I had an idea while answering a discussion, but I liked it so much that I decided to make a post about it. Basically the community noticed that the injuries can be greatly debilitating, like a Gaping Wound, and are perceived as overly-punishing. So, I thought about a couple of ways to improve that aspect.
I would overhaul the troublesome or harsh aspects of the injury system by sorting the gravity of the injuries according the number of wounds already obtained (in a progressive way).
Another way to do it could be to determine gravity of wounds according the negative health value reached upon receiving a killing blow (overkill mechanic).
An example:
Progressive Injury System
1st Injury- Minor wound (low debilitation, can heal in time)
2nd Injury- Medium wound (medium debilitation, 50% chance to self heal in time OR heals in long time)
3rd Injury- Mortal wound (high debilitation, won't heal unless treated)
4th Injury- Death (definitive debilitation, won't heal unless reloading a prior save, haha)
OR:
Overkill Injury System
Calculate "overkill value" (the damage below 0 health points) and set gravity of the injury received accordingly. The following numerical values are provided to give an example.
PC at 50 HP, receives 50 damage, gain Minor wound (low debilitation, can heal in time)
PC at 50 HP, receives 100 damage, gain Medium wound (medium debilitation, 50% chance to self heal in time OR heals in long time)
PC at 50 HP, receives 150 damage, gain Mortal wound (high debilitation, won't heal unless treated)
The reason I am suggesting such methods is simple:
In the Progressive example, the aim is to forgive little mistakes and not push the player to rest after each battle "gone slightly wrong", while increasingly punish a careless player or a player that is facing many powerful enemies in succession, and therefore is probably in an area where he/ she shouldn't be at that given level.
The Overkill example follows the same rules, since if an enemy manages to overkill a character with a big margin, and therefore causing a highly debilitating injury, it probably means that the player is in an area with higher level requirement than the one currently possessed by the party, or using Mages and Rogues as tanks without investing in resistances.
Both are seemingly realistic, balanced and immersive.