia, The AD&D Wilderness survival guide, and some other more obscure sources (Dragon Magazines).

Source; AD&D Wilderness Survival guide

Lucius wanders through the forest. As a strong man he is not afraid of the dangers lurking in the Radlebb Woods. Instead, he is proud, wearing a leather Armor and a woodman’s axe, ready to become an adult. Yes, Lucius is in his Shearing period. With torn pants and coat he accepted this almost ritualistic tradition of the Traldar, even while he himself is of Thyatian heritage. It were his friends, he followed, Bartholomew, a Traladaran/Darokin merchant son, and Oswald, a pure blood Traladaran, proud of his deep routed heritage.

After a few hours walking he encounters his friends in an open place several miles North East of Luln. At first he notices Oswald who successfully releases his first magic missile, then learning that the spell once cast is lost. Lucius steps forward. “Hi Bartholomew, that was a magnificent example of magic you did there. Does it do something else than blasting branches?” “You, dim-witted buffoon, that was my first and only spell for today. I’m just an Apprentice. Now I have nothing except my Pole.” Lucius spied around and saw indeed a pole, longer than expected, a full 20’ tall. “That…. Thing?. That would only be a hindrance. You can’t slam an Orc with it, for it is way too long, … and you’re way too weak.” A voice behind Lucius responds. With a quick turn Lucius notices it is Oswald, sitting high up in a tree. “It is not all Strength you need, maybe in battle, but the subtle twist of a dexterous feet can easily tip the balance, my friend.” With a side swing he leapt from the tree, landing on the ground safely. “We know, that as a woodsman, you learn to trust upon your muscles, but we prefer to trust our knowledge and skills a bit different”

“I bet, you can’t make the same simple leap I just made.” Oswald taunts.

“Maybe our nimble friend is right Lucius, maybe we should explain you something about… jumping.” Bartholomew speaks. “ And about Falling” Oswald fills is, with a wide sneer about his face.

“Yes, these two are connected to eachother like the kernel within the apple.”

“Ehh… wha..do… ya… mean? Lucius responds, his simple mind clearly confused by this sudden burst of input of knowledge.

“Did you ever jump? Did you ever jump over a ditch? As far as you could?”

Ehh… Yeah, but why…Ehh of course I can jump….Farther than any of you guys.” Julius regrasps his reality.” I’m way stronger than you so I can jump father, higher, en ehh. Faster.”

“Sure?, Then lest try, Lets do some training. Do you see that gulley there? It’s only about 9’ wide and 10’ deep. Would you be able to cross that?” Taunts Oswald again. “Of course”, the young proud fighter bolsters. “Be careful” Bartholomew responds softly, not wanting to intimidate the strong friend.

“Ok, we jump together.” Lucius speaks proudly, and walks to the rim of the Gulley.

Then he bends his knees and pulls all his strength in it, and with a burts of the fellow’s muscles he leaves the ground forward.

At the same time both Bartholomew and Oswald run past Lucius. Bartholomew with the absurdly long pole and Oswald as he is. They too make the jump.

A General Word about Skills.

Any 1^stlevel character begins with at least 4 skills, these are reflections what the character has learned in his If the character has a higher Intelligence than he gains another skill for each Intelligence bonus the character has from his Intelligence score. This means that if he has Intelligence of 13-15, he has one extra skill, 16-17, he has two extra skills, and 18, he even has three extra skills. Some nationalities or races have another way of raising their youngsters, by schooling them as an example and enable the character some extra skills. But this is rare and the amount of skills attained this way is never more than 2 in total. All these skills are determined by several factors. The character could have chosen them himself; some can be chosen for him; some are based upon the character’s race, culture, religion, nationality, social class, profession of parents, the character’s origin and who knows what more.

Each general skill is based on one of the character’s abilities (Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution and Charisma). To know the score of a single skill a character begins with roll 8+1d10, that was the score equal to that from the last teacher, if this is higher than the ability the character has, the score is derived from the used ability instead. For example a character has Intelligence 14, and has a knowledge skill learned from a teacher who had a score of 12 for that skill, then the character will also have only a 12 on that skill. But if the teacher had a 15, his skill score would be 14 basically, his own limit.

Whenever a character’s skill is appropriate to the current situation, the player rolls a 1d20 against his current score with the ability. If the roll on the 1d20 is equal or less than the ability score, the skill use succeeds. A roll of 20 always fails, no matter how high the chance for success. For example, if the character is riding a horse and the horse is suddenly spooked and begins rearing. The character’s player than rolls 1d20 against his Ridiing skill score. If the character’s skill ability is a 15, the player has only to roll a 15 or less to successfully use the skill. This roll is called a “skill roll” or “skill check”. A successful check means the character succeeds in the task he was attempting. If a character is trying to track an animal through the forest, and he successfully makes his tracking skill check, then he is able to follow the tracks of his prey. Of course, to use the skill, the character must have all the tools and materials to do the job. A carpenter can do very little without his tools, and a smith is virtually helpless without a good forge. The character must also have enough time to do the job. Certainly, carpentry Skill enables your character to build a house, but not in a single day. Some Skill descriptions state how much time is required for certain jobs. Most, however, are left to the DM's judgment.

DM

Every character can jump, except when it’s corporeal state prevents this (broken leg, spine, KO, etc.).

The distance of a Jump is dictated by the character’s current strength, and partially by its size. Smaller creatures of half human size or less suffer a penalty of 1 on each jumping roll, but if they have a jumping skill, their distances increase by +2 per succesul roll. Giant creatures of sizes larger than humans add one quarter of their length to the jump, and suffer a penalty on any dexterity check of -5!!. If they land on a creature it suffers 2d6 x2 impact damage. If they fall, they are prone for 2 rounds instead of 1. This reflects the difficulty of their size and weight to jump).
But the jump can be increased by use of the Jumping skill. Dexterity dictates how the character lands, in all cases.

There are three main sorts of jumping.

A Standing Broad Jump, starting the jump from the character’s current position.

A Running Broad Jump; Running at least 20’ and then starting the jump from the character’s current position.

A High Jump; where the character jumps upwards from it’s current position, this can be done in movement, but this does not alter the distances.

The table gives the maximum distance that a character of a given strength can traverse.

When The character lands, The DM may decide that the character also needs to make a Dexterity check to make a perfect landing, any failure could result in the character falling backwards, or forwards, or be unable to grip something at the destination spot. In either case falling rules will apply then. This Dexterity check is NOT needed in the case of using a Jumping Skill as it is imbedded within this skill. Of course the may imply penalties to the Dexterity check due unforeseen circumstances, like slippery surfaces, loose soil, cloth or similar.

Jumping Skill

Source; Gutenberg.org

This dexterity skill enables the character to jump at much greater or higher ranges than his strength normally would make possible.

On a successful Jumping skill check a running broad jump (if the character has at least a 20’ running start) would be improved by 3’,

a standing broad jump by 2’

and a high jump by 1’.

When this skill is improved above the normal limits of the character’s dexterity, it gives an extra foot of distance per skill bonus to the already enhanced distance by use of this skill. See the Jumping table.

This skill takes one round of preparation, except when doing it while running toward the distance to be jumped (this could be penalized up to -6 due unseen circumstances, like slippery surfaces, loose sand, and so on).

The character can also attempt vaults using a pole. A vault requires at least a 30’ running start. If a pole is used, it must be between 2 and 10 times longer than the character's height. The character must be able to rapidly climb the pole to use it this way. (this is included in the jumping skill). A low ceiling could prevent the usage of a pole.

The character can clear a distance equal to 1½ times the length of the pole, in addition to his jumping height as dictated by it’s strength.. (Of coarse, if the Pole is place IN the depth to be crossed, this is subtracted from the legth ogf the pole; Thus if the jumper crosses a moat of 15’ deep while using a 20’ pole he can cross only an additional 5’)/

The character can clear heights equal to the height of the pole in addition to his jumping height as dictated by it’s strength..

He can also choose to land on his feet if the jump carries him over an obstacle no higher than ½ the height of his pole.

Thus, using a 12’ pole, the character could either vault through a window of at least 12’ off the ground (tumbling into the room beyond).

Or land on his feet on a surface 6’ off the ground,

Or vault across a moat of at least 18’ wide. In all cases, the pole is dropped at the end of the vault.

The use of training halters—jumping weights (known in the Hollow World Millenia only) increases the distance a further 1d4 feet. These are used only during training, to improve the muscles purely for jumping. If used during a jump, they give normal values to any jump, but if not used they may increase the distance. The character’s leg look thick, muscular, and bulgy and this may decrease it’s Charisma in some circumstances.

Jumping takes one single round.

The Example

In the Example above Julius, Oswald and Bartholomew try to cross the 9’ wide, 10’ deep gulley.

The abilities of the characters are as followed;

Julius; Fighter 1, ST 17, IN 9, WI 9, DX 9, CO 18, CH 12

Bartholomew; Mage 1, ST 11, IN 15, WI 15, DX 12, CO 8, CH 7 Jumping Skill

Oswald; Rake 2, ST 12, IN 12, WI 9, DX 17, CO 14, CH 17

Julius makes a standing broad jump,(apparently he doesn’t know he can cross greater distances by running) and thus uses the Far ranges in the Table. With his 17 Strength he can cross 1d6+4 feet.

Oswald, a bit cleverer than Julius, makes a Running Broad ump and thus uses the Run 20’+ column of the table. He is weaker than Julius and thus he can jump only1d6+5 feet.

Bartholomew, has learned the Jumping Skill somewhere in his Youth and makes use of a 20’ Pole. He has only a strength of 11, thus he can only reach 1d6+5’ according the run 20’+ column adding the jumping Skill bonus to the roll, for a total of 1d6+5+3’. Since he uses a 20’ pole, he can easily cross the gulley as the 20’ pole adds another 30’ to the jump.(The DM may imply a penalty to the Jumping skill depending on the placement of the pole (Loose soil, weak ground, etc))

Julius rolls a 4 on his 1d6 for a total of 4+, thus he does NOT succeed in his jump. He falls a foot short from the ledge he intended to land upon and falls down 10’ (following falling rules).

Bartholomew must make a jumping skill check, which he succeeds by 3 points, he rolls a 2 on his 1d6+5 for a total of 7, adds the Jumping skill bonus of 3, and the length of the pole bonus of 30’-10’ for the depth of the gulley (Bartholomew chose to use the pole in the Gulley—if he had decided to place the pole on the edge of the gulley he would increase his distance a further 10’ as the penalty of the depth is not used then), coming to an incredible distance of 30’

Oswald had used all his strength in the running jump and rolled a 5 on his 1d6+5 for a total of 10’. He succeeds in crossing the giulley.

The DM decides that the ground was solid on the location of both Julius and Bartholomew, so no extra penalties are applied to the Dexterity checks or Jumping Skill. Yet Oswalds lands on a spot of Gravel, and must make a Dexterity check penalized by 4.

Since Julius failed his jumping skill, the DM decides to give him a chance from preventing the fall, by letting Julius roll a dexterity check to grab the approaching edge. Of course this distance can never be greater than the length of the character’s arm (perhaps including the length of a pickaxe or similar tool). If he fails this he will fall, (and the pick axe upon him.)

Yet Julius is clumsy and fails even his dexterity check. Ouch!!

Oswald, did succeed the jump initially, but slips on the other side. He must make a Dexterity check, and rolls a 14 on 1d20. Since his Dexterity is 17 and the soil is so loose for a penalty of 4, he actually rolls a 14+4 is 18, thus a failure. To keep things simple; an even difference dictates that the character falls forwatd, an uneven difference dictates he falls backwards.

Thus Oswalds lands, slips, and topples backwards into the pit.

Other humanoid creatures able to jump

Lycanthropes (These jump as the corresponding animal with the Strength adjustment in feet as bonus. Thus a 6’ High (animal height) 18St werewolf can jump 9’ far or 6’ high.)

Frogman, From the Northern Wildlands Gazetteer F3 (Found here Northern Wildlands.)

Leaping: Frogmen are capable of leaping considerable distances and heights relative to their size. This ability improves over time, but leaping is always physically taxing. A frogman may leap a number of times equal to their Constitution score during a given day, after which they must rest for at least one hour. Further, he must be lightly encumbered.

Source; dotd.wikia.com

Mountain Rakasta

(From The Rakasta article Of Bruce Heard in Dragon Magazine 247)

All Rakastas can jump as all other humanoids, but the following two are a bit different.

Mountain Rakasta (Felis Concolor Rakastus)

Greater Rakasta;

Source; Unknown

The Mountain Rakasta have claimed the entire continent of Brun as their native land. They favor above all unpopulated areas where they can freely hunt. If unchecked, these adaptable athletes claim any vacant land, including forests, swamps, grasslands, and semi-desert regions such as Terra Vermelha and Grande Carrascal in the Savage Coast. Humanoids usually get in their way, both as prey and hunter. As a result, the widely scattered tribes of mountain Rakasta have adopted mountain ranges such as the Endworld Line, the Kurish Massif, and even the Wyrmsteeth Range as their true natural habitat. The mountain Rakasta’s pelage varies from plain grey-brown, being the most common in the northern climes, to sometimes reddish or almost black. Accustomed to broken terrain, these adroit stalkers developed acrobatic skills unparalleled among Rakasta. Many Humanoids, both with awe and fear, have reported the ability of the Yutin people, as they call them, to perform stunning leaps. The mountain Rakasta use this skill to leap over Humanoid camp walls and moats, up into trees, or down from a rocky ledges, to stalk a prey or evade a sudden threat. When using their energy burst, mountain Rakasta choose to boost either their Strength or their Dexterity. They also have a free jumping skill with the some differences in jumping ranges—see table

Cloud Pardasta (Felis nebulosa Rakastus)

Wild Rakasta;

Contrary to what their name seems to Imply, these are not a greater Rakasta. This wild felid type remains one of the best examples of arboreal Rakasta and somewhat of a legend as well. Cloud Pardasta live in the forests of Bellisaria and Skothar, along the Minaean Coast, Tangor Bay, and the Tangor Peninsula.

Source; Unknown

On Skothar, they call Themselves Rimau-Dahan—literally, fork-of-branch tigers.

Cloud Pardasta gained their name from the large spots on their backs, which look like cloudy blotches. Their base coats varies from brown to pale or rich yellow, with white or light tawny on the inner limbs, throat, and chest. The odd name also comes from their unusual ability. The Cloud Pardasta can harness natural magical Forces pervading the forest and blend away into its mist, fog, or clouds. In effect, the Cloud Pardasta can cast dimension door to a distance of 10’ per experience level, at which point the energy burst ends. The cloud Pardasta may invoke this power only once a month as it is linked to the full moon. The Cloud Pardasta must be in contact with forest mist when they perform the dimension door.

Cloud Pardasta Clans are tucked away in small villages built on the branches of very tall trees, virtually invisible from the ground. Cloud Pardasta suffer no movement penalty when inside a tree. They have been observed by some hunters to sneak or run down tree trunks head first, without any difficulty whatsoever. They can hang from branches using only their legs, or run underneath one with ease. Jumping from one branch to another is a native game, which they do without requiring Dexterity checks or the use of a jumping skill, unless the distance exceeds 15’ (horizontally or downward). Cloud Pardasta have free acrobatics skill, as can be expected of arboreal creatures. To accomplish these feats, the Cloud Pardasta’s long tail must be free to help balance movements. On the other hand, they lose 2 Dex when caught on the ground.

Jumping and other creatures than Demi-Human-Oids

Horses and Chevall Jumping

Source; AD&D MC Mystara Appendix

Every Chevall is capable of a maximum height and length when it comes to jumping. Some are particularly adept at this, while some refuse to jump at all. Whatever their capabilities, they should be kept on record, and use it against the immediate needs of any particular situation. Keep in mind that they are certainly not given to high performance jumping. A running distance must be preceded by at least 30’ of open ground and full speed. Every encumbrance step more decreases the jumping distances by one step. A standing high jump is a jump as high as possible to reach something higher, Chevalls prefer to rear to reach higher objects as their rearing height is twice their normal height.

Artist; Maddie 1101 Deviant Art

Every single horse is capable of a maximum height and length (in feet) when it comes to jumping. Some are particularly adept at this, while some refuse to jump at all. Whatever an animal’s capabilities, they should be kept on record, and use it against the immediate needs of any particular situation. Thus roll 1d100 to find how far your horse can jump. Keep in mind that draft horse, mules, ponies, and the like are certainly not given to high performance jumping, so give them a penalty of 50% on the distances covered. This penalty also applies if the creature is loaded (including any riders) over its encumbrance limits. Thus a loaded pony with a roll of 4 can jump only 1’ high and 3’ far, due doubling of the penalties

Other Jumping Creatures

Cats; see Monster Manual (found here; http://breathofmystara.blogspot.nl/2013_06_01_archive.html )

Agile creatures like deer, gazelle, rodents can also make great jumps they can cross distance up to 50% of their normal speed (example; Movement; 210’/70’ = a max jump of 35’ ). Smaller creatures can jump as far as their size in feet or twice if they are agile jumpers.(high jump ½ this value).

Most other animals (like Dogs, wolves) and carnivorous dinosaurs can jump only as far as their size, or half this as high. Use this rule if it is NOT given in the description of the creature.

When not given is the creatures description (see monster manual 1-2 use link given above) use this standard method instead. Flying creatures don’t jump. Swimming creatures rarely do, as this requires breaking the surface of rthe water. They would do so to escape predators, or attack prey. Only rapid swimmers can do this (above 120’-40’ swim movement) They can reach only a distance of 5+1d6+St adjustment in feet above the water, after which they fall back.

Giant Frog and toads can jump maximum distances far or up. Do not confuse this with their Hop movement, as these are multiple small hops in order. Thus a Giant Frog has a movement of 90’/30. Hop 90’/round and maximum jump of 20’

Falling

Source; candb.com

The standard rule of thumb is that one takes 1d6 points of damage for each 10' fallen. that seems to be all right for shorter distances, but it is better to use the following table. This chhart shows the damage from an all-out, unchecked plummet--or a Crash-Dive into the ground. It is easy enough to use. if you fall from an altitude of 80', it takes you less than 2 seconds to hit the ground, and when you do you suffer 6d6 points of damage--easily enough to killl low-level characters and hurt mid-level heroes.

Above 680' , falling characters and other reach what is called Terminal Velocity--meaning the air pressure has stopped their groundward acceleration, they can't fall any faster. therefor it is impossible to take more than 20d6 from falling damage, regardless of how high you are. (Atmospheric re-entry is anorher matter, after breaching the Skyshield, it is best to have some scientific texts on hand to help you explain what's about to happen).

The second chart is also straightforward. if you want to know, for instance, how far you fall on Mystara in 9 seconds, you discover that it's 1248' total. You have reached Mystara's Terminal Velocity of 192'/second by that time.

Flying vessels and cross country aerial travellers tend to fly at an altitude of 15.000' or higher. for every 1440' of altitude you have, you have a full round of preparing time in case something goes wrong.

For those devious DM's that like reality the table is expanded with the broken bones the character sustains on hitting the ground. Keep in mind that this is NEVER more than the total amount of damage sustained. (Thus if only 5 damage is rolled by a fall of 60' and the break roll gives 9 breaks, then the fallen character will have only 5 breaks!!).

To see if a character survives a fall, a special constitution check may be applied to reflect internal damage. This check is adjusted as per table per height.

A Character failing this check, is just dead, instantly. He can be raised as normally, after the body is cured.

The broken bone is checked with the broken bones table found here

http://breathofmystara.blogspot.nl/2013/09/wounds-and-injuries-this-document-is.html

Example

Lucius fell 10' thus fell less than 1 second, sustained 3 on 1d6 points of damage, rolled a 2 on his 1d2-1 and thus suffered a break, but his constitution check at a bonus of +8 gave him no problems.

Oswald fel also, Rolled a 1 on damage, but rooled a 1 on breaks, resulting in no broken bones. His constitution check succeeded also.

Important note

0-20.000 feet

The Atmosphere of Mystara is similar from the Outer World to the Hollow World. It remains breathable up to about 20.000 feet.

The highest Mountains break this barrier (ex. The Black Peak Mountains between Hule and the Great Sind Desert are approximately 24.000 feet high). The higher a person goes the colder it becomes, however.

20.000-80.000 feet

Above 20.000' or just shy of 14' rounds falling time, it becomes very difficult to breathe. Above that most living creatures need special breathing gear or Magic. However, above 20.000 feet the atmosphere still provides pressure. A Character above 20.000 feet cannot breathe normally, but will not die by lack of pressure.

80.000 feet or higher The Skyshield

At an altitude of about 80.000’ (about 15 miles), the atmosphere is held in by an envelop of energy. Characters not protected by special devices or magical spells will die—they take 1d6 cold and de-pressure damage per round without a save, until they die or reenter the denser atmosphere. This barrier is called the Sky Shield. Beyond this skyshield a character's body will also not fall but float, until it finally re-enters the Skyshield.

Spells or Objects to prevent Falling

3rd level spell Fly, provided ability to move 360' /round in any direction.

2nd level spell Levitate, provided ability to move up or down 20'/ round.

1st level spell Feather Fall, provides ability to slowly descend at 20'/ round.

Or a Bumberchute (500gp) Gnomish invention; Theis looks like a large parasol and is worn on the back, like a back-slung sword. Whenever falling applies, the character only needs to pull the Bumber-chute forth and press the button on its handle. The umbrella portion will open and magically lower its wielder to the ground. The character need only hold onto the handle for dear life.

When nearing the ground, the character rolls 1d20 on a 1, he takes 2d6 damage from a bad landing, but otherwise lands just fine.The bumber-chute actually lowers those using it at a falling rate of 1000 feet/minute or 166'/ round, with a final bit of extra decelleration at the end, when the 1 is rolled this failed to take effect. Bumberchutes are not customary sold to people outside The Flying city of Serraine, The Knight of the Air and Retebius Air Fleet, both in Thyatis. Some Gnomes however, aware of the secret might copy it.

There is notice by Alphatians who got lost in the western part of Norwold that they encountered Yeti of some sentience, using magically enchanted hang-gliders. (more about this in an upcoming Blog Article.)

Have fun. Don't break your neck.;)

Monday, 30 September 2013

The Lost Tables #3

Wounds and Injuries

This document is a part of my compilation book Pages of Virtue, created and compiled from The Rules Encyclopedia, The Alphatian/Thyatian Gazetteer, and several Dragon Magazine articles, and some AD&D sources, like the DMG, and the Survival guides Some parts I added myself where it was clear that information was missing. As thus it is consistent with the AV rules applied in the Alphatian/Thyatian Gazetteer, which (at least to me and all my gamers) seem much more logical.

This system is also very good to be used in those cases when Raise Dead spells are not available (the church/immortal could refuse to give the --like the church of Darokin, the campaign (DM) could not have these, or the cleric is unavailable or does not have the spell.

Bron; Wikipedia

In combat the character must make a Hit roll on 1d20 to see if he is able to hit a target. The number needed to his is determined by class, training and experience, and even by magic. The number on the rolled dice is important to the sort damage inflicted on the target. To see how the roll will effect the damage done see following table.

If the result was a hit, the attacker now rolls for damage. First, he rolls the damage listed for the weapon or attack. Adjust the roll with any multipliers, such as a thief's Backstab ability, or a charge bonus. Then, the attacker adds or subtracts any pertinent bonuses (Strength adjustments, (added to melee attacks), Magic bonuses or penalties (from magic weapons or magic spells affecting the character), the attacker's entire Strength score is added to the damage if he performed a smash maneuver to damage. The sum of the number rolled on the damage dice and the pertinent bonuses is the amount of damage the victim takes.

Hitroll Table

1 Always misses. The character must save vs. DR or lose the weapon in hand, or (DM) some mishap occurs (the bowstring looses or snaps, or the blade of the weapon shifts, or the weapon is dropped from the hand of the user).

2-17 Hits with normal damage, determined by hit roll (THAC0), Armor Value is normally deducted (minimum 1 point of damage even when the AV is greater) from any damage.

Any wound can be normally, or magically cured (be it potion, spell, item or else). A character will fall unconscious to the ground when his Hp have reached 0 or lower. If he has any wounds he will lose 1 hit point each round until he reaches -10, at which moment he dies. Before he reaches -10 however, he can be cured with any magic (Only, spell, item, ointment, or special, but not Potions!!). He will regain consciousness when he reaches 1 hit point.

A wounded person can also naturally stabilize. The character must make each round a successful Constitution check penalized by the amount of negative Hp. If successful the hit point drop stabilizes to a loss off –1 each Turn instead each round.

A Healer (or anyone with a Healing skill) can keep a person under 0 Hp alive (even without the use of magic) and allow him or her to regain Hp instead of losing them. Therefore the Healer must attend all Time to the healing of the character. For every hour he heals he must make a Healing skill check. When he fails the patient will fall back 1 hour. For every hour successfully healed the patient must make a successful save vs. DR penalized at the damage below 0 (a character at -6 must make his save at -6 etc.). When this is successful he will gain a hit point. The patient will only lose Hp when the healing skill of the healer in question fails (this is not always his failure, but could also be that the patient was to far away to be cured, or the affliction was to great). A healer can do this with as many persons as given (Int / 3 round down = maximum amount patients kept alive and healing).

A healer can also apply a binding of wounds, stitching, stabilizing broken bones, etc. but if he does this he can’t heal the patient like the method mentioned above. This method can be done with a single set of wounds, an can remove 1d3 points of damage at the cost of one set of bindings. Wounds can reopen, however, under active motion.

When the character reaches 0 Hp he will heal naturally, even without magical healing, but must at least rest for two weeks (as with the Raise Dead spell). When the hit was 8 or better than the AC needed to hit a Critical hit is made and the character must roll on the Critical Hit Table accordingly.

18 The hit is better than normal and will cause maximal damage according to the weapon and weapon Mastery and then added with the magical and Strength bonuses. A person hit may deduct his Armor Value still though as per normal hits.

When the hit was 8 or better than the AC needed to hit a Critical hit is made and the character must roll on the Critical Hit Table accordingly. This also applies to all ”20^” on the attack roll table.

19 The hit is better still and even by passes the Armor somehow (through one of the minute soft spots, or open spots an armor always has (ex. Armpits, Neck, Crotch, and other movable parts, or when Armor parts are connected or have movable joints). The damage done is maximum and no Armor Value may be deducted.

When the hit was 8 or better than the AC needed to hit a Critical hit is made and the character must roll on the Critical Hit Table accordingly. This also applies to all ”20)” on the attack roll table.

20 The hit is the best a character ever could make. It will always hit regardless of THAC0 and AC. Only creatures with an AC 6 steps or better than the maximum possible to hit by that character can’t be hit. When a Character is hit he will sustain double maximum damage of the weapon and weapon Mastery, (double again if a smash attack is made) then the Strength, weapon mastery and magic bonuses are added. Any constructed Armor must make a material save or lose an AV point permanently (until repaired, if possible). Apply all damages as normal and use the Critical Hit Table also. Held, sleeping or unconscious targets can be killed in a single blow by any well-targeted melee weapon. This also applies to all ”20*” on the attack roll table.

Some weapons shift the last three attacks forms forward when the user has a higher weapon mastery, example the dagger. When there is said the damage is doubled with a rolled 19 and 20, then the other rolls are lower by 1 also. I.e. 18 becomes equal to a normal 19, and a 17 becomes in fact equal like a normal 18. To be sure, read the Weapon Mastery table of your weapon (rules encyclopedia)

The damage from a single attack is a wound, and a wound can have bloodloss, slowly weakening the character. The character may roll a Constitution check to stop 1 hp bleeding each round, until the wound closes, this is called stabilizing. Thus a critical wound needs 3 successful Constitution checks, a healing skill applied with 3hp, or a Cure Critical Wounds spell to close. Even when the magic did not completely heal the damage done, there is no further blood loss. Simply said, the +x of the spell actually closes the wound, while the total rolled amount heals the damage taken. This is depicted in the next table under the “cured by” column. A critical wound (see there) has also bloodloss, but that is treated differently. A victim losing his hit point below zero is dying, slowly. When death finally sets in the attacker(s) get the victims experience value in XP. A character below –10 hp is virtually indistinguishable from those truly dead, even if his spirit hasn’t left the body and healing (magic or skill) still works.

A healer will always see what kind of wound (and thus what kind of weapon was used) the patient sustained, on an successful skill check. The same way he’ll see the natural healing Time average (as in the table). Another check will reveal to him if the patient has sustained an infection, and how to treat that.

Critical Hits

A hit is critical when the hit roll is 18, 19, and when a natural 20 is thrown.

Whatever level or class a natural 20 always hits, unless the difference is too great to be hit (21 or more on Attack roll chart). Only the natural 20 roll (this includes natural weaponry) will be able to result in a double damage from which no Armor Value may be deducted. Under some strict circumstances (example; Called Shots, et. Judged by the DM!! only!!) other critical hits may be made. Use following table to see how the damage has to be calculated.

Weapons

Piercing; Creates a small but deep wound, often internal bleeding. Done by Swords, Spears, Lances, Pikes, etc.

Smashing; Creates an internal wound, with lots of bloodloss. Done by Hammers, Maces, Clubs, Boulders, Polearms, etc.

Slashing; Creates a large wound with much bloodloss. Done by Axes, Swords, Polearms, etc.

Crushing; Creates massive damage to internal structure. Done by Warhammer, Boulders, Giant crushing, and the ground (or wall) on the other side of the character. If not than see Smashing. (DM!!).

Ripping/Rending; As Slashing, but made by Claws or Bite attacks, infection risk high.

Damage

Source; Enworld.org, Artist unknown

A Character its life-force is measured in Hit points (Hp). This number will be different for each race, Class and level of this class. They are calculated upon the Hit Dice (HD) of a creature. The experience a creature gains, the higher his level becomes until it is enough to gain another Hit Dice or level. They are also adjusted by the average health of a character (Constitution adjustment), and vary upon each class. Combat and damage high classes like the fighter, natural Humanoids, or warrior cleric are rolled each new level / HD on 1d8, while weaker classes like the thief and mage use a 1d4 instead. Other use 1d6. when they reach name level, no more HD are gained and only additional Hp are gained instead upon reaching a new level or attack rank (depending upon gained experience). These Hit point are further a constant, once rolled they never change. Each level, Attack rank or HD has its own amount of gained Hit points. And together as a total they stand for the life force of a character.

A character will often suffer damage and this is revealed in a lowering of Hit Points. A character can lose Hit Points through damage by weapons, magic, physical attacks, deprivation, poisoning, diseases, Life Power draining, accidents, heat or cold.

• Hit point loss caused by Diseases, Poison can only be revived by removing the cause of loss, and then letting the character (slowly) revive naturally or apply magic to enhance this partially or wholly.

• Hit point loss caused by deprivation can only be recovered by reversing the process. A deprivation of food can thus only be restored by eating. This recovery will go as fast as the deprivation, and can naturally not be speeded up. Some (very rare) magic could bypass this however.(read more about this in the other Lost Tables within this Blog.)

• Hit Point loss caused by Life power draining can only be recovered by regaining that drained level or HD. This will take time, and needs new experience. Life force draining is one of the most feared attack forms existing and is utmost evil. Some magic can restore these losses. These can be spells, items, potions or sometimes even essence of the draining creature killed somehow (DM will know if this is possible).

• Hit point loss by damage, caused through magic, weapons, claws, teeth, falling, etc. are called wounds. And they are resolved differently.

Other Injuries and Treatment

With certain exceptions, the rules of the game do not account for specific injuries or the effect of wounds on particular parts of the body. Lost Hp are simply lost Hp; in practically every case when a character is injured, the exact nature of his injury is not specified and does not need to be.

However . . . there are occasions when logic and circumstances strongly indicate that an injured character has a specific problem. If this is the case, then prompt action on the part of an injured character or a comrade can sometimes reduce the adverse effect of a wound or other type of injury.

Some special methods of treatment are discussed in the description of the healing skill. These methods include: restoring lost Hp by promptly tending to a wound; caring for an injured comrade to improve his recuperative powers; and aiding a character who has been poisoned or has come down with a disease. Besides these special skills, available only to a character with healing skill, there are some general first-aid methods that are common knowledge among most adventurers and which can be used by anyone who takes the Time to perform them, assuming that the necessary materials are available. Most of these general methods are only useful if the DM rules—with proper reason, of course—that a character has suffered a specific type of injury.

Art Larry Elmore. Title Lifegiver, Source Dungeonsmaster.com

Natural Healing

A person will always heal naturally, unless the wound was done by ripping damage (Claws), a Karaash Sword (often used by Orcs), or if somehow infected like a Mummy Curse. This rate of healing is not done in Hp, a critical wound will be completely closed, even if the natural healing rate of a character (1+con bonus=>if resting 24 Hr, or 1 if not resting) will still reveal damage. A 12 hp Grace wound could be closed in 2 days on a character with Con 14=+1, while the remaining damage could still be a loss of 4 hp (4 days x{1+1}) or even 8 days if the character was not resting continuously. This means that the wound will thus not reopen upon movement, but that the character must heal further to be completely healed. Natural healing will leave scars. Magical healing will circumvent this and thus also always prevents scars.

Binding of a wound

This must be done by applying one full set of bandages to each set of wounds ( is total of current wounds). This includes any stitching if necessary. But does not include any needles. mostly these are clean, else they’ll Imply another 15% infection chance, cumulative the existing chance. This takes 1 Turn or more (DM!!).

When ever magic is used to heal a wound it takes precedence over any healing practices. When magic is applied, it sees no difference between bound and open wounds, it will cure them as far as the power can heal. A magically healed wound always closes up any wounds, even if the magic is not enough to heal all lost Hp. This way it prevents any further bloodloss, infection, and reopening of the wounds. A binding/stitching is of no further use once any healing magic is applied. Any bound wounds with damages higher than the amount cured can still reopen as normal.

Infection danger

There is a danger of infection when the wound is not completely cured, or dirty bandages are used, or the wounds is not bound at all (an open wound). The chance of infection depends on the sort of wound and is increased by 10% if the patient entered an area like Swamps. Sewers, Graves, Battlefields, etc. .If the wound is infected the patient must roll a Save vs. poison each day the wound was not healed completely, or suffer further infection effects (See diseases; Infection).

Reopening wounds

Wounds have a chance of reopening equal to the chance of infection when the patient moves or attacks, or makes other strenuous moves with the afflicted bodypart before natural healing is completed. When the wound does reopen bleeding damage does occur again. When a wound does reopen it will bring damage equal to the sort wound it currently is. This means a wound will be treated as if unbound. Magical healing will close wounds preventing bloodloss and reopening of the wounds (as seen under Bleeding).

Bleeding

Any bleeding caused by any sort of critical hit is additional to bleeding of the wound as normal.

Minor Bleeding Damage gives 1 points of damage each Turn until healed or bound or a unmodified Constitution check after at least 1 Turn. The binding of a Minor Wound takes 1d6 rounds, and will stop the bleeding unless the patient is exerting itself (new combat within natural healing period), which will give a reopening wounds chance Any magical curing will stabilize the patient instantly, and closes the wound in addition to restoring Hp.

Major Bleeding Damage gives 1 points of damage each Round until successfully healed or bound. The binding will restore 2d6 points of bleeding damage or less if the wound was smaller), and makes the wound into a Minor Bleeding Wound after at least 1 Hour of binding the wound. This healing can Imply the usage of needle and thread.

Any Cure Wounds closes the wound immediately for the amount of the dice adjustment in the spell (CLW=1d6+1 thus 1), and closes the wound in addition to restoring Hp for the remainder of the rolled healing. If however the spells cast upon the patient heal less than needed it turns the wound only in a Minor Bleeding Wound, any lower healing will have no effect at all at the closer and bloodloss of the wound. Any Further Healing is only natural or magical, no skill will enable the wound to close any further.

Sever Bleeding Damage gives 2 points of damage each round until healed. Only a Healing Skill at -4 will enable the wound to close to a Major Bleeding Wound, after at least one hour. This healing mostly Implies the usage of needle and thread.

Any Cure Wounds closes the wound immediately for the amount of the dice adjustment in the spell (CLW=1d6+1 thus 1), and closes the wound in addition to restoring Hp for the remainder of the rolled healing. If however the spells cast upon the patient heal less than needed it turns the wound only in a less rapid Bleeding Wound, any lower healing will have no effect at all at the closer and bloodloss of the wound. Any Further Healing is only natural or magical, no skill will enable the wound to close any further.

Crush/Destroy

When a patient his body (not the extremities) is crushed, or destroyed, he must save vs. Death Ray or die in 1d8 rounds with horrible pain. When the Save is successful, the patient has a 35% chance to recover +/-10% per Constitution bonus or penalty in 4+1d8 months. The patient will always heal, but when his healing chance fails he never does fully recover and his body will be permanently disfigured.

When the Head is crushed or destroyed, the patient will have only a 10% chance to stay alive, but then he will be permanently disfigured. This could result in Blindness, Muteness, Deafness, a 5 penalty on Charisma, and at least a lowering of 10 points in comeliness, this can result in a number of 3 or lower, any penalty resulting from this must be used on the Charisma also. When the Charisma is lowered beyond 3 he will seem to become a monster according to his own society (Humanoids not included, because they don’t react according Comeliness and Charisma as thus). As thus he will mostly be totally rejected, or even killed by his own kind thereof.

Only when the patient died (or somehow kept alive while cut open), can the bones be restored by Mages with the Mending spell, after which the Cleric or Healer can restore the body and raise the Character. This process is seldom seen as death (although the patient actually is dead for a short period of Time), thus making it more acceptable to cure such a patient. Actually only the attending Clerics and Healers (and sometimes the Mage in the process) know the character died in the process. This curing method will take at least 1 day in an enclosed clean room, and up to 1 week in any other circumstances. There are rumors that some mages knew of a spell that could “Teleport“ the bones out of the body, while paralyzing the body itself by muscle-cramps, thus enabling any manipulation of the bones. Even a Dwarf could thus mend the bones together, with screws and small plates of Gold, Silver or Platinum (any other metal would affect the body as if poison), or even replace bones with metal variants. This spell seems to be lost to actual knowledge. The usage of this spell is normally Chaotic and Evil, but not with this use.

Severation

Only healed by regeneration. A Cure Critical Wounds or better spell will close the wound, or a torch for 3d10 days. If reopened due to stress, motion, or Time span, the bleeding will start as Minor Bleeding for a Turn, then major bleeding for another Turn and Severe Bleeding for yet another if the character is still alive. The fire does inflict damage but will close the wound. The complete closure of the wound will take 3d10 months. If Legs, Hands. Feet or Arms are missing, the character must practice for 5+2d10 weeks to learn to function with one body part less. The decapitation of the head always results in Death instantly. This could be so fast (50% chance) that the character will not be able to locate the gate to the Plane of Limbo towards eternal rest, and thus preventing the character to die properly. This will always result in the character becoming a Ghost or similar Undead. As a Raise dead spell calls back a soul from Limbo, such a dead character cannot be raised before the soul is put to rest and travels to Limbo.

Broken Bones

When ever a Break results from a wound the character must make a check on the following table or if it is a called shot (i.e. an attack on a particular body part). When more breaks result in one piece of bone, the healing skill check is reduced by one point per additional break, as is the Time to heal naturally enlarged by 10% per break. The effects will be cumulative per broken body part, but not per break!! Thus when the patient has both legs broken and also of which one is broken twice; he will still be lowered his Dexterity by only 2, and his movement is only ¼ ( ½ x ½). When a Patient still used the afflicted body part there is a 75% chance that the bone will be disfigured and needs to be broken again to be restored normally. As long as the bone is disfigured the break effects still do apply (this can even be permanent if the character never finds a Healer, who can restore the bone(s)).The natural healing of a bone is affected by the overall health of the character afflicted, the patient makes the natural healing roll and subtracts his Constitution bonus to it. Thus a negative bonus is added to the roll and thus prolongs the healing Time. Broken bones also occur with massive damage (boulder and smash attacks of giants, some animals or dragons), falling down or something or someone falling on the character.

DM’s be aware, this real world effect can hinder a campaign if the characters are too stupid to think about their actions, or when a DM overuses this effect. Keep in mind not only the reality in the fantasy world but also the game fun. Take the characters aside, and explain them the real danger of their actions, but also explain those with a healing skill or healing magic how he can help the victims. This is as real as death, characters and players must learn to live with it and try to prevent it. One tip in this can be given; There can’t be more bones broken than the total sustained damage, even by use of specific magic, as each break will give an automatic 1 point of damage minimal.

There are a few very dangerous bones that can be broken while they don’t heal naturally, like the Neck. The character must make a Save vs. Death Ray (adjusted by the character’s current Constitution adjustment) or die in 20-current Constitution rounds. Even when the roll is successful the character is paralyzed for life unless magically cured by a Cure All (or Heal) spell and a Cure Paralysis, (or a Wish). No other cure is possible.

The back is similarly dangerous, but has a slim chance to cure by itself naturally. The character will permanently lose a Dexterity point, unless cured magically. A natural curing will never remove the lost point, as the bones and nervous tissues are severely damaged (the character has sustained a Permanent Hernia). When the character has naturally healed only a Wish can restore the permanent damage, the normal magical way of curing by a Mend Bones spell and a Cure Paralysis, or a Cure All (or Heal) and a Cure Paralysis will never remove a healed disfigured back.

Putting a splint on the injury will keep the ends of the broken bone properly aligned and make healing possible. A character who suffers a broken bone in an extremity will not be able to regain any Hp lost due to the injury until he is fitted with a splint, and if he attempts to use the injured extremity even while it is splinted he will immediately suffer an excruciating pain, in addition, he will Neutralize any natural healing of the broken bone that had taken place up to that Time. For purposes of administering this rule, assume that for a character with several injuries, the broken bone is the last injury for which Hp are regained. Most other types of injuries (burns, wounds, etc.) will heal before a broken bone is mended.

Tissue Damage

Minor burn:

The best treatment for a burn is to deprive the affected area of air by immediately immersing it in water for at least two turns or by wrapping it tightly with a clean cloth. If these measures are taken, the burn will heal at 1 hp per day. If the burn is not protected from the air, the victim must take a -1 penalty on all attack rolls and Saves because of distraction due to the pain of the injury, and the burn will heal only half as fast as normal. Minor burns are caused by touching hot or very cold objects (mostly metal or stone). A magic missile actually causes a Minor Burn, but may be resolved as normal damage (If the DM wants to).

Major burn:

If more than half of a character’s body has been burned, he must be treated as described above and in addition he must be allowed to rest until he has regained at least half of the Hp lost due to the burn. If he moves under his own power or performs any other voluntary physical activity before he is well on the way to recovery, he will forfeit all the Hp he had regained up to that point and will suffer an additional ld4 damage for each round of activity. Also, the victim’s “pain penalty” is -3 instead of - 1, applied on all attack rolls and Saves. A character suffering from major burns will usually still be able to ride a mount or be carried by a comrade or on a stretcher, so the party is not necessarily immobilized during his recovery period. A major burn is mostly caused by a heavy exposure to fire or a long exposure to heat or extreme cold. A Fire Ball, or Ice storm actually cause major fire or frost burn, but may be resolved as normal damage (If the DM wants to).

Skin ailments:

This category of injury includes rashes and insect bites. Neither type of injury is important, and neither one should be dealt with in game terms, unless the DM rules that the ailment has a noticeable effect on the victim. The itching or pain that results from such an ailment may impair a character’s ability to perform a delicate task, such as a thief attempting to disarm a trap or a spell-caster concentrating during the casting of a spell. The DM should attach a penalty to the chance of success that is appropriate for the situation. For instance, a thief’s chance to remove a trap should be reduced by 10% to 25% the usual percentage, depending on the severity of the affliction; the chance of a spell being ruined during casting should be set at from 2% to 10%. A magic-user casting feather fall (look at casting Time) will be able to get the spell off even if he is itching like crazy, but he is better off not trying to cast find familiar (casting Time at least 1 hour) until the itching or pain has subsided. A minor skin disorder will clear up by itself in ld3 days if it is not aggravated, and the healing Time can be reduced by the application of an appropriate medicinal plant (see What can be Bought; Herbs).

Other types of injuries—sprains, concussions, internal injuries, pulled muscles, torn ligaments, and so forth—are not considered here for two primary reasons. First, adventurers (who are generally presumed to be in good shape and possessed of good sense) don’t suffer these sorts of injuries very often, and so any rules concerning their likelihood and their treatment would probably have little usefulness. Second, there is a tremendous amount of variability in the intensity of these sorts of injuries and their effect on the victim. If it is important to the participants in a campaign to have rules on how to handle a minor sprain versus a severe sprain or a pulled leg muscle versus a pulled shoulder muscle, it should be a fairly simple Matter for the DM to develop rules for how such injuries affect a character and how the injury is best treated to enable the victim to heal as quickly as possible. ;

Strangulation

Strangulation can either be caused by a thread, wire, rope, Vine, string of Cloth, Jewelry or a set of hands, wrapped around the neck of the creature. Strangulation is actually noting more than asphyxiation by suffocation (preventing breathing Air, Water, etc.). Creatures which do not breath cannot be strangled (Magical constructs, Undead, etc). thus it is possible to strangle a Dragon (a truly remarkable feat), but not a Beholder as it has no neck to strangle. Insectoids (and similar) can thus also not be strangled as they breath through the skin.

Some rare creatures can only be strangled by another place than the neck as it passes the entry area and the main body. Your DM will know if a creature strangely can be strangled.

Example; an underwater creature with breathing tubes could be strangled by squeezing these very tubes. Any strangulation will need as many rounds as the creature currently has HD. Thus a 6 HD Wolf can be strangled in no less than 6 rounds. The strangler needs to make either one of the attack methods and then must hold on (possibly becoming target to the creatures attacks, crushing moves into structures, or the ground), and has no control of the movement of the creature. It may tumble down a cliff, with adversary effects for the strangler, and maybe none for the creature. A swimming character could thus try to escape a strangler by diving down a step cliff, hoping to drop the strangler somewhere along the fall.

New Spell

(source; Mentioned on the Pandius site, explained here)

Mend Bones

Range: touch

Duration; Permanent

Casting Time: 10+(1 round per Break point cured)

Effect: Cures Lvl+ Wis adjustment Broken bone points.

Component Vocal Repara Skeles

Save: Negates pain

Cleric 3, Healer 2, Exorcist 4, Humanoid Shaman 3, Druid 3, Dervish 3 spell

Since 1009 AC Especially by Chardastes who invented the spell, but some rare Immortals with healers also grant this spell to their followers (if requested).

Source; Wikipedia+ Own Table

This spell will cure broken bones as according the following basic rule. Any bone that could be restored by a Cure Wounds effect counts as according the table. The character generates a Curing Power equal to his level adjusted by its Wisdom adjustment. The character can restore break points for each Curing power point. But a break will not be cured if not all its break points are removed this way. A broken Neck needs a Mend Bones together with a Cure Paralysis, and a broken Back needs a Cure All/Heal respectively. The conscious character may make a Save vs. spells penalized by the Pain Factor (see table) to negate the pain. If failed the curing will cause such tremendous pain that the character can’t remain silent unless restrained somehow, and silenced. This recent (1009 AC) addition to the Healer spell list is spread over all Immortals which make use of Healers, or which followers promote a healthy life. Other Immortals refrain of granting this spell to their followers by diverse reasons.

For those questioning why the Mend Bones spell brings pain, this is due the setting of the Bones. While the caster casts the spell he/she sofltly glides over the break with his/her hands, and the magic correctly sets the bone and mends it, but setting of bones is never without pain(personal experience--auw). This is different with the use of Cure wounds spells. Here the bone must be manually (succesful healing skill required) set, before the magic is used, otherwise the bone might incorrectly be repaired and needs to be broken and correctly set again later, thus causing more often the same pain. And Cure wounds spells always will cure only one break!!(see table Broken bones). Thus a Broken Leg needs one Cure Serious wounds per break it has, with correctly setting the bone before, or only one Mend Bones spell, for all breaks the character has up to the break points total the caster can affect.
Do it right directly. Less pain, More fun. (Saying from the Healer Ballia of Norwold).

Special Skills

Healing

Source; AD&D Wilderness Survival Guide

A Character proficient in healing knows how to use natural medicines and basic principles of first aid and doctoring. If the character tends another within one round of wounding (and makes a successful Skill check), his ministrations restore 1d3 hit points (but no more hit points can be restored than were lost in the previous round). Only one healing attempt can be made on a character per day per set of wounds. If a wounded character remains under the care of someone with healing Skill, that character can recover lost hit points at the rate of 1 per day even when traveling or engaging in nonstrenuous activity. If the wounded character gets complete rest, he can recover 1+con hit points per day while under such care. Only characters with both healing and Herbalism Skills can help others recover at the rate of 2+ con hit points per day of rest. This care does require a Skill check, only the regular attention of the proficient character. Up to 1 patient / Wisdom bonus (not penalty) can be cared for at any time.

A character with healing Skill can also attempt to aid a poisoned individual, provided the poison entered through a wound. If the poisoned character can be tended to immediately (the round after the character is poisoned) and the care continues for the next 5 rounds, the victim gains a +2 bonus to his save (delay his save until the last round of tending). A Skill check is required, and the poisoned character must be tended to immediately (normally by sacrificing any other action by the Healer character) and can’t do anything himself. If the care and rest are interrupted, the poisoned character must immediately roll a normal save for the poison. This result is unalterable by normal means (i.e., more healing doesn't help). Only characters with both healing and Herbalism Skills can attempt the same treatment for poisons the victim has swallowed or touched (the character uses his healing to diagnose the poison and his herbalist knowledge to prepare a purgative).

A character with healing Skill can also attempt to diagnose and treat diseases. When dealing with normal diseases, a successful Skill check automatically reduces the disease to its mildest form and shortest duration. Those who also have Herbalism knowledge gain an additional +2 bonus to this check. A proficient character can also attempt to deal with magical diseases, whether caused by spells or creatures. In this case, a successful Skill check diagnoses the cause of the disease. However, since the disease is magical in nature, it can be treated only by magical means.

The binding of a Minor Wound takes 1d6 rounds, and will stop the bleeding unless the patient is exerting itself (new combat within natural healing period), which will give a reopening wounds chance.

The binding of a Major Bleeding Wound will restore 2d6 points of bleeding damage or less if the wound was smaller), and makes the wound into a Minor Bleeding Wound after at least 1 Hour of binding the wound. This healing can imply the usage of needle and thread.

Only a Healing Skill at -4 will enable a Severe Bleeding Wound to close to a Major Bleeding Wound, after at least one hour. This healing mostly implies the usage of needle and thread. The skill takes as much time as needed.

Healing, Natural

A Character with this skill is knowledgeable in the use of seaweed, mollusk and herbal cures. On a successful natural Healing check, any character that has been poisoned is allowed a second saving throw at –2. It also doubles the character basic normal healing, on a successful check and if sufficient materials are available. This skill takes a Turn at least to prepare the Healing materials, and to serve them to the poisoned characters. When the character has prepared the ingredients beforehand, they will remain alive or usable for no more than 2 hour, if living mollusks or 24 hours for other materials. The character knows where and how to find the necessary components. Searching for them will take 3d4 Turns in component native surroundings, and 3d4 hours in component related surroundings.

Healing, Tribal

The character knows some tribal medicinal secrets that help heal wounds. He can reduce further hp loss for a companion under 0 hp, and heal the patient to a maximum of 1point each day. He can also heal someone at 0 hp or above, at the rate of 1 hp each day in addition to the natural healing if the patient is resting, This skill can later be replaced by a normal healing skill after a study of 20- Wisdom in months. The treatment takes several rounds a day spread so that at least one round of treatment is used every two Turns.

Healing, Veterinary

This is the same as Healing, but this skill pertains to creatures that are neither Humans, Humanoids, nor DemiHumans—in other words, non-Humans, monsters, animals, and so forth. A successful roll will allow a character to restore 1d3 points to a wounded character. It can also be used to stabilize a patient below 0 hp, so that patient will not die within the first 8 hours. The skill can’t be used on a wounded patient more than once per set of wounds. If the patient receives new wounds, healing can be used only against the second set of wounds. The skill is used against a set of wounds, not individually against each injury. (The term “set of wounds” usually refers to all the hit points lost in a single combat situation). If a healer actually rolls a natural 20 when using the skill, he actually inflicts 1d3 points of damage to the patient, and he can’t treat the same set of wounds again. Successful use of the skill will allow the character to diagnose type of illness. A roll made by 5 or more will allow the character to determine whether an illness is natural or magical induced. A character can take this skill in one of two ways; As a general Veterinary healing skill, which means that he makes his roll with a +1 penalty for every type of creature he treats; or

As a specialized veterinary healing skill that pertains to one class of creatures (such as Equines = horses, Centaur, mules, etc.). The character with the specialized veterinary healing skill takes no penalty when treating the creatures, which are his specialty, but he takes a +2 penalty with all other types of creatures. A character could have this skill twice, one general and one specialized; he would have his listed rolls for creatures that were his specialty and have only a +1 penalty when treating other creatures. A character with a veterinary healing skill that tries to heal a Demi-Human-oid rolls always at +3 penalty, and any failure would cause damage instead of healing (a 20 even double damage). Treatment takes 1 round per point cured, per disease checked it takes 1 turn, all other usage will take at least 0ne turn.