Homebrew - Bloodied in 5e
Fantasy Battle Artwork by Nikolay Kladnitski
One of the neatest things that 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons brought to the game was the concept of a Bloodied value. This value is half a creature’s maximum hit points and acts as a type of turning point in the battle, giving solo boss monsters (and powerful creatures) a special ability that is triggered upon having their hit points reduced to that value. This could be recharging, and then immediately using, a breath weapon, like for dragons, or it could be that an aura of pain erupts from the creature, damaging all foolish that would try to harm them. This is a great way to show off how dangerous a creature can be, as well as giving the players an idea of where they are at in the battle.
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Bloodied
A creature becoming bloodied is a dangerous creature. We all have a flight-or-fight response, well maybe not zombies, and as adrenaline courses through our veins, it can be taken into overcharge when you can sense the end. The same goes for the monsters you fight, when it becomes apparent that there is the very real chance they are going to die in combat, they may choose to flee or push on and kill their enemies faster.
This is the Bloodied value and it can be used to help monsters face off against a team of highly skilled adventurers looking to ruin their life. When a creature becomes bloodied, this is a clear indicator to them that the fight isn’t going well and they need to stretch themselves. This effect can be a variety of things from regaining spell slots, recharging a breath weapon, or flying away so they can fight another day. Whatever it ends up being, it is used as a counter to their opponents. No enemy is looking to die, and someone backed into a corner is going to be willing to do a lot of dangerous things if it means they get to come out alive.
Different Effects
There are a wide variety of things that can happen when a creature becomes bloodied, and it is based on the monster. Dragons have breath attacks, so it’s easy to figure out what their bloodied ability would be. They get to use their breath attack immediately as a type of instinctive response to danger, even if it hasn’t been recharged yet!
Other creatures, like spellcasters, may regain spent uses of their limited abilities like a lich can regain spell slots or a fomorian can regain their special evil eye ability. But not all creatures have those special abilities, and so instead they may increase their damage, the number of attacks they make, or anything else based on how they fight. Whatever ability they gain, it should be in line with what they are and how they attack. It wouldn’t make much sense for a mage to gain an increase to their weapon damage since they rely on their spells to save them from a group of murder-hobos.
BUT, certain things should be avoided when it comes to new features. Gaining more hit points doesn’t change or make the fight more interesting, it just prolongs it. Just as an increase in a monster’s Armor Class doesn’t do much to the combat but makes it more frustrating to fight, and not in a good way. A monster that gains an ability that just prolongs the fight is not a good ability because it just because a slog for the players fighting it. The ability should create excitement, an ‘oh no’ reaction, or some other emotion than just groaning when you reveal it regained all its missing hit points and they have to start at step one again.
Not all Monsters
Not every monster should be given a bloodied ability, though you should still inform the players when a monster becomes ‘bloodied’. It's something that their characters could see, a monster bleeding everywhere, breathing hard, fighting to stay alive, is something that someone can see in a monster they are fighting. But, not every monster needs something special to happen when they reach that point.
This would create a lot of statuses that the DM would have to track, as well as reduce the special or wow factor of a creature becoming bloodied. In essence, if every creature has a bloodied effect that would go off in a fight, and you are fighting a bunch of mooks, no one wants to hear how they are all going bloodied thanks to a single fireball exploding on them. Instead, bloodied should be saved for impactful monsters, and, typically, up to two monsters in a given fight might have a bloodied ability that they can activate, though it’s more likely going to be a single enemy so that the players can feel like they are making progress on that big bad.
What’s the Purpose?
The biggest question you might have is why should you use it? Is keeping track of when a monster’s hit points equal a certain value that important to include in your games?
The Bloodied value is a way to spice up your fights. It creates a more dangerous fight, but it also gives the monsters a chance to experience a fight-or-flight response as they are taking damage. These bloodied values are often instinctual, something that just happens as a defense mechanism from the creature, and not something they can just do over and over. It gives the monster a chance to do something unique as well as provides a mechanical reaction to them facing off in a fight where they are in danger. These reactions help to create a more memorable fight, as well as showcase that these creatures are indeed incredibly dangerous and shouldn’t be taken lightly. That when a creature is hurt and backed into a corner, they are going to be far more dangerous as they are willing to do whatever it takes in the short-term to survive.
Danger
When you give monsters more options than their stat block covers, it is going to inherently make them more dangerous to fight. For low-level parties, this type of increased danger could turn a deadly fight into a deadlier fight, while for a high-level party, it turns a fight into a more interesting fight. High-level parties may not notice that the creature is dealing an additional 1d8 of damage, while a weaker party will definitely notice it. Be mindful when choosing or creating an ability for a monster that it is something that your party can withstand.
But, as characters get stronger and stronger, it’s easier to bring out these special abilities. They are no longer 6 hit point wizards where a strong wind can kill them outright. They have more resources to overcome new challenges, making them more resilient to stronger monsters and additional effects.
Cleaning Up The Bloody Mess
Bloodied creatures are a hallmark in my games, though not all of them were given special abilities. The majority of the time, I just use the bloodied term to help explain to the players what their characters could easily deduce, that the monster they are fighting is getting defeated. That if they are saving back a big attack, they should do it now or miss their chance when someone else defeats the creature. I save Bloodied abilities for big fights that I want to ensure are memorable instead of just dragging in more mooks to be blasted apart by a fireball.
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