NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31

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Newsgroups: rec.games.design Path: sparky!uunet!bcstec!hall From: hall@bcstec.ca.boeing.com (Robert J. Hall) Subject: RPG - Damage System v1.3 Message-ID: <BzoHyn.wA@bcstec.ca.boeing.com> Organization: Boeing Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 20:51:58 GMT Lines: 414 SYSTEM-BASED PHYSICAL ATTACK WOUND METHOD (c) Copyright 1992, Bob Hall This is still in the development stage, so many concepts are still loosely defined. Please bear that in mind while reading onward... Changes: simplified target selection system. Critical wound blow- through effects. Sample critical damage table. INTRODUCTION This system deals with the damage caused by a solid physical object strik- ing a location on a body with a given velocity, angle of attack, shape, and mass. It does not yet deal with other forms of attack, such as explosions, acid, fire, electric shock, freezing, and so on, although it may be possible to integrate such effects into this system. The system is only intended to be an approximation of the actual physics involved. No damage system can ever be completely accurate, and certain simplifications were necessary to make it playable. SCALE Some of the numbers used in this damage system will be based on an expo- nential scale. This means that for each increase in a value, the actual quantity the value represents will be increased by a multiple. The standard increment will be based on the size of the dice being used. For simplicity, the actual quantity will be doubled for each dice worth of increase to the total. For example, if a ten-sided dice is being used, then each increase of ten is equivalent to a doubling of the factor being represented. Such exponential values, of necessity, must be based on a specific dice size. A common dice size, such as 6 or 10-sided, will need to be selected before any solid tables of weapon, armor, or creature data can be con- structed. However, a conversion table can easily be included in the appendix for different dice sizes. The actual values will be in metric. Lengths are in meters, mass is in kilograms, force is in newtons, and energy is in joules. WEAPON TYPES There are three standard categories of physical weapons, based on the shape of the striking surface. POINT - These weapons have a tapered tip that comes to a sharp point. The tip is used to breach the surface, while the tapered sides widens the wound as the tip travels deeper into the body. WEDGE - The edge of this weapon is a straight or curved line. The edge makes the initial penetration into the body, then the widening sides open the wound while the blade slices deeper into the body. Some compression will occur along the axis of the edge. HEAD - The tip of this weapon is a wide flat or curved surface. The impact will compress the surface under the head, sending shock waves radiating from the area of contact. Some weapons can include a combination of these different striking surfaces. STOP FACTOR In this damage system, some amount of the weapons kinetic energy is expended to penetrate the external defenses of the target. The difficulty of this penetration is given by an equivalent cross-sectional area. This area is used to determine the stop rating of the weapon. The greater the area, the larger the stop rating. For a flat-headed weapon, the penetration area will be determined by the total area of impact. Blades and points will be based on a cross-section at some distance up the cutting edge. Sharper blade or point weapons will have a smaller area and a lower stop factor. The stop factor is an exponential rating. For each dice increment in the stop factor, the equivalent penetration area is doubled. Since the area increases as the product of two dimensions, doubling the size of a weapon will increase the stop factor by a total of the two base dice. DAMAGE COMPLEXITY Damage due to weapons penetration is systems-based, meaning that the weapon causes damage to specific systems within the body. To allow for a range of complexities, the systems are organized in an outline format, with each subset describing the systems in finer and finer detail. Obviously there is a certain amount of overlap in system functions. Such overlap will be factored in during the damage procedure. The amount of complexity required by the GM will determine the level of system detail required: Level 0 - No detail The simplest damage level treats the entire body as a single system. There are only a few possible outcomes from a wound: fatigue loss; staggered; incapacitated; dead. Level 1 - Exterior/Interior The next simplest damage level determines whether or not the weapon inflicted damage to the exterior or the interior of the body. The exterior includes all body systems that interact directly with the external environment. The interior includes the remaining systems that support the bodily functions, but only interact indirectly with the outside environment. Wounds to the interior have more serious effects on the target than external strikes. External wounds will lower the combat efficiency, while internal strikes can completely incapacitate the target. Shown below is a Level 1 systems outline for a human: Location Critical Damage Effects ------------- -------------------------------------------------------- External Physical skills reduced or lost Internal Physical & Mental skills reduced or lost; Incapacitated Level 2 - System Groups These are groups of organs that work together to support a specific function. External systems include weapons, locomotion, senses, and protection. Internal systems include power, energy, and control. Wounds to specific systems can cause reduction or loss of specific functionality. Critical wounds can cause damage to multiple systems. Shown below is a sample Level 2 systems outline for a human: External Primary Combat Function Sample level 3 systems ------------- ------------------------------- ---------------------- Protection Protects the body from damage Skin, bones, tissue Mobility Allows the body to move rapidly Legs, feet Weapons Make attacks or ward blows Arms, hands, and teeth Sensors Observe opponents and obsticles Eyes, ears, nose Miscellaneous Distraction Hair, sexual organs Internal Primary Combat Function Sample level 3 systems ------------- ------------------------------- ---------------------- Power Maintain activity level Heart, lungs, arteries Energy Recover from fatigue Stomach, intestines Command Control the other systems Brain, spinal cord Miscellaneous Special Glands Level 3 - Individual Systems These are specific organs or groups of tissue that perform a dedicated task. Such systems include the heart, lungs, brain, stomach, hand, eyes, ears, shoulders, and so on. Detailed descriptions are given for serious and critical wounds against each system. Level 4 - System Components These are the bits and pieces that go together to make up an individual system. Components include thumb, cornea, heart value, etc. This level of detail is probably unnecessary for most purposes. The local medical library is available for determination of the wound effects. (Sorry, no 'humor impairment' critical result.) WEAPON DAMAGE The kinetic energy of the weapon is determined by the success of the attack and the attributes of the attacker. An inept or partially blocked attack will have a lower energy than normal. Likewise, a weak or fatigued attacker will be unable to propel the weapon as rapidly. The weapon will strike at a specific location on the body. If the location is an external system, then the kinetic energy of the weapon will be expended in the form of damage to the selected system. When a strike is made at an internal system, part of the energy is expended to penetrate the external protection system. Each internal system will include an external protection rating which determines how many damage points must be spent in penetration. The weapon stop factor will determine how many additional damage points are spent as concussion energy against the external protection. The remaining amount is the number of damage points inflicted on the internal system. The Damage point total is an exponential rating. For each dice increment in the Damage points, the equivalent kinetic energy is doubled. Each dice worth of Damage points absorbed by a system will half the Kinetic Energy of the weapon. SYSTEMS TABLE During each attack, the attacker makes as success roll for each weapon employed. Each of the defenders systems has a skill difficulty rating that determines the difficulty to hit that target. The attacker declares the target prior to the attack, then the skill roll is made at the target difficulty. If the attack is hasty, or no target is selected, then the protection system is chosen as the default. If the attack gets past the defenses, the resullting level of success determines if the selected target has been struck. Each creature or character will have a systems table which will display various combat factors for each system. A sample table is shown below: Difficulty External System Serious Critical Armor ---------- --------------- ------- -------- ----- Average Protection 10 20 Hard Mobility 6 12 Average Weapons 5 8 Very Hard Senses 1 2 Hard Miscellaneous 3 10 Difficulty Internal System Serious Critical Protection Armor ---------- --------------- ------- -------- ---------- ----- Very Hard Power 1 2 4 Hard Energy 2 4 2 Very Hard Command 1 2 3 Hard Miscellaneous 2 5 2 The first column is a percentile table that is used to select a system at random. Of course, some other dice can be used, as long as the values are roughly proportional. The second column is the modifier to the skill level when the attacker targets that specific system. The third column is the name of the system. The fourth column is the number of damage points needed to inflict a serious wound to the system. The fifth column is the number of damage points needed to inflict a critical wound. The sixth column of the internal damage table is the external protection level for the specific system. ARMOR When external armor is worn, each system receives an Armor rating that is entered in the systems table. The rating is the number of damage points absorbed by the armor prior to any wound determination. Each piece of armor provides different numbers of Armor points to different systems. A Helm, for example, could provide 20 points to Command; 15 to Senses; 5 to external Miscellaneous; and 5 to Protection. A separate table is used to record each piece of armor worn, and the number of points provided to each system. The Armor points are totalled for each system, and the results are then entered under the Armor columns in the appropriate rows of the systems table. Armor that is designed to cushion an impact will have higher ratings for the External systems. Likewise, armor designed to prevent penetration will have higher ratings for the Internal systems. (Possibly each piece of armor could include a damage overload factor - the level of damage points needed to break the armor. Not sure how to include this, however.) For the sake of simplicity, complete suits of armor will be described using the total Armor points in each system. (This is instead of a complete listing of the armor components and the points each provides to the various systems.) A complete equipment list will, however, still describe individual pieces of armor. WOUNDS There are three wound categories: MINOR - Easily repaired wounds that have a minimal impact on the body performance. Many such wounds will increase fatigue and impact the overall health. SERIOUS - A wound that is detremental to the performance of a system. The system will continue to operate at a reduced level of efficiency. (Halved, or reduced by some penalty - depending on the game system.) The effect on the creature or character will depend on the specific system impacted. For a level 2 damage system, the effects of a loss of system effective- ness would be as follows: Protection Reduced ability to absorb internal damage Mobility Loss of speed and agility Weapons Decrease in combat weapon/shield skills Senses Temporary loss of sight, hearing, etc. Power Reduction in actions per round Energy Unable to recover strength Command Stunned, dizzy, paralysis, and/or unconsciousness Miscellaneous Special effects. CRITICAL - A very nasty wound that seriously disrupts the target system. The special effect will be determined by a critical wounds table for the system. (Separate critical wound tables will be needed for each level of complexity.) Some critical wounds will cause additional damage to other systems due to weapon penetration. The systems effected would be listed in the customized critical wound descriptions. When damage is applied to an internal system, the damage to external protection is always computed first to determine if any Critical wounds occur. Such critical wounds can impact the resulting amount of damage to the internal system. For example, suppose the blow is to the Power system. If the external damage is sufficient to cause a critical wound, then damage beyond the critical level is also applied to the Power system. This could be interpreted as smashed bones that no longer protect the Power system - resulting (for example) in a crushed rib cage and collapsed lung. BLOWTHROUGH The damage points beyond the critical damage level are called blowthrough. These are applied as a new wound to the system specified in the critical damage table. Here is a sample critical damage table for level 2: System Critical Hit Effect* ------------- ----------------------------------------------------- Protection Serious and Critical damage levels are halved. Mobility Leg is crippled. If blowthrough damage is sufficient to cause another critical wound, then leg is severed. Roll on the table below to detemine the location: 1d10 Location** ------- ---------- 1-2 Hip 3-5 Thigh 6 Knee 7-8 Lower Leg 9 Ankle 10 Foot Weapons Arm is crippled. If blowthrough damage is sufficient to cause another critical wound, then arm is severed. Roll on the table below to determine the location: 1d10 Location** ------- ---------- 1 Shoulder 2-4 Upper Arm 5 Elbow 6-7 Lower Arm 8 Wrist 9-0 Hand Senses The sense is completely lost. Blowthrough damage is applied to the Command system. Roll on the table below to determine the sense lost: 1d10 Location ------- ---------- 1-3 Eye** 4-6 Ear** 7-8 Nose 9-0 Tongue Power Immobilized. Blowthrough damage is applied to Energy. Energy Stunned. Blowthrough damage is applied to Power. Command Immobilized. Blowthrough damage is applied to Power. * On all critical hits, a Willpower roll must be made on each round thereafter for the character to remain conscious. **Random roll to determine the side damaged. IN GAME TERMS As a minimum, all creatures include a Level 1 systems table describing the External and Internal systems. Where further detail is required, the wounds table can be expanded to higher levels of complexity. Each level of table should be kept separate for easy access, and the values for each wound system should be the weighted average of the values from the more detailed wounds system. For character races, the wounds table should be developed to at least level 3, with level 1 and 2 tables included as well. At level 3 or above, additional details can be included for the various body systems - especially for critical wounds. The following outline describes the damage process for level 1: 1. Determine the total damage points. 2. If the damage is internal, check for external damage. a. The Protection rating of the internal system, plus b. The Stop rating of the weapon. c. Perform steps 4 & 5 below for the external damage. 3. Deduct the artificial armor protection. 4. Check if each wound is minor, serious, or critical. a. For minor wound, increase fatigue. b. For serious wound, decrease skills and/or stats. c. For critical wound, determine effects from table. OTHER ADDITIONS? - Damage from other sources. Fire, cold, electricity, acid, etc. Fire, cold, and acid should probably be external type damage, while electricity effects the control system in addition to whatever else it fries. - Different difficulty ratings for other hex sides. I.e. modify system odds for front, flank, rear, etc. Constructive comments, additions and revisions are welcomed. -- Bob Hall | if [ -bs message ]; then Boeing Computer Services | mv message /compost/heap/$$ root@chicken.ca.boeing.com | fi