The survival horror wound gauge causes characters to be gradually worn down as their reflexes become slower and their top speed (movement rate) decreases. Unlike the standard wound gauge, there are four levels instead of five, and the standard number of boxes per level is eight (for a governing trait at Fair), with two boxes added for each positive level in the governing trait, and two boxes subtracted for each negative trait level.

The sample wound gauge that follows shows the standard eight boxes per level for a character with an attribute of Fair (whether it is Health, Vitality, Stamina, Endurance, etc.).

Survival Horror Wound Gauges

When the last box at the Danger level is marked, the character is dead. The certainty of this outcome contributes a grittiness that can be lacking in methods that relegate the question of a player character’s death to the GM’s judgment. Optionally, the Danger level can be dropped from the wound gauge to maximize the… danger.

[Edit: If simultaneous combat rounds are being used, the initiative penalties may be interpreted as combat trait penalties or disregarded.]

The first is a slight modification of the Not-So-Very-Varied Trait Ladder. Some players don’t feel quite right about not having a Legendary trait level, so instead of adding Very to each additional level above Superb, Legendary is situated above Superb and each level above that adds another Very. The same is done with sub-Terrible trait levels and the substitution of Abysmal.

The All American Trait Ladder

Here is the trait ladder for Americans of the Great Depression and Second World War. This is the language of gangsters and coppers, flappers and mols, GIs and MPs, the Three Stooges and Our Gang. It’s the Common Man’s trait ladder, and it’s Swell, see? And don’t let any Lousy bum tell you differently. Besides, that palooka is only a So-So boxer and you’re, well, you’re O.K. with your mitts. Sure, you can take him. Oh, you mean the bruiser over there? He’s Pretty Good in a fight. Nice knowing ya, pal. Good luck. Gotta go. So long!

The Proper Lady’s Trait Ladder

To suggest that a proper lady is only able to distinguish between what is proper and improper would be far from correct. A proper lady has an extensive vocabulary with which to describe her trials and tribulations as well as her triumphs. It would be most vexing indeed if one were limited to a mere two words; two words would be less than advantageous if they were one’s sole means of supporting oneself in a cruel world. Turbulent is the life of a proper lady who is forced to contend with the daily indignities of dealing with Dreary household servants, common labourers with Ghastly manners, and nieces who are Atrociously difficult to match with gentleman callers. O, to be extricated from that undeserving fate and elevated to her proper place! — such is the conundrum uppermost in her thoughts. A proper lady, a lady of society, ought to be able to expect, quite reasonably, to concern herself exclusively with attending Lovely parties in the company of other personages of importance like herself.

The Cold and Analytical Trait Ladder
[To be recited in a monotone.]

This trait ladder is stripped of unnecessary sentimentality. Do not expect this trait ladder to generate an emotional response or any other human weakness. The function of this trait ladder is to achieve Maximum efficiency. Inefficiency must be eliminated. To operate at less than Standard Capacity is to be inefficient. Most human capabilities are Below Standard; many are Well Below Standard. Therefore, humans are inefficient. Inefficiency must be eliminated. Now processing data…

[Originally posted here in the Omnium-Gatherum section of Fudgery.net.]

The Good, the Bad, and the Adequate

To be honest, all results really boil down to being either good, bad, or adequate, or degrees of the first two. To extend the idea presented above, one could center the trait ladder at Adequate, with Good at +1 and Bad at -1. For each level above Good or below Bad, one adds “Very.” A Great result is now Very Good, a Superb result is Very Very Good, and a Terrible -1 result is Very Very Very Bad.

The English Gentleman’s Trait Ladder

To reflect a more civilized point of view, one may opt for the famous capacity for both understatement and overstatement that is characteristic of the archetypical English gentleman. Whilst one may admit that French cuisine is Quite Sufficient, one can state with satisfaction that English cooking is simply Smashing. Similarly, whereas the Bataan Death March was a Rather Bad situation, the service in this restaurant is Appalling!

Big Brother’s Newspeak Trait Ladder

George Orwell’s 1984, written as a warning of the dangers of totalitarianism, has a built-in trait ladder for those who wish (for whatever incomprehensible reason) to adventure in his nightmarish dystopia. Note that there is no equivalent trait for Fair in this trait ladder. The concept of “Fair” is a thoughtcrime. Report at once to the Ministry of Love.

[Originally posted here in the Omnium-Gatherum section of Fudgery.net.]

The New & Improved Optimistic Trait Ladder

As you can see, the less wonderful levels have been renamed to reflect their decreased desirability, and the upper levels have been lifted to the loftier heights they deserve. Also suitable for game adaptations of Candide.

The Positive Reinforcement Trait Ladder

Alternatively, for those who have difficulty memorizing words, I present…

The Good Trait Ladder

As you can see, there is only one word in this trait ladder, modified upwards by adding exclamation points and downwards by adding vowels. In play, exclamation points are vocalized by increasing volume accordingly, and additional vowels are expessed by lengthening the word as it is spoken. It is nothing if not Goooood.

Yes, they mean the same thing, but it has the sound of a more natural, intuitive progression, which is aided by their arrangement in alphabetical order. I think some playtesting is in order.

As you can see, there is an added element of risk when attempting to make difficult shots. For a 1 in 3 chance of hitting one’s opponent exactly where desired, the price is a 1 in 3 chance of missing the opponent entirely.

This is an option for reflecting the difficulty of hitting small targets in the midst of combat, which at the same time preserves the possibility of causing the full range of damage, from a graze to a lethal wound, by separating the called shot mechanics from the attack and damage roll mechanics.

I haven’t playtested this yet, since I just thought of it. If you try it, please let me know!

A wound gauge is used to record wounds in a continuum, much like hit points (or Constitution, or Health, or Vitality, etc.). Instead of a wound having an individual effect, it merely subtracts from one’s overall health. At certain benchmarks, the deterioration is felt in the form of worsening effects. To quote myself:

A [wound] gauge differs from a record track in several ways. First, the relative degree resulting from an opposed action is applied directly to the [wound] gauge, rather than being translated into a single mark to be made somewhere on the track. All marks are made consecutively. If the relative degree is 3, then one would mark three boxes from left to right starting with the first available box. Second, the boxes of the [wound] gauge are arranged according to their levels. Usually, the number of boxes per level will depend on the level of the governing trait [e.g. Stamina, Constitution, etc.], but the GM may set standard numbers. Once all of the boxes of a level are marked, the player begins marking the boxes of the next level. The effect of a certain level starts when the first box of that level is marked. The character endures the effects of that level until the condition is alleviated (and all the marks of that level are erased) or worsened (when the boxes of the next level of severity begin to be marked).

This reflects the style of combat in sources ranging from superhero comic books to kung fu movies to video games like Resident Evil.

There is a standard rule for the number of boxes per wound level, although this may be modified (as it is in my superhero game, which I will reveal at a future date):

The standard number of boxes per level is four (for a governing trait at Fair), with one box added for each positive level in the governing trait, and one box subtracted for each negative trait level. Thus, a character with a Terrible governing trait would have one box per level, whereas a character with a Superb governing trait would have seven boxes per level.

Trait Level	Boxes/Gauge Level
Superb	7
Great	6
Good	5
Fair	4
Mediocre	3
Poor	2
Terrible	1

With that in mind, here are several ways one could use wound gauges. All sample wound gauges show the standard four boxes per level for characters with an attribute of Fair (whatever the governing attribute may be: Damage Capacity, Stamina, Endurance, etc.).

Standard Wound Gauges

The standard method is a wound gauge with trait penalties.

Survival Horror Wound Gauges

This type of wound gauge causes characters to be gradually worn down as their reflexes become slower and their top speed (movement rate) decreases.

Super Wound Gauges

This type of wound gauge, suitable for portraying the antics of superpowered heroes and villains in comics, television shows, and movies, imposes BAMS! and POWS! and even BIFFS!

For this last wound gauge, it is likely that super folk will have wound boxes in excess of the normal 1-7 range. This may be accomplished by deciding on a multiplier (perhaps purchased as a gift or advantage, or even bestowed by virtue of the character’s super status) or the use of an extended trait ladder that includes supernormal trait levels.

And that concludes my article about wound tracks.

*The game in question is entitled Superheroica.

• Wound Tracks with Trait Penalties (immediate or deferred)
• Wound Tracks with Initiative & Movement Penalties (immediate)
• Wound Tracks with Stuns & Knockouts (immediate)

These are intended to reflect the different ways combat is portrayed in different genres, but one could also use more than one option for different kinds of combat within the same campaign. For instance, one could reserve wound tracks with stuns and knockouts for brawls and prize fights, but use trait penalties for all combat involving lethal weapons. Or if the main drama is, say, boxing, one could combine wound tracks, such as stuns and knockouts with initiative and movement penalties. Each blow would then have the potential of both stunning an opponent and slowing him down. I daresay this may even qualify as option consolidation.

Tomorrow, I’ll address the use of wound effects with another method of recording wounds.

One option that reflects the deadliness of combat without the use of trait penalties is simply to replace them with penalties to initiative and movement rates. Instead of penalizing a character’s ability to do something, penalize the speed at which it can be done. A wounded character is slower in acting, reacting, and moving without aid, so just apply the penalty to initiative rolls (-1 at Hurt and -2 at Very Hurt) and reduce the movement rate (to 50% at Hurt, 25% at Very Hurt, and 10% or Immobilized at Incapacitated). The effect is immediate — no deferment of penalties here — yet competence remains undiminished, which makes it possible to emulate settings that emphasize survival and overcoming hardship in the tradition of The Morrow Project, Twilight 2000, and many realistic historical settings.

This is just one of many ways to defy the combat death spiral.