Simple question - couldn’t find it in the book.
Let’s say my character’s PTGS is: SU:B3, LI:B6, MI:B8, S:B9, T:B10, M:B11
If I sustain a B3 or B4 wound, a superficial wound, I get a +1 Ob penalty.
If I sustain 3 B3 wounds, the penalty changes to -1D
What happens when I sustain another B3 wound? Does it count as a B4 wound? Or does it count as a fourth B3 wound?
If I also fill my B4 pips with damage, am I then down to -2D ?
I think your 4th supi would be a new +1 Ob, since the prior 3 supis are now considered a single light wound.
You don’t run out of pips at any particular wound level. Actually, there’s no reason to record the exponent of a wound at all; once you’ve checked the wound against your PTGS, all that matters is whether it’s superficial, light, midi, or so on.
How you take a combination of B3 and B4 wounds doesn’t matter at all. They’re all just superficial. When you have 3 of them, they combine into a light wound. It doesn’t matter if it’s 3 B3’s, 3 B4’s, or a mix of the two. 1 B3 and 2 B4 wounds are exactly the same: 3 total superficials, which combine into a light wound and give you a -1D penalty and recover like any light wound.
If you take another B3 or B4, then you have a light wound and a superficial wound (and a penalty of -1D, +1 Ob). If you take 4 B3 and 7 B4 wounds (ow), that’s 11 total superficial wounds, which total up to 3 light and 2 superficial (-3D, +1 Ob, ow).
Yep, the PTGS pips on the sheet are a convenience only.
Does 3 superficial wounds combine to form a light wound, or do the merely combine to bump the penalty to -1D? These are different in terms of treatment and recovery.
So if I understand correctly, you can take more than 3 pips of damage in any given type of wound. So when the soldier in my game recently took 5 B3 wounds(superficial) over the course of a fight, he’s looking at 5 B3 wounds. Not 3 B3 wounds and 2 B4 wounds. Is that correct?
Page 488 of BWG (near the bottom of the middle):
The wounds are now considered a single light wound for the purposes of die penalties and recovery.
That’s correct, but given the PTGS you describe at the beginning of the thread there is literally no difference. A superficial is a superficial is a superficial. The exponent doesn’t mean anything.
Actually, there’s one edge case where it could conceivably matter. If your PTGS changes while you have a wound, conceivably the type of wound could change. It’s never come up for me, but I’d still maintain that the type of wound is determined when you take it. Once the type is set, it’s set.