I am working on a new game system designed to emulate realistic combat, and I would really like some feedback.
The main issue I have right now is a stamina system. I want to create a realistic but elegant system to record one's reserves of strength and their expenditure.
What I have currently is a system where using stamina, short term energy, too excessively, leads to incurring Fatigue, which depletes Endurance.
Concept Basics:
[spoiler]One has a high stamina, based off of the Strength stat. For every 5 stamina used in one five-second round, the character incurs 1 Fatigue. One's Endurance, which Fatigue depletes, is based on the Fortitude score. When one reaches half maximum Endurance, they are Weary. A Weary character uses 1 more stamina than normal with every action that uses stamina, and receive a minor penalty to attacks and skills.
When one fully depletes their Endurance, they are Exhausted. As such, they are able to move only at half speed, use 2 more stamina than normal for every action that uses stamina, and take major penalties to attacks and skills. An exhausted character must make a self-control check or a concentration check whenever they rest or fall asleep for six hours.
When a character has depleted 110% their maximum Endurance, they are Enervated. An Enervated character uses 2 more stamina than any stamina-using action would require, takes 5 times as much damage as the total stamina used in an action, and must make a self-control check or fall asleep for six hours both every round and every time he takes damage not related to his Enervation.
When a character reaches 0 stamina, they are Winded until they reach 10 stamina (or their maximum, whichever is lower). While Winded, all stamina use exacts its cost in both stamina and hp. Negative stamina values are possible, so this makes it possible to be Winded for a long time, even with the recovery mechanic.
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Rest and Recovery:
[spoiler]Every round, one recovers 5 stamina naturally, possibly enhanced by one of the basic or secondary attributes.
After sleeping for six hours, one recovers all of their stamina and loses all incurred Fatigue, recovering to full Endurance. However, they may still be tired. A Weary character that sleeps for six hours is refreshed and good as new, but an Exhausted character who sleeps six hours wakes up Weary. An Enervated character wakes up Exhausted after six hours. It takes two additional, consecutive hours of sleep to become one step closer to Refreshed, not tired at all.
Waking up with a tired condition causes that character to be in that condition until they sleep another six hours.
If a character wakes up Weary because he was Exhausted the day before, he becomes Exhausted at half maximum Endurance rather than Weary, becomes Enervated at 0 Endurance, and falls asleep immediately at going 10% below 0 Endurance without a save. If he wakes up Exhausted, he becomes Enervated at half maximum Endurance and falls asleep immediately upon reaching 0 Endurance.
For every five minutes a character rests, they recover 1 Endurance. A Winded character is Refreshed once he has less than half maximum Fatigue. An Exhausted or Enervated or character remains so no matter how much Endurance he recovers.[/spoiler]
Uses and expenditure
[spoiler]Light attacks are normal. Heavy attacks require twice as much stamina and deal twice as much damage, though they take longer.
Hand weapons use 1 stamina, long weapons use 2 stamina, great weapons use three stamina, and war weapons require 4 stamina. (new names for small, average, large, and enormous size weapons?)
Walking at 3 feet per half second (about 4 miles per hour) takes no stamina. Running at twice that speed takes 1 stamina per half second (10 stamina=2 Fatigue per round). Sprinting at four times walking speed uses 4 stamina per half second (40 stamina=8 Fatigue per round at 16 miles per hour).
For every 15 minutes you move at base speed (4 miles per hour), you incur 1 Fatigue.
Moving at 3 miles per hour incurs no Fatigue, rationalized as walking slower, or incurring 3 Fatigue over 45 minutes, then resting for 15 minutes to recover the lost lost Endurance.
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Examples:[spoiler]
An average man has 15 in every stat.
This gives 30 Endurance. This gives 45 stamina.
An average man could walk for 7.5 hours before becoming Exhausted.
An average man could make 30 heavy swings with a greatsword in a few minutes' time before he needs to rest for 150 minutes.
The average man can sprint at 16 miles per hour for 11.5 seconds before becoming Winded. He can do this only twice in a row without resting before he is Exhausted, but that second 11.5 seconds is going to really hurt..
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Maybe I should remove the term "incur Fatigue." I like it, though. It nicely tells exactly that one is getting more tired. The fact that incurring Fatigue means losing Endurance is a bit confusing, though.
EIDT: added Endurance, Enervation, fixed some math, and addressed sleep recovery.