The Condition Track

In the back of the 3.5e PHB, there's a glossary that lays out a whole bunch of terms, several of which ('dazed', 'dazzled', etc) can be grouped as 'conditions'. Indeed, in 4e the designers did exactly this, gathering together some 24 conditions in the combat chapter. Each condition has some specific game effect, generally applying a modifier to some roll or other, and generally being a nuisance in play - especially as players so often 'forget' to include the effects of any conditions that apply.

Of course, it doesn't help that 4e conditions get applied, last for a round or two, and then disappear. And so, they're being constantly swapped in and out in any given combat. It's a nice idea in theory; it's a real pain in practice.

It also doesn't help that 3e also includes a bunch of spells that do things that are conditions in all but name - the bless spell, for example, applies a +1 bonus to most d20 rolls, and a further bonus against fear.

Star Wars Saga Edition came desperately close to fixing this. In that game, characters have a condition track and a damage threshold. As they are afflicted with what would be conditions in D&D, they move down the track, suffering a modifier to all dice rolls. And that is the extent of conditions in the game.

Unfortunately, SWSE fails at the final hurdle, by including the notion of a damage threshold. If a character takes more than X damage in a single attack, he also moves down the condition track. It also included a whole bunch of powers that caused damage plus a condition, and a bunch of talents and feats that increased the number of steps moved down the track. The upshot of this mechanic is that there are certain key builds that can reliably take a character from perfect health down to Incapacitated on a single attack.

So, for Nutshell, I'm thinking of using much the same concept. Firstly, there will be a number of conditions:

• A condition will have a strength, ranging from 0 to 5, and also a direction (positive or negative). So, bless is a +1 condition, while encumbered is a -1 condition.
• In addition, conditions may have other effects, but may not impose a further bonus or penalty on a roll. For example, bless may give advantage on rolls versus fear effects, while encumbered causes the character to move at his reduced movement rate.
• Conditions may be persistent or not. A non-persistent condition disappears the next time the character takes a short rest. A persistent condition, not surprisingly, does not - it persists until the appropriate remedy is applied.
• Conditions may be lethal or not. And, indeed, even a positive condition can be lethal - for example, the use of a stimulant could apply a +1 lethal condition.
• In every case, you either have a condition or do not. However, there may well be stronger versions of conditions (heavily encumbered for example), with some means by which a character can transition from one to another.

Additionally, each character would have a condition track, indicating their general health:

• The track would have eleven positions, from +5 to -5.
• Characters would start at a default position of 0 - a neutral position.
• If a character gains a new condition, the strength of the condition should be compared with the character's current place on the track. If the strength is greater, the character moves his position to match the new condition (that is, -2 plus +3 becomes +3). If the strength is weaker, the character does not move on the track (-2 plus -1 becomes -2). If the strengths match, but are in opposite directions, the character reverts back to the neutral position on the track (-2 plus +2 becomes 0). And, finally, if the strengths match and are in the same direction, the character moves one position along the track (-2 plus -2 becomes -3).
• Removing a condition does not immediately change the character's position on the track. A character who is encumbered who then drops his pack removes the condition, but he remains at -1 on the track until something changes that.
• The position on the track applies as a modifier to all d20 rolls that the character makes (except saving throws), and only to d20 rolls.
• The secondary effects of any conditions always apply, regardless of the character's position on the track - a character who is both blessed and encumbered gains no bonus or penalty to rolls, but still has advantage against fear and moves at his reduced movement rate.
• If a character drops to the bottom of the track (-5) and is suffering from any lethal conditions, his hit points are immediately reduced to 0.
• When a character takes a short rest, any non-persistent conditions should be immediately removed. Then his position should be recalculated using his strongest persistent condition. (If he has two of the same strength, apply these one after the other. If he has three or more the same strength, apply two - erring towards getting a result of 0. I'll need to explain that better when I get around to that bit of the text.)

I think this has some advantages over the SWSE implementation:

1. Because there is no damage threshold, there's no inherent death spiral.
2. There are no conditions that move a character "X places down the track", nor any feats or talents to do the same. As such, the ability to abuse the system is limited.
3. Of course, running the track in both directions represents a step forward - it means that things that were conditions in all but name are now handled easily.
4. The bottom of the track doesn't automatically leave the character incapacitated. In theory, that's a nice idea, but in practice it sucks to be knocked out while your character still has (nominally) plenty of fight left in him. As it is, a -5 modifier is plenty nasty enough!

Ultimately, I'm not sure how this will work in practice. It may very well be that adding a condition track is actually no better than the current system. Or it might be! (One thing that I do know helps immensely in 4e, would help in 3e, and certainly would help here - condition cards.)