It was a very simple system that added a little crunch and cool factor without going crazy (like the I.C.E. Law products or say FGU's Aftermath.)
So inspired by that to the left is a simple version for HOW. It will be fleshed out with optional impact results based on damage/location-but for now if you'd like to use something like this to spice up your game, have it!
I love hit location tables :) you should take a look at the one Warhammer FRPG uses, maybe not the best, but it worked for me and added so much to combat.
ReplyDeleteI had even created a little 'called shot' system for the use of any missile/projectile/thrown weapon, just to add a bit of excitement to combat. It was great to see the reaction from the group when they specified 'sniping' a lone guard at night and succeeding in doing it silently in a single shot.
Fun times... :)
Excellent tip Mark! I will dust off my WHFRPG 2nd Ed book and look for more inspiration! I love the idea of "called shot" for ranged attacks as well, that could be a option great for players...and their foes!
DeleteTwo questions:
ReplyDelete--In Melee, the Left Arm is hit 3/36 and the Right Arm 4/36 of the time. Is there a reason for this? i.e. you feel the weapon arm is more vulnerable than the other arm. Or just a matter of what numbers were available in a simple system.
--Should it be Weapon Arm, Other Arm for Melee to account for handedness? After all, most elves are lefties. You did know that, right?
Only about 11% humans (12%M/10%W) are left handed, so it made sense (to me) to err more toward right handed hit locations when dealing with this simple system.
DeleteAbsolutely one could use "weapon hand/off hand" as a replacement for Right/left-especially in the case of left handed elves!
I am also working on a d66 system which provides more granular results!
I used to allow a sort of called shot in Runequest's d20 Hit locations by letting players reduce their to hit chance by 10% increments in order to raise or lower the d20 roll by 1 each. They also had to call higher or lower. In combat you don't always get what you want so, this would let a character increase his chances of hitting the location he wanted, without letting people 'game' the roll for the best tactical result. Ex: Earl Tostig has with his axe at 74%, and the player makes a called shot before rolling, reducing Tostig's chance by 30% for a 3 point shift on the d20 die -making Tostig's to hit roll 44%. He calls high because he is hoping for a head shot [his opponent has no helm]. An unmodified roll of 19-20 would normally hit the head in RQ, so now the head is hit on a 16-20. Because he is attacking high, whatever his roll is, he can adjust it by as much as +3.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really interesting system Clint. Did the players like it? how did it effect the game time players were involved in combat?
DeleteActually, It seemed to quicken combat AND simultaneously make it less lethal. Most of the players really liked it [The exception being the player of the berserker barbarian who did not think it fit the way he envisioned his character fighting style]. Since you had a chance of targeting the area you wanted, you could remove an enemy from the fight by taking out his sword arm, rather than his head or all of his HP.
ReplyDeleteI should say though, that my players were not particularly bloodthirsty. Other players might be able to abuse it. However, they are paying for their chance to pick their spot by reducing their chance to hit, their special chance, and their critical chance. Even at higher percentages, when I had some characters that were up a little over 100% at the end of the campaign, they sacrifice, splitting their attacks or an almost certain hit for a chance at an aimed shot.
I think a similar system for HOW could be a lot of fun. I was hoping to ask, how do you intend to handle effects to different locations [feel free to not answer]? Removing the location, like RQ, seems a little harsh, but I could be wrong. Maybe an effect for taking a serious wound in that location if a threshold is exceeded. ex: Damage over half of ST in leg - Move reduced to half, -1 DX, until healed?
I really like how you made that work in Runequest and the effect it had on player decision making in combat. That fits really well with how I hope my hit locations develop.
DeleteI agree as well that "removing locations" is not keeping in spirit with HOW, and your suggestion of lowering DX, slowing MV are in line with my own thoughts.
I also had a great suggestion to look at the old Warhammer FRPG and their charts for inspiration. I'll spin some stuff together give it some play=testing and the post a test document for others to try. Thanks again Clint!
Cool. I look forward to seeing things. I am currently writing up stuff for HOW, in hopes that I can run it in future.
ReplyDelete