How crunchy would you make the results of throwing glassware?

[klecser]

I'm thinking about adversaries throwing glassware in a lab situation and there are a couple of things I'm considering:

1) The likelihood the glassware breaks.

2) The likelihood the glassware breaks on exposed skin or clothes.

3) The thickness/nature of clothes.

4) The likelihood the investigator would take damage from glassware and/or liquid contents. 1d2 glassware cuts + 1d6 contents, etc...

That's a lot of rolls. And my gut as a Keeper says to Keep It Simple Stupid. I can make it simpler by saying that glassware that hits always breaks. But I can also hear players saying things like: "I'm wearing a leather jacket and wouldn't be cut by that glass!" And then we get into hit location minutia. Did it hit their jacket, a single lair of clothes, or exposed skin? Ugh. Not the level of detail I enjoy, but I know there are a lot of role-players out there that expect "realistic" chances to avoid damage. Maybe the real issue is Keeper-management of but realism! players.

I'm asking because I'm developing this for a future DTRPG product, and I can land anywhere on the continuum from "A hit always does X no matter what" to "a series of rolls determines a 'fair' outcome based upon a bunch of factors." I could also present both a KISS option or a more complex option.

The Keeper Rulebook has "2D6 + burn" for a Molotov cocktail, which seems to just take the simple route. Clothes may be irrelevant for burning and I could always acknowledge that investigators don't know what is in the bottles, making crunchy rolls pointless?

Thoughts?

Edited February 13, 2021 by klecser

[Sam E.]

I'd keep it pretty simple, eyeball the situation as a whole, then just roll it all into the throwing roll.  Most of the time, I'd probably make it a hard success against a normally clothed person in order to hit an exposed area, doing whatever damaged you've assigned from breaking and/or blunt force.  If it's just a regular success, then it hits a well covered covered area (leather, denim, etc.), does minimal damage from blunt force, depending on size and weight of object.  A failure is a miss or it just bounces off harmlessly.  A critical failure: breaks in hand of thrower before releasing it.  🙂

[klecser]

1 minute ago, TheophilusCarter said:

I'd keep it pretty simple, eyeball the situation as a whole, then just roll it all into the throwing roll.  Most of the time, I'd probably make it a hard success against a normally clothed person in order to hit an exposed area, doing whatever damaged you've assigned from breaking and/or blunt force.  If it's just a regular success, then it hits a well covered covered area (leather, denim, etc.), does minimal damage from blunt force, depending on size and weight of object.  A failure is a miss or it just bounces off harmlessly.  A critical failure: breaks in hand of thrower before releasing it.  🙂

I really like this. Thanks!

[soltakss]

Also, make a Luck Roll to see if the glass doesn't break and cover you with acid or whatever.

[Joe Kenobi]

These are good suggestions. I agree with the approach suggested above--lean toward simpler at every turn, and map onto Extreme/Hard/Regular/Fumble to the degree possible.