Changing what is normal

[Sean Waters]

I've been thinking...

 

When considering the baseline or normal character we do not include any resistant defences, but everyone has some, courtesy of mother nature: the skull and ribcage protect the organs that are most needed for continued functioning, and are hard enough to be considered resistant.

 

This will probably only really matter in games where hit locations are being used (in other games the added realism is probably not necessary), but I'd be inclined to build it as:

 

2 pd and ed armour (head) and 2pd and ed armour (14- activation) (vitals)

 

I was not sure whether to include ed armour, or just do the whole thing as damage resistance so it does not increase the baseline character cost so much.

 

What do you think?

[Phil]

Re: Changing what is normal

 

Think this overcomplicates things. Better to think of the skeleton as wrapped up within that catch all function known as BODY. To complicated otherwise, IMHO.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Changing what is normal

 

Well if you are using hit locations (and you would only use this tweak of you were) then you are already accepting an increased level of complication.

 

Anyway BODY is an imperfect model: getting hit to the head simply doubles body damage. In fact you should take less real damage assuming the skull is not penetrated, than if you were hit elsewhere: bullets do sometimes bounce of people's skulls....

[John Desmarais]

Re: Changing what is normal

 

I've been thinking...

 

When considering the baseline or normal character we do not include any resistant defences, but everyone has some, courtesy of mother nature: the skull and ribcage protect the organs that are most needed for continued functioning, and are hard enough to be considered resistant.

 

This will probably only really matter in games where hit locations are being used (in other games the added realism is probably not necessary), but I'd be inclined to build it as:

 

2 pd and ed armour (head) and 2pd and ed armour (14- activation) (vitals)

 

I was not sure whether to include ed armour, or just do the whole thing as damage resistance so it does not increase the baseline character cost so much.

 

What do you think?

 

If I were going to do this, I do it as Damage Resistance - and probably only 1 pointss instead of 2.

[Markdoc]

Re: Changing what is normal

 

Your bones and muscles are what gives you PD. It ain't resistant. OK, bullets sometimes bounce off skulls (although the one that hit mine sure didn't) but they sometimes bounce off muscle too.

 

So arms should also have resistant PD? I think not. That bounce off skull thing just reflects a crap BOD roll - it's not like you are getting away unscathed, regardless.

 

That's why shooting someone in the chest is generally more effective than whacking them with a baseball bat - even though the total energy transferred is probably not that different.

 

cheers, Mark

[McCoy]

Re: Changing what is normal

 

Been thinking about this, haven't playtested. Been thinking about eliminating rPD, rED, and killing attacks. Suggest that guns and bladed weapons be built with a level of Penetraiting.

[AmadanNaBriona]

Re: Changing what is normal

 

Thats almost eerie.... AFAIK, this topic hasn't really come up much, and I just was thinking about it earlier this morning. I was looking at the High Plains Hero thread and pondering the question of firearms lethality in a Western Hero campaign... Historically, headshots weren't all that common, 'cause folks usually aimed for the chest, precisely because a large, heavy, soft lead ball fired from a black powder pistol doesn't have a whole mess of penetrating power.

If you look at some of the period photographs of dead criminals, post shootout, you'll see most of them literally RIDDLED with bullets.

 

This could be considered a campaign or weapon specific use of the "real black powder weapon" limitation to reflect low velcocity attacks... say, at a range further than DC x the number of Hands the weapon uses (to reflect the increased power associated with longer barrels in black power guns) in inches attacks are considered Reduced Penetration, and, just as you suggest, certain locations have 1-2 rPD on an activation roll. I'd actually just redo the location chart to show the integral armor and its associated Activation roll... I'd go with much lower activation rolls to represent deflection... A solid straight-on hit to the skull might still do full BODY, even if the shot fails to penetrate.

I'd go with something like this...

2rPD: Upper/Rear Skull (Activation 14-,locations 3-4), Shoulderblades (only from rear, activation 12-, location 9)

1rPD: Front skull/jaw(activation 11-, location 5), Ribcage (Locations 10-11, Act.13- & Location 13, Act. 11- bacause some vital organs are very protected and some very exposed)

 

Combined with 1-2 rPD heavy clothing (canvas, denim & leather), aforementioned reduced pen past pointblank range, and building the guns appropriately (most period heavier guns would only MAYBE gain a DC above the average.... but they would increase the STUN Mod), and you'd have a pretty good ability to replicate Western "History"

 

OK, so that was a bit genre specific... but I think the idea does have merit.

Added complexity, as always.