Injuries... oh yeah.. special topic to every RPG-Game.
Never understood why a lot of gamers try to downplay that topic so much.
Most gamers i know here in germany prefer the cinematic-thing.
You know.. like "if it doesnt kill you instantly, its just another scratch".
Its just some fluff to them.
I dont do that. I was influenced by some of the better westerns, or other, historical adventure-books/movies , where a bullet (or a car-crash) can mean instant death to anyone, any second. And where people have to deal with difficulties of healing, transporting injured people, and all that.
Even "light" injuries are not supposed to be ignored. A superficial wound maybe, yes. But a light wound should actually mean that one arm/leg could be non-functioning, while the rest of your body is working "all right".
But even that is quite a hindrance. A broken forearm (even if its not your "good" one, for most people the right one) is a real problem.
Even if you have painkillers.
The players in my games learned to worship their medics, cause their diagnosis-rolls give them an idea of what happend to them in terms of attribute-reduction.
If they dont have one of them around, they dont even know, how much damage they took - i just describe Žem the results.
I think this is a major part of any convincing, dramatic RPG (i dont use the term "realistic" - RPG`s are never realistic).
Thats why my players are tending to look for other solutions than combat, when they have a choice. Combat is killing and crippling people. Even the ones with injuries, which get not infected, or have just a light wound - it always take some time to be able, to act normal again.
Last time my players shot some marauders down, which suddenly appeared in their camp at dawn. Afterwards, one of them was still alive, but his right hand was totally crushed from a shotgun-round.
They took the crippled right hand off.
It was a bloody scene. They managed to save his life.
Oh man, THAT was dramatic... (they even had some pity for their former attacker - they are playing as some decent people wandering the wastelands).
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