More severe injuries, less frequent threats.

[EternityTide]

Note: Apologies in advance for the lengthy post, I got carried away.

All sorts of injuries, maladies and ailments occur during this game. Dysentery, Gastroenteritis, Infection, Wolf bite etc

I've found that the "slap some antiseptic, a bandage and eat a little, sleep overnight to regain full health" is unrealistic, to gamey. Sure, you can swallow a health tonic, and sudden the half-a-dozen arrow wounds in your chest are healed.

Not much realism.

Now I have said this myself before that realism does not necessarily equal good gameplay, however with the rise of complaints that the wolves are "too easy", I have concoted an idea to bring back the spectre of death that haunts us when we walk to cold, icy fields of snow.

Firstly, we need to introduce common ailments of cold weather:

>Coughs

>Colds

>Pneumonia

Coughs and colds would be a minor debuff that slightly increases the rate of your exhaustion, and also attracts the attention of wolves should your condition dip below 80%. They are contracted by prolonged periods of time in cold weather.

Pneumonia is a development of the cold. It acts as a punishment for continuing to go out in cold weather (-10 or below) consistently without resting up. The colds will dissipate by themselves after about 2-3 days (just so that people don't end up getting chain colds) , pneumonia, however requires antibiotics to treat it, and persists for 4 days.

This can be sped up by taking regular antibiotics and drinking herbal tea.

Secondly, we need to introduce common injuries that may occur:

>burns

>cuts

>sprained ankles

Burns would introduce a new medical component : burn salve, which is used with bandages to treat burns. Burns, like sprained ankles, already exist in the game, but I do not believe they progress to infection like they do IRL, if untreated.

Burns should take the back burner once treated, but they will reduce dexterity (decreases the chance of successful fire lighting, increases time taken for harvesting, crafting, repairing and harvesting carcasses) for the resulting week until they have healed.

Cuts only need washing with antiseptic, no bandage required, though plasters (bandaids, as those across the pond call them) would be an interesting addition. cuts that are left will get infected, which can kill you. Cuts are gained through allowing your player to harvest meat, forage wood, etc, when they're cold or freezing (decreases dexterity, more likely to have an accident)

Sprained ankles need to be more realistic. Painkillers just make the pain go away, but the damage remains, and continual use may aggravate the condition of the injury. Painkillers should still be used as a means to allow the player to continue without limping, but they also require a day of rest before it is fully healed. Players who prefer to be more mobile can sacrifice precious firewood at a crafting bench to create a crutch. This doubles the healing period, but allows you to continue moving at a normal pace, albeit without the ability to sprint. The crutch does not wear out and can be broken back down into firewood.

now the big ones:

>Wolf bite

>horn gore

These are major wounds, requiring immediate medical attention. However recovery should take a week at least before the skin has meshed together again. I cut myself maybe twice, three times a month in accidents, and the scab remains for weeks, sometimes a month or more. to abbreviate this in order to retain playability, the wounds will be more serious, requiring only a bandage and antiseptic at the start, but needing stitches later. This opens another use for sewing kits.

Now to balance this, wolf attacks will be made more unusual. Wolves will not attack a healthy, well rested, well fed and watered human. This effect lasts until one of your statuses drops below 75% (when the bar starts turning yellow) which will be fairly rapid. Carrying raw food negates this protection, and you will be vulnerable (the wolf can smell the meat).

Stalking behavior will continue as usual, and wolves WILL attack you if you turn your back to them at close range, regardless of your condition.

Adding to this, cornering deer will no longer be a safe option. They will not run through you anymore. A panicked stag will gore you if it runs into you. This injury is as dangerous as a wolf bite, and requires the same treatment and rest.

The deer will only gore you if you leave it no escape route besides past yourself.

Let me know what you think.

[Myshaak]

Good post, I like that you have really thought about it both from the "makes sense" and gameplay perspective.

Your idea of health system seems really cool (good point about the sprained ankle), but maybe in terms of game development it is a bit too early for a complete overhaul of the first aid mechanics? But I'd love to see some of those ideas implemented in the future.

Great points about wolves and deer! I would probably suggest that wolves will be more daring when in groups. One could run away from you, two shouldn't.

[Lux]

+1 Lots of good ideas.

I do think however, that there should aLWAYs be a dice roll, although a small percentage chance, that a wolf will attack a player in perfect condition. The chance shouldn't just disappear because the player is in "above given %" condition. That would be abused otherwise and create a way for players to completely avoid encounters which isn't realistic at all.