History Main / MaximumHPReduction

[[folder:Adventure]]
* Auroch Digital has video game versions of Creator/GamesWorkshop's ''Chainsaw Warrior'' and ''Chainsaw Warrior: Lords of the Night''. In both games, there's the MechanicalAbomination, the Meat Machine which rip into you causing a loss to your health maximum.
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* In ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'', dying puts you into Soul Form, which cuts your max health by 50%. To regain the rest of your health, you need to either use a Stone of Ephemeral Eyes, successfully complete your mission online, or successfully kill a boss. In practice, you'll probably spend ''most'' of your game in Soul Form, and the game balances the amount of damage you take around this, so one can see it more as [[InvertedTrope Body Form being a temporary max health increase]]. Some players don't see the extra HP for Body Form as being worth the risk of darkening World Tendency when you die (which makes enemies harder and can make certain gear [[PermanentlyMissableContent unobtainable]] if it happens even once), so they go to the Nexus (which has no World Tendency) and kill themselves whenever they're "[[UndesirablePrize rewarded]]" Body Form.

* ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'': Getting hit by bullets or bosses' Deadly Attacks will take a chunk out of Yagami's maximum health. The only way to restore it is to visit the underground doctor below Children's Park or use a Med Kit.

* A plot event that helps decide what ending you get in the final hours of ''VideoGame/CryOfFear'' results in Simon's health bar being permanently cut down after [[spoiler:the Doctor shoots him in the shoulder]]. How much it gets cut down depends on whether [[spoiler:Simon trusts the Doctor enough to give him a gun found elsewhere in the asylum; the Doctor already has a {{revolver|sAreJustBetter}}, but the gun he wants Simon to get for him is a little more powerful.]]

* In ''VideoGame/AliensVsPredatorExtinction,'' the Alien Drone's upgrade allows it to spit acidic globules that convert the enemy's flesh into packets of HealthFood that make [[ChestBurster chestbursters]] grow up big and strong. On the enemy side, their max HP is reduced by the value of these attacks, effectively ''stealing'' their health for any alien larvae they become infested with. The only cure is the Marine [[CombatMedic Medic's]] "Counter-Xenology" upgrade. Predators hit by cystic acid are SOL

* Ships in ''VideoGame/UnchartedWatersNewHorizons'' can be repaired after sustaining damage in battle, but constant damage wears down their maximum durability. Notably, there is no way to restore this permanent damage, except selling the used ship and buying a new one.
* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyVBeyondTheMyth'': The Camo Dog is a green-colored, six-limb creature found only in the hidden areas of Tutelary Forest. Its main attack, the Roar of Triumph, halves the party's HP for three turns. This can be eliminated before then with debuff-cleansing skills, but it's still advised to either kill or disable the enemy before it performs that attack (which is hard enough as-is, both for being durable HP-wise and having a high resistance to head binds).
* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series:
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'', a status ailment called "Disease" prevents healing, by reducing the victim's maximum HP to their current HP. Unlike most status effects, this is ''not'' removed at death/KO nor is it removable with status-restoring magic like Esuna. Only two items in the game (Remedy and Vaccine) can remove it, and in the case of Remedy, only when used by a character that has invested License Points to max out the restorative powers of Remedies in the first place. If you get slapped with that, get ready to act ''fast'' to counter it and, if needed, heal the afflicted. Thankfully, having the Bubble status (doubles your health) is an automatic NoSell to Disease, and both the spell and the accessory that guarantee its effects are easily available by the time Disease starts appearing.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' adds the Wounding mechanic, wherein certain attacks and monsters reduce the target's maximum HP to force the player to avoid long battles. Although such wounds are thankfully covered by AfterCombatRecovery, no magic and only two specific potions (one of which is [[{{Panacea}} Elixir]]) can heal them in combat.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' if your characters HP gets depleted, they will enter "Danger" state instead of dying, where they can't fight back, and their max HP drops over time, or when attacked, and it's not until it hits 0 that they actually die. Daemons also deal a portion of the damage they deal as Darkness damage, hitting max HP directly. Max HP can be recovered by using Elixirs or resting, and it slowly recovers over time when outside of dungeons.

* A slightly weird version occurs with the Dark Chips in the fourth and fifth ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' games. They deplete the ''user's'' maximum HP by one point.
* ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'': The pretty much almost never used (a mercy by the programmers and the AI) skill called Oracle reduces the max HP of the target. The only one who actually uses it is Lans Tartare, the leader of the Templar Knights in the game.
* A variation in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'': Stats and classes are mostly determined by what Djinn are on a character, and using them in battle cancels the stat boosts (including HP) until summoned or reset. Some bosses have abilities that "drain" the Djinni, causing loss of all stats until they recover. The {{Superboss}} and the FinalBoss's last form have one that hits every Djinn on every party member, nearly guaranteeing TotalPartyKill.
* Dying in ''VideoGame/BattleHunter'' will cut your maximum HP in half (stacking geometrically, so dying again will reduce it to 1/4). You can pay [[WeWillSpendCreditsInTheFuture credits]] to restore your maximum HP to that of your maximum HP stat a point at a time. [[ContinuingIsPainful It's not cheap]]; you're probably better off SaveScumming.
* ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'':
** The spell Lunatic reduces the target's maximum HP by 20%. It's very good when used at the beginning of boss fights, where it can knock off upwards of 10,000 HP.
** On the enemies' side, there's Spiral Moon, which deals damage and carries the same effect Lunatic causes -- ''to your entire team''. This makes the select few enemy bosses having access to this move more dangerous.
* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'', Mount Tortas have an attack that halves a character's maximum HP.

* ''VideoGame/TheAllianceAlive'' reduces the maximum HP of any character who falls unconscious. [[BeatingADeadPlayer Unconscious characters can also be attacked]], which reduces their HP even more. Max HP can be restored by using rare Fairy Salves, or by resting at an inn. And if one character's max HP reaches zero, [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou you immediately lose]] even if you have other characters still capable of fighting.
* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': The Ogre Eagle will use the ability Toxic Rainbow in the last leg of its fight, reducing each character's maximum health by a certain percentage with each passing turn. The effect is reversed after the fight ends, but applies to the entire '''party''', which makes said boss a TimeLimitBoss as well. This effect is also used during the battle against Galdera when the Maw is broken in the 2nd phase.
* ''VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII'': Ups the ante by having the effect be active from the start of Castti's final battle as it is a toxic rainfall.

* In ''VideoGame/{{RuneScape}}'', some creatures could transmit "disease", which randomly decreases stats including constitution, which affects maximum life points. Barrelchest Mk II, a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot pirate zombie robot]] (ItMakesSenseInContext) directly drains constitution as part of its special attack. Instead of eating various food, this kind of damage could only be restored quickly with much more expensive super restore potions.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', on the Heroic version of the Spine of Deathwing encounter, every Hideous Amalgamation you defeat (which is necessary to pry open the plates and damage the Burning Tendons, which must be destroyed to win) reduces the maximum health of all raid members by 6 percent.
* One mission in the Imperial Tatooine bonus series in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' involves your character voluntarily taking a poison that slowly decreases your maximum HP. You have to fight your way through an area full of Sand People to find the antidote and restore yourself to normal, all to impress a bunch of [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Mandalorians]].
* This is a ''major'' mechanic in ''{{VideoGame/Mabinogi}}'', and makes for a good part of the game's initial learning curve. You have in-combat regeneration, no cooldown on potions (and a potentially tremendous stockpile for them), and almost every single pet and fellow player will have at least basic skill in healing magic. On the other hand, hit points here represent luck more than health; injuries reduce your current ''maximum'', which is hard to restore outside of lengthy rest under favorable conditions or actual medical attention. Very few people are armored well enough to be able to ignore anything at all with a weapon, even if they have the HP to take a few hits (that usually not being the case is the other reason for said initial learning curve).

* The relatively rare Bleed debuff in ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline2'' reduces the victim's maximum health. Thankfully, it's as easily cured as any other status effect.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Rogue}}'', vampires' attacks do this. The loss can be recovered by drinking healing potions while already at maximum hit points, but at greatly reduced efficiency: 1 hit point per potion of healing or 2 hit points per potion of extra healing.
* Vampires also do this in ''VideoGame/TheDungeonOfDoom'', but regular healing potions won't fix it. The cure is called a ''life'' potion, and its only effect is to reverse VampiricDraining.

* In ''VideoGame/CastleOfTheWinds'', vampires have this ability, and to get it cured you have to pay the Temple of Odin.
* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'': trading your HP for items from Satan or a Black Market will have this effect. There's also a "Health Down" pill that has this effect when used. Fortunately, HP increasing items are relatively common in the game, and can counteract this.
* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' have several quirks and diseases that could lower the hero's HP. This would be terrible on [[MightyGlacier heroes known for their durability]] like Crusaders and Lepers.

* Some of the StatusEffects in ''VideoGame/DeadInVinland'' lead to lowered combat HP, including nasty combat-acquired ones like Deadly Wound -- which lowers combat HP, causes DamageOverTime to the character's overall [[MultipleLifeBars Injury]] meter, potentially leads to the Bleeding status effect (which in turn potentially leads to Purulent Wound), and is permanent until cured (with attempts to cure it only having a 25% chance of success).

* ''VideoGame/HeatSignature''[='=]s health system is similar to Hotline Miami's in that any damage will immediately knock the player down. If they're knocked down and are then launched into space, the player has a short amount of time, 30 seconds on an uninjured character, to catch themselves with their pod before they [[{{Permadeath}} pass out and asphyxiate]]. If the player was hit by a lethal attack, the time window the player has will shorten by six seconds each time the player is saved - until the player immediately dies when they are thrown out an airlock or similar. The Offworld Angel will make it so that the player loses only two seconds from their timer instead of six, but ''only'' if they're caught with their pod - in the event they take lethal damage without being thrown out the airlock, the timer will still be shortened by six seconds.

* Rare in ''Literature/LoneWolf'', but some situations can result in permanent reduction of Endurance or Combat Skill, like surviving the explosion of a Vordak gem, trying to climb bare-handed out of the icy Caverns of Kalte, or getting addicted to [[BottledHeroicResolve Adgana herb]].

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', pietro polendina used a piece of his aura to make a penny, leaving him with a permanent weakened aura.

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': The Ogre Eagle will use the ability Toxic Rainbow in the last leg of its fight, reducing each character's maximum health by a certain percentage with each passing turn. The effect is reversed after the fight ends, but applies to the entire '''party''', which makes said boss a TimeLimitBoss as well.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater''[='=]s injury system ultimately worked in this manner. When Snake gets damaged in certain manners he'll suffer an injury of some sort (a cut for being slashed by a guard's knife, a broken leg for falling a long way, etc.) that will cause a part of his health bar to turn red and be unable to heal until the player goes into the Survival Viewer and treats the injury.

* A variation in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'': Stats and classes are mostly determined by what Djinn are on a character, and using them in battle cancels the stat boosts (including HP) until summoned or reset. Some bosses have abilities that "drain" the Djinni, causing loss of all stats until they recover. The {{Superboss}} and the FinalBoss's last form have one that [[ThatOneAttack hits every Djinn on every party member]], nearly guaranteeing TotalPartyKill.

* A variation in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'': Stats and classes are mostly determined by what Djinn are on a character, and using them in battle cancels the stat boosts (including HP) until summoned or reset. Some bosses have abilities that "drain" the Djinni, causing loss of all stats until they recover. The BonusBoss and the FinalBoss's last form have one that [[ThatOneAttack hits every Djinn on every party member]], nearly guaranteeing TotalPartyKill.

* ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'': The pretty much almost never used (a mercy by the programmers and the AI) skill called Oracle reduces the max HP of the target. The only one who actually uses it Lans Tartare, the leader of the Templar Knights in the game.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', pietro polendina used piece of his aura to make penny, leaving him with a permanent weakened aura.

* A variation in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'': Stats and classes are mostly determined by what Djinn are on a character, and using them in battle cancels the stat boosts (including HP) until summoned or reset. Some bosses have abilities that "drains" the Djinni, causing loss of all stats until they recover. The BonusBoss and the FinalBoss's last form have one that [[ThatOneAttack hits every Djinn on every party member]], nearly guaranteeing TotalPartyKill.

* ''VideoGame/RemiLoreLostGirlInTheLandsOfLore'': The "power-ups", as the manual says, a.k.a scrolls which can be bought or found as drops from enemies can be also be power-downs. A Small HP Reduction, drops Max HP by 50, where Remi starts off with 1000. Trailers indicate that there's also Large HP Reductions.

** In ''Morrowind'', if you are using the "[[TakeAThirdOption backpath]]" method to beat the main quest, [[spoiler: equipping the jury-rigged Wraithguard for the first time]] will take away 200 maximum health ''permanently''. If it doesn't kill you outright, it can leave you with the equivalent maximum health of a brand-new character at a stage in the game where you should rightfully have hundreds.

* ''VideoGame/Judgment'': Getting hit by bullets or bosses' Deadly Attacks will take a chunk out of Yagami's maximum health. The only way to restore it is to visit the underground doctor below Children's Park or use a Med Kit.

* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'', [[TurtlePower Mount Tortas]] have an attack that halves a character's maximum HP.

** Jailers in the Irithyll Dungeon have lanterns that drain your maximum HP until you kill them, exit their line of sight, or [[HPToOne are reduced to 1 HP]]. Thankfully, this wears off after a few seconds, but you don't get back the regular hit points lost from the decreased max. Also, "empty" HP gets burned first, so if you hold back on healing, any normal damage you've already taken can be used as a buffer to keep the effect from cutting into your real HP.

** Some characters have gimmicks that allow them to accumulate potential damage in unconventional ways. Cinder, for example, can [[KillItWithFire burn his opponent's arms or legs]], causing them to catch fire if they use attacks involving the punch or kick buttons, respectively. Omen has an even more gimmicky command grab that turns [[HPToOne all of his opponent's health into potential damage]], possibly allowing him to end the match [[CherryTapping even with the shortest possible combo]].

** In ''Street Fighter IV'', one of Gen's Ultra Combos has him striking at his opponent's [[PressurePoint pressure points]], potentially turning their [[HPToOne entire health bar into Provisional Damage]].

** In both ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIII'' and ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'', if someone was downed in battle and still down at the end, they would be brought back with 1 hp and have their max health reduced. III also has the Mandrake healing item that's cheaper to buy than most other healing items and heals you to full, but likewise causes you to lose some of your max HP. Also, both games contain a move called Disembowel which inflicts HPToOne at the cost of reducing the ''user's'' maximum HP.

* A variation in ''[[VideoGame/{{Onechanbara}} Onechanbara Z ~Kagura~]]''. While your maximum HP can never really decrease per se, taking damage gradually decreases your maximum ''recoverable'' HP using the Blood Recovery mechanic [[note]]The protagonists are essentially vampires, and are powerful enough to absorb splattered blood from their environment directly through their skin, hence the term.[[/note]]. On the other hand, using [[CastFromHitpoints Vamp Skills]] do not decrease maximum recoverable health.

* In RWBY pietro polendina used piece of his aura to make penny, leaving him with a permanent weakened aura

* In ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', Pangolin shields offer the highest capacity of any shield in the game, the tradeoff being that they reduce your maximum health as long as they're equipped.

* ''DarthWiki/ChaoIslandTranquilCorruptGenocide'': One effect card can do this for up to five turns.

* Can happen in ''Literature/BloodSword'', when you and a genie attack a fire-worshipping cult. If you don't let the genie take the brunt of the cultist's magic wand attack, the intense flame will scar you for a bit of permanent health loss. Luckily in the next book you eventually get that back when you die and are reborn (though you lose any powers and permanent stat boosts you had from previous books).

* ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSinII'': HitPoints are derived from a character's [[TheSixStats Constitution]] score, so effects that reduce Constitution, like [[BloodMagic Flesh Sacrifice]] and the diseased StatusEffect from the spell Infect, also reduce the target's HP maximum.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'', [[TurtlePower Mount Tortas]] have an attack that halves a character's maximum HP.