Brain Damage

[AlexanderHowl]

In many ways, GURPS is a bit too generous when it comes to brain damage, so I suggest the following changes. Whenever a character suffers brain damage, they must make two HT rolls within an hour of suffering brain damage. The first roll is to avoid physiological issues (physical disadvantages) while the second roll is to avoid psychological issues (mental disadvantages).

Modify the HT roll by -1 per full multiple of HP lost, by a -5 if they do not receive immediate medical attention to stop inflammation and swelling, and by +2 if they receive TL7+ medical attention before their HT rolls. On a critical success, there are no complication (on a natural '3', the healing process actually reorganizes things better when the damage heals, removing one CP of applicable disadvantages per point of HP healed). On a success, they suffer one CP worth of applicable disadvantages per point of HP lost that fade when the damage heals. On a failure, they suffer one CP worth of applicable disadvantages per point of HP lost that takes 1d months to fade after the damage heals. On a critical failure, they suffer one CP worth of applicable disadvantages permanently per point of HP lost.

For example, Bob gets hit in the head with a pool cue during a barfight and suffers 5 points of damage after skull DR, meaning that he takes 20 HP of damage. He immediately makes two HT rolls, receiving a success for physiological difficulties and a failure for psychological difficulties. He acquires -20 CP worth of physical disadvantages in the form of Disturbing Voice (his speech is badly slurred) and Insomniac (Mild) (he has trouble sleeping), but they fade after a month of healing. He also acquires Bad Temper (12-) and Paranoia (his emotional regulation is off and he suffers extreme anxiety), and it takes him 1d months after he finishes healing for the symptoms to fade.

What do you think? Is it a rule that you would use? How would you improve things?

[DangerousThing]

I wouldn't use this, mainly from the standpoint of fun.

Players, in my experience, hate it when you change their character for the worse.

[RedMattis]

Originally Posted by DangerousThing

I wouldn't use this, mainly from the standpoint of fun.

Players, in my experience, hate it when you change their character for the worse.

Unless there is a way to reverse it, the promise of magic fixing or upgrading to a cyborg-brain etc.

Or if it is a very short campaign. A three-meeting horror campaign where the players "win" but escape with someone missing an eye, another with organs damage, etc. just raises the stakes.

Absolutely be VERY careful about forcing change on a player's character unless they have approved it beforehand in other situations. I have one player whose character gets screwed over now and then, but that was with his explicit approval on character creation. (He wanted to play a partial Amnesiac and I asked him if he was fine with giving me a licence to mess around with his entire character's concept, which he approved of.)

[kirbwarrior]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

In many ways, GURPS is a bit too generous when it comes to brain damage

I like the idea, but I probably wouldn't use it due to my experience being opposite; I think I've seen one character ever survive a brain shot that wasn't 1 (well, 4) damage and I don't think taking minimum damage should have that much of a problem, especially with 'success' still causing issues. Mind, simplifying it to something like "If you survive the brain hit, roll HT. Failure means a quirk until you heal." could definitely be fun.

[Opellulo]

This is not a rule idea but a plot one.

It draws from the same mechanic behind failed fright checks and it does the same kind of bad: giving PCs permanent arbitrary disadvantages only because of a unlucky dice roll.

I would hate it as a player like I hate inflicting penalties on fright checks as a GM (for which I always offer some adventure/quest/idea to cancel them).

"Don't punish players for bad luck" should be printed in font 48 on every RPG manual.

[AlexanderHowl]

Every player gets punsuhed for bad luck, that is how characters die in combat generally. The rule is meant to emulate the realistic results of brain damage. We do have plenty of circumstances when a character does become worse without their permission (crippled limbs, fright checks, etc.). As long as they know that such events occur in the game, I am not sure why anyone would particularly complain.

[Donny Brook]

My opinion?
It sounds pointlessly unfun, as well as cumbersome.

[Opellulo]

I repeat: it's a matter of play style and plot more than rules. Inflicting misery on PC is always a GM choice, no amount of rules change this simple thing.

In GURPS you have rules for hearth attacks and (quite morbid ones) for irreversible radiation poisoning but this doesn't mean that your characters should die if they eat too much lard or that one of the adventure options should be "falling into an active nuclear reactor".

If you and your group are all in for this kind of stuff then go on as you like, but don't pretend everybody should be fine with it.... Otherwise [Sarcasm ON] why stop the realism here? Statistically speaking every TL6- character is going to die of dysentery, so let's everybody have fun ******** PCs to death! [sarcasm OFF]

[RedMattis]

Rolling up a new character is fine. Being told to keep playing with a greatly crippled one is less so unless it is an interesting development for that character.

I'd just quit if a GM doesn't let me retire a character that isn't developing in a way I find to be fun and interesting.

[DangerousThing]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

Every player gets punsuhed for bad luck, that is how characters die in combat generally. The rule is meant to emulate the realistic results of brain damage.

I will agree that this is more realistic.

Every player I've had accepts the results of death in combat. That isn't changing their character sheet, just killing them.

We do have plenty of circumstances when a character does become worse without their permission (crippled limbs, fright checks, etc.). As long as they know that such events occur in the game, I am not sure why anyone would particularly complain.

Yes. Crippled limbs can be fixed with the proper medicine or spells. I'm not good with some of the results of the default fright checks. I usually only put the quirks/disadvantages for a temporary period.