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[Telgin]

GURPS has a fairly brutal wound/body part loss system. Exact level of brutality depends on GM

This would probably be my first suggestion, especially if you're looking to play something other than typical fantasy.  If you do want to preserve the DnD feel, there is a Dungeon Fantasy supplement that I hear is quite good, but haven't looked at it personally.

The other suggestion I would make would be the D6 system.  It's free these days and I really liked using it back when it was still how the official Star Wars RPG worked.  I hated the transition to the D20 system...

Anyway, the D6 system is skill driven rather than class driven, so it has a bit more flexibility if perhaps less flavor than D20.  Injury used to be tracked solely by wound levels determined by weapon damage vs. toughness rolls, but they have an alternative HP like body point system now.  Either way, it's a lot less forgiving than D20's HP system.

[ductape]

I am goign to throw in this: http://www.oldschoolhack.net/

FREE and awesome to the BONE!

[RexMundi]

Rifts and the other Palladium system. Easier if the dm knows it I bet, but I find the concept fun

[Krevsin]

While it does not sport a wound-based system, Engine Heart is a very unique and fun RPG. I've been playing it for a while and it is a bunch of fun.

[Neonivek]

GURPS has a fairly brutal wound/body part loss system

To my knowledge it still uses a HP system. Just also has a hit location system as well.

[Viken]

I'm amazed that no one has suggested any of the White Wolf RPG settings.  Vampire: The Masquerade, Mage: The Ascension, and even the new one Scion: Hero/Demi-God/God.  Its a D10 system that is both simple to use and complex based upon how attributes count as well as skills/knowledge and whatnot. 

As for the damage system, a character at any specific point as a total number of life 'boxes' that can be filled up with damage.  On the sheets, they are marked squares that you put a single / through for a 'bruise', an X in for 'lethal' damage, and a star * in for 'Agrevated(sp?)' damage.  As the boxes fill up over a certain amount, you start taking negative bonuses on your attributes and speed, and some of the rules provide for effects like bleeding, burning, ect that have their own nasty side-effects.   

The way the system works is that bruises are put down first, and when you get a lethal, it is put in the first box, pushing the bruises up to fill up the next untouched damaged box.  Agg damage pushes lethal damage up as well as bruises.  This makes damage accumulative and crippling if you aren't careful during combat. 

[Neonivek]

I'm amazed that no one has suggested any of the White Wolf RPG settings

Because they outright use a HP system.

[scriver]

White Wolf was suggested in the third reply.

[Ant]

Also, might want to check Runequest (and by extension Elric). I'm fond of Runequest's world but sadly there's little in the way of enthusiasm in our crew to try it out.

[Neonivek]

White Wolf was suggested in the third reply.

And Pathfinder the second...

[Lectorog]

Pathfinder was first suggested in the OP.

[Telgin]

GURPS has a fairly brutal wound/body part loss system

To my knowledge it still uses a HP system. Just also has a hit location system as well.

It does still use HP, but it tries to model HP a lot more realistically than D20 does.  HP is based on mass, not experience or anything like that, and HP loss has a lot more consequences than it does in D20.  Shock penalties from injury are a start, but there's also crippling injury (for the limb hits you mentioned) and characters reeling from being badly wounded.

Not sure if any of that makes any difference to the OP, but it seems to fit the spirit of the request anyway.

[Sensei]

I haven't actually gotten my gaming group to really play GURPS, but I might give it a more thorough look. Ars Magica looks pretty neat too.

As I said in the OP, my asking about Pathfinder is incidental to the question about an RPG with a good wound system. I'm checking a few of these out too of course, they seem pretty interesting.

[Geneoce]

If your a zombie buff try "All flesh must be eaten"

Its pretty good. Different zombies, characters, whole bunch of stats, make-your-own infection ect.

Lotta modules too, including a pretty fun spaghetti western with cadavers.

Cant really give it much justice, best you have a look.

[Muz]

I think most people eventually move out of D&D. It's great, it's popular, but so many good systems have come up in the meantime because there's so many rules that tabletop games crawl.. and the CRPG genre was invented just from rolling D&D dice.

I love Fate. It's very easy to get into. You can make a character in just a few minutes. You don't have to track a lot of dice in your head. I love the bell curved dice system.

The wounds system is simple yet effective. Hits do a certain amount of damage based on opposed rolls, skill levels, and weapons. Armor reduces damage a few notches. Characters have a stress bar as to how much damage they can take. So a character with 2 stress can take a single 1 HP hit and a single 2 HP hit, or two 1 HP hits (since the first 1 HP bar has been marked off, the second hit will mark off the 2 HP bar).

Once you run out of stress boxes, you can take consequences instead of passing out. Something like a broken leg might be worth 8 stress points, meaning that it can absorb a blow that does up to 8 damage, or even be the result of a 1 damage hit when you've run out of stress boxes. Other consequences like concussion or bruised stomach can be used to absorb lesser blows. The consequences themselves can be 'compelled' by your enemy, meaning that you can compel someone with a "Sprained Wrist" to take -2 penalties on their attacks, or pay a Fate point to avoid the compulsion.

Combats can be settled very quickly under the system, unlike high level D&D games, where the many dice, many characters, and high HP slows down gameplay dramatically.

The system also speeds up dealing with mobs. If you're regularly doing 4 damage (which is about mid-level skill), you can kill 4 measly 1 HP goblins or petty thugs in a single combat round. A skilled ogre doing 6-8 damage can shovel through armies with 2 HP soldiers that way.


It's more of a roleplay based system and less rule based. The system is designed to make problems bloom into more drama/story. You'll probably run into some problems if you've got a min/maxer in your group but overall, the system is simple enough that it can hardly be powergamed.