Hi all!

Periapt of Wound Closure. This one has bothered me for over four decades; I'm not sure why I never thought to ask the brain trust. It states "The person possessing it need never fear open, bleeding wounds because the periapt prevents them".
How exactly do you translate that to game effects? Typically I rule that cutting weapons do 1/4 weapon damage and piercing do 1/2. Does that make sense? How does everyone else interpre tit?

Thanks!

Frank

Three powers:

1. The periapt doubles the normal rate of healing and it allows for the normal healing of wounds which would not heal otherwise.

2. If a person takes any damage from a weapon or otherwise that results in continuous bleeding after the initial damage, the periapt negates this effect.

3. In the event that the person falls below 0 (-1 to -9 inclusive) and begins to die, they will no longer bleed out, thus stopping the decline to -10.  As long as the person isn't damaged further, they will be stabilized at whatever their current HPs are.

I don't do anything with damage reduction, unless there's something specifically related to additional bleeding damage.  In that case, that effect is negated.  The special damage from a Sword of Wounding is an example of what would be negated.

The only counter argument I would give on the damage reduction is that the initial attack damage is usually caused by damage to the bodily systems, not necessarily blood loss.  Wound closure would imply that it does nothing to prevent the wound from occurring, only to close it quickly, and keep it closed, after the wound has been inflicted.  This would also help to rationalize the improved healing rate, as the wounds would stay closed during the healing process.

I envision it kind of like an instantaneous regeneration/closure on the bodily systems impacted, internally or externally, but it doesn't heal them.  I'm sure a portion of the damage from the wound could be from immediate blood loss, but the periapt couldn't prevent that during the initial damage.

Damage reduction is pretty powerful, and the periapt is only valued at about 10,000 GP.  Perhaps there could be a more powerful periapt that reduces damage as well.

Ah, I see. It does say open, bleeding wounds. So maybe the weapon initially cuts you open, but the periapt closes it near instantly. But if that is the case, it would HEAL a certain amount of HP.
Let's say you get sliced on the forearm by a sword for 6 damage. Some is from the slice, some is from blood loss, some is from "phantom" hit points (depending on level). So the slice HP would be negated when the wound closes, and the blood loss hit points would be somewhat mitigated, since the wound would not bleed as long. I don't mind using it as minor damage reduction, since I don't play 3E and above. I agree Bart, the way the newer versions stack things like DR, healing, resistance and such is worse than Jenga.
Maybe I mentally alter the description to align with what Allan says he believes the intent was, to counter wounding injuries. Then I can sleep better at night.