Ouch! Pain Mechanics for RPGs

Obviously, characters in (most) RPGs experience lots of injury, whether being bashed with a mace, sliced with a sword, or crushed in some devious trap.  Such things can can kill, of course, but they can also hurt like hell, and this is something that most games don't worry about, and why should they?  Fantasy games are the stuff of heroic adventure, and as a rule, Conan and company never complained that their feet hurt on long marches...

Indeed, this is a fair argument against the sort of nasty critical hit tables some prefer.  Heroic fantasy is just that.  Heroic, meaning people don't come home with just a stump or minus an ear or whatever the table decides.  Heroic means you stay pretty! 

But many prefer RPGs as a SIMULATION, meaning that wounds and disfigurement are always possible.  And even in more heroic systems, pain is a way to emphasize the serious impact of injuries without lopping off body parts.  Pain can limit movement and interfere with any number of mental and physical functions vital to adventuring, often with fatal results, and this is worth looking at...

Now, pain can be introduced to play in two ways:

#1. PAIN AS HIT POINTS.  Most of us accept the idea of hits as a combination of luck and physical toughness, etc.  This is difficult to narrate sometimes, because how does one explain a successful combat roll that doesn't mean an actual physical hit?  One approach is to narrate this as PHYSICAL PAIN...

This is PAIN AS NARRATIVE JUSTIFICATION, and it's easy enough to describe in the "heat of battle" and can be used in combination with exhaustion as an explanatory device.  Borg just took 4 points of damage, which can be described as shooting pain in their side from the mighty hammer blow they sustained two rounds earlier...

Distinguishing between an actual "hit" and something like this can either be a matter of GM ruling or formal mechanics.

#2. PAIN AS CRITICAL HITS.  Once again, this can be added to an existing critical hit table or used as a replacement (the latter is useful when running a "heroic" campaign while ensuring a lasting impact to the most grievous of wounds)...  

Normally, the maximum result on attack dice indicates a critical hit, although some GMs extend this to modified results.  This convention is useful even if critical wounds aren't otherwise being enforced, because it tells a GM when a successful hit is actually physical vs. exhaustion and/or pain, making it useful when narrating combats because it provides an objective standard.

We won't tell you how to build your critical hit tables, but will offer the following guidance.  Note: The author suffers chronic pain from a spinal cord injury and has some experience here...

ARM/SHOULDER PAIN imposes a penalty of -5/10% to climbing and/or combat dice when the dominant hand is affected, two-handed weapons are employed, and/or shields are used. 

BACK PAIN limits acrobatics (-10/20% to related dice) and slows movement by half owing to a limp that might require use of a cane, staff, or similar device.  All motion is VERY LIMITED.

Some blows to the head have no
effect (old-school art by Jim Holloway)!

HEAD PAIN imposes a penalty of -5/10% to knowledge-related tasks, possibly extending to spells per the GM.  Concentration will suffer and the victim may become irritable, with similar impacts to any charisma-based actions - and for obvious reasons!

LEG/HIP PAIN is treated as arm/back/shoulder pain, something anyone with sciatica will easily attest.  You DO NOT want THIS...

NECK PAIN limits motion, subtracting -5/10% from attack, initiative, and similar dice.  It's easy to take our mobility for granted, but everything is attached to the neck, trust me!  

No doubt this can be expanded upon, and the GM can declare certain actions impossible while the effects of pain persist.

Fortunately, this can be dealt with.  Healing potions (and/or clerical miracles) eliminate pain as hit points are restored, and herbal remedies can be made available for sale, although druids, elves, and rangers might locate them in the wilderness.  Otherwise, normal rest and recovery to full hits is required, with other restrictions as befits the circumstances.

Obviously, this leaves plenty to the GM, but most penalties can be easily justified under the right circumstances...

Pain is serious business, and if you wish to preserve a heroic atmosphere minus disfigurement, but still want to convey the serious nature of injury, something like this might work.  And even when criticals are fully embraced, physical pain is another sadistic way to make unlucky adventurers pay! Compared to losing an ear, this seems like getting off easy, at least until penalties accumulate and adventuring gets deadlier as a result.  All we can say is OUCH!

Who You Gonna Call (The Ladies, Duh)...

The new Ghostbusters movie is out, and we haven't seen it yet, although much controversy has preceded it.  I can understand being skeptical of a remake.  But to decide a film is going to be just awful before you've even seen it?  That's a bit of a reach, and so is whining that it's somehow ruined your childhood... 

Uh, guys, no one can ruin your precious childhood.  It was over a long time ago, and you can keep it forever and buy the original movie in Blu-Ray ANYWHERE!  Our favorite films are GONNA be remade, and remakes pretty universally suck hard!

But this DOES raise the issue of strong female leads, and it violates reason and common sense to say that there hasn't been some pushback against the idea from certain circles.  No, everything ISN'T sexist (as some would assert), but misogyny DOES exist, and in sufficient numbers for the collective whine to be heard...

Now, role-players should have no problem with stronger female characters, because we've been playing them for decades in our own games, although I have to say, its better to have ACTUAL females playing these characters, and maybe more CREDIBLE.

So in this spirit, here's the recent movie heroines Robyn and I liked best, and our take on their so-called controversies:   

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD was a fine movie, although I think I liked it better than Robyn, who isn't all that into Car Wars (although she's playing Fallout 4 as we speak).  My only complaint was that the movie plays up Max's PTSD and then sort of drops the ball, making it useless and distracting as far as plot devices go.

Two worthy heroines right
at home in gaming (by Gabriel Jardim)

Now some have complained that Furiosa steals the show, but that's really not a problem to me.  The Mad Max universe is allowed to expand, and that means more characters who aren't window dressing for the franchise's main star - and this fits the bill!  Others have derided the film as "feminist road" and even complained that Max wouldn't take orders from some female...  

Bruised male ego, anyone?  We both thought Furiosa was a great character of the sort we play in games all the time, and there's no good reason for the sort of resistance some have offered.

More importantly, anyone familiar with the FIRST movie should understand Max as a pre-war family man comfortably responsive to the various women in his life.  You see this in the earliest chapters and again in the awesome Beyond Thunderdome.   

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS has the standout heroine, although being a lifelong Star Wars fan helps!  Now Abrams has been accused of pandering.  But if females (1) exist, and (2) are going to be represented in fantasy, is EVERY instance of female leads pandering, or just the ones where the girls aren't helpless?   

Others maintain that Rey is a classic "Mary Sue" and TOO GOOD at everything she does.  We're mixed here, although Robyn and I agree that her skills match her fictional background, and that she's definitely NOT the adult in the room...

At least not once Leia and Han Solo enter the picture!

Women enjoy gaming and geekdom
for the same reasons men do...it's FUN!

Compare this to Wesely Crusher, who inexplicably rivals more seasoned Star Fleet veterans.  If you've complained about HIM first, you can gripe about Rey being a Mary Sue character.

Really though, Rey grew up on a hostile desert world, where her survival depended on toughness and the ability to find, operate, and repair valuable salvage.  She learned to pilot spacecraft using a simulator (not addressed in the film, but canon) and owes a lot to her youth and simple tenacity, which women CAN possess, guys.

But thrust into the confusing world of adult affairs and political intrigue, she's out of her depth - and it shows!

That said, Robyn and I both agree that Rey BETTER start facing greater challenges - and failure - in the next movie or she risks becoming the Mary Sue she's accused of being already. 

In truth, Rey feels like the sort of character we'd create in a point-based system, since these characters tend to start out having impressive skill sets (something like Hero System).  This carries over nicely in the movies, and that goes for Furiosa too, who would be quite at home in the games we've played.

Simple test: If the heroines in fantasy/sci-fi movies are doing what they've always done in your RPG's, they're good to go...

There was something insular and moribund about all-male gaming groups that played powerful female characters without having actual women present.  This was more a matter of circumstance than any deliberate misogyny, and I'm happy to have converted Robyn over to the hobby we now both love.  But geekdom is appealing to more and more women because THEY LIKE FUN TOO, and these folks naturally want to see themselves depicted in the genre - and that's a GOOD thing!

Aliens In Space by Steven Caldwell...

I've said this before (and probably will again) that growing up in the 70s BEFORE gaming went mainstream meant that we had to find inspiration from non-gaming sources.  This not only gave us material for our games, but engendered a sense of ownership as we converted things for use in our own campaign settings...

And so while we previously talked about Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials and Kamandi, this time around we'll be praising a book by Steven Caldwell, called Aliens in Space: An Illustrated Guide to the Inhabited Galaxy!

Simply put (and as its name suggests) this is an encyclopedia of imaginary civilizations in an imaginary Milky Way, making it a great reference for a sci-fi campaign, providing a detailed breakdown of inhabited worlds, including their dominant life, culture, and native flora and incredible fauna.  This is detailed enough to tell its tale while keeping plenty open for GM interpretation...

Each chapter deals with a specific world, and these are many and varied, including frozen planets and steaming jungle worlds crawling with hungry life!  One planet even has vegetation that grows on clouds, to give some idea of the variety and imagination on display, and this offers one of many adventure hooks...

But it's the incredible artwork (on glossy, full-color interior pages) that compliment the writing and helps bring this universe to completion.  The feel is something like a cross between a coffee table book and a reference work, and since a picture here really is worth a thousand words, the visuals are an invaluable part of the story being told (and some are outright nightmare fuel). 

Beast from a frozen world and an
inhabitant of the enigmatic Neo-Nevada,
bristling with mystery...

Steven Caldwell is a science fiction author who's dabbled in imaginary references before.  His Terran Trade Federation books also provided an imagined (and coherent) universe.  And like this later offering, the writing is obviously centered on the evocative artwork that fills its glossy, full-color pages.  But Aliens in Space is special because it focuses on living worlds and the lifeforms that occupy these strange places.  This is GAMER FUEL for sure! 

Those wishing to buy the book, read it, and enjoy its artwork can easily lose a few quality hours in its 65 pages.  But anyone wanting to employ it as a campaign setting will still need to map out the Milky Way and place any additional worlds their milieu demands, with whatever other details seem appropriate...

And, of course, there's the matter of selecting a system, which really shouldn't be a problem.  Lots to choose from!

Aliens in Space wasn't especially rare, and finding a used copy should be easy enough, although getting a GOOD one may require more time and money.  But if you just want a decent working copy for reference during play, chances are, you can find an acceptable one online or perhaps at your local used bookstore.  These treasures make scouring the shelves worth the trouble and provide inspiration for gaming that precede its roots and feel completely original...

Music to Game By...

We all know that music has charms to soothe the savage beast, although maybe not Cannibal Corpse!  And we also know that music can spice up movies and television by setting the right mood, perhaps building a sense of urgency when our protagonists are about to find trouble (or trouble finds them, which is often the case)...

Suffice to say, music provides atmosphere!

This can extend to gaming too.  The right music played in the background of a session can create the desired atmosphere without interrupting communication between players.  Indeed, music can actually ENHANCE the experience by supporting the GMs description of events and the setting, making it a valuable tool.

Adding music is easy and fun, although the following should be considered when planning a session:

(1) Choose instrumental over vocal music, with the possible exception of choral music, which tends to harmonize nicely with any instruments and not distract the listener.  Otherwise, we tend to listen to spoken (or sung) words, which can easily distract from the player/GM dialogue.  Movie soundtracks are best because these tend to be instrumental and also long enough (an hour plus).

Music sets the mood, alright... 

(2) But do feel free to choose INDIVIDUAL vocal pieces for specific encounters.  Once, in my Chill game, I had a heavy metal band accidentally summon a dark god at a concert and played Metallica's classic The Thing That Should Not Be as a prop!

(3) Choose music suitable to the genre and adventure.

(4) For longer sessions, use a CD changer or (nowadays) make an extended playlist on your computer.  Changing disks is distracting, although GM's should always be ready to stop the music should conditions require, like major combats, etc.

(5) Remember the MOOD you, as the GM, are going for and choose accordingly.  This is supposed to be FUN, after all...

Indeed, it creates entire landscapes!

And may we suggest our favorites:

CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1982) - This soundtrack captures the feeling of bejeweled altars and rousing battles, taking the listener through exotic musical landscapes that are truly thematic!

BEST FOR: General fantasy/temple raids.

LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1992) - A sweeping composition tinged with
folksy strings.  This one really suggests expansive forests and the untamed wilderness of the film.  There's something quite gorgeous and even mystical here, making it worth a listen...

BEST FOR: Wilderness or lost world adventures.   

THE ORIGINAL PHANTASM (1979) - Try to imagine a much spookier version of Tubular Bells; a haunting score that nails the feeling of exploring dark and lonely places where evil waits.  This one is quite rare though, so best of luck in finding a copy...        

BEST FOR: Horror or horror-themed games.

Of course, there's more.  Robyn and I are sure that William's legendary Star Wars score is played during at least some Edge of the Empire sessions (and that could be an understatement).  We've all been inspired by music, and we've all imagined fantastic visions in our heads when listening to something we love.  So let that music drive you to do great things, and let it be a PART of gameplay!