The quest for simplification continues still...
The wound/vitality variant is not the same as defined in UA or other games, such as d20 Star Wars.
Vitality is a measure of toughness and endurance. It is used to track non-lethal damage and fatigue. Configuring the mechanic this way enables you to use vitality for spells (like MP) and for general fatigue for other activities. So extended combat will do vitality damage to you the same as any other damage source - like trying not to drown.
At 1/2 vitality, a character gains the Fatigued state. At 0 vitality, the character gains the Exhausted state. Once at 0 Vitality, additional damage is taken as Wounds.
Wounds are exactly what is described - your physical ability to withstand damage. It is equal to your Constitution + size modifier. Some feats may add to this as well. In reality, it actually functions more like hardness than anything else.
Characters take X amount of damage and they have Y wounds. The character takes X in vitality damage, subtracting any damage reduction from armor and the like. If the remaining damage (X-DR) is greater than Y, the character takes that many wounds (New Y = X- DR - Y).
If a character takes any wound damage, they are fatigued. This state combines with Vitality, so a character at half vitality and some wound damage (fatigued+fatigued) is exhausted. A character at 0 wounds is dying and losing vitality each round. When a character is at 0 vitality and is wounded, they are unconscious. If they are at 0 vitality and 0 wounds, they are dead. Pretty simple, really.
The size modifier for wounds would also apply to damage, meaning that larger creatures would be much harder to kill easily - you have to continue to beat on them until they wear down. Smaller creatures would be harder to hit, but easier to take down with a solid blow.
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My friend Chris, the EMT, had some insights on trauma. I looked up a clinical definition:
Injury to tissue by physical or chemical means. Mechanical injury includes abrasions, contusions, lacerations, and incisions, as well as stab, puncture, and bullet wounds. Trauma to bones and joints results in fractures, dislocations, and sprains. Head injuries are often serious because of the complications of hemorrhage, skull fracture, or concussion.
Thermal, electrical, and chemical burns produce severe damage partly because they coagulate tissue and seal off restorative blood flow. Asphyxiation, including that caused by drowning, produces rapid damage to the brain and respiratory centers, as well as to other organs.
Frequent complications of trauma are shock, the state of collapse precipitated by peripheral circulatory failure, and also hemorrhage, infection, and improper healing. See also Hemorrhage; Infection; Shock syndrome.
Now you break down the rest into game terms:
Hemorrhage (profuse bleeding)
Infection (basically a type of disease, mechanically)
Shock (stun, unconsciousness, etc.)
Asphyxia (choking, drowning, etc.)
Hemorrhage
Req: Piercing or Slashing weapon, Critical Hit, Wound damage
The target of a critical hit must make a Fortitude save with a DC of 15+wounds taken in the strike. If failed, the target loses 1 wound per round until the wound is attended to.
Possibility:
Any time a character takes wound damage, they make a Fort save vs DC 15 + total wounds taken. Failing is stun result, critical failure is shock (unconsciousness)
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