(if there is any question that would need an editor on the off chance this was to be published, this post should remove all doubts - I know what the rules are in my head, but communicating those rules clearly and effectively seems to be beyond me)
Damage inflicted by a successful attack roll is modified by how well the roll is made. If the attack roll is made exactly (i.e. you needed a 9+ to hit, and you roll a 9), this is considered a Graze, meaning you only inflict half your normal listed damage for that weapon.
For every two points above the needed roll an attack roll is made by, the damage is increased by +1 (i.e.if you need a 5+ to hit, and you roll a 10, you add +2 to the damage inflicted).
Damage inflicted is generally assumed to be to the chest/torso area, unless the head, or a limb is specifically targeted before the dice are rolled (-1 attack penalty to target a limb, -2 to target the head). However, if the attack roll exceeds the target number by 4 or more, one of the target's limbs suffer the effects of the wounds, even if it wasn't declared before the roll. If the attack roll exceeds the target number by 8 or more, the attack can be considered a 'head shot'.
Any single attack that does damage equal to or greater either half the target's Health score, or 2/3 their END score (whichever is less), is a Serious Wound. Anyone suffering such a wound is momentarily stunned, suffering a -1 DEF penalty for the rest of the round, -3 to hit for their next action, and a -1 penalty to their Initiative roll for the following round.
Moreso, any serious wound has a chance to inflict extra injuries, depending on the type of weapon used. Blunt weapons have a chance of breaking bones, cutting weapons of causing continual bleeding, and impaling weapons of getting stuck in their target. In these instances, the victim must make an END roll to avoid these further effects. The base roll is 8+, unless the amount of damage done is equal to or greater than the victim's END score; then the base roll is 10+. The results of failed END rolls are listed below:
Blunt attacks: chest/torso – broken ribs, MOVE score is halved, -4 to Initiative, -2 to attack, -1 DEF, 2nd roll must be made to avoid internal bleeding (lose 1 pt of Health per hour)
Blunt attacks: arms/legs – broken bones, limb is useless, ½ MOVE for legs
Blunt attacks: head – skull broken, doing double damage; if still alive, 2nd roll must be made to avoid internal bleeding (lose 1 pt of Health every 10 minutes)
Cutting attacks: chest/torso – serious bleeding, lose 1 pt of Health every minute, -2 to Initiative, -1 to attack
Cutting attacks: arms/legs – limb is severed, continued bleeding causes loss of 1 pt of Health per combat round, severed legs halves movement, and victim falls down
Cutting attacks: head – head is severed from body; get ready to create a new character (barring access to some serious magic)
Piercing attacks: chest/torso – weapon is impaled in chest; attacker must make STR roll (8+) to remove the weapon, and doing so does the base weapon damage again to the victim, as well as resulting in serious bleeding, lose 1 pt of Health every minute, -2 to Initiative, -1 to attack
Piercing attacks: arms/legs – weapon impaled as per chest/torso (including penalties and serious bleeding, but only a 6+ is required to remove weapon), any actions with impaled arms are at -2, impaled legs reduced MOVE by ¼
Piercing attacks: head – brain is punctured, character killed
Also, any Serious Wounds to the head, assuming he victim is still alive, requires yet another END roll to stay conscious (8+ for cutting and impaling attacks, 10+ for blunt attacks)
Wow, sounds pretty lethal. Don't like your players much, do you? ;)
ReplyDeleteSorry, I lost track and forgot to respond...
ReplyDeleteHey, lots of PC deaths means the players gets lots of experience in using the character creation system.
On a more serious note, yes, combat is meant to be dangerous - anyone who has ever played classic Runequest can probably surmise the feel I'm going for - but hopefully it will encourage players not to attack everything in sight, and when they do attack something, they will hopefully do so from a tactical advantage.