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Hit location dice


Trifletraxor

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Anyone thought of using anything like this instead of the old d20?

hitloc.gif

Or just a normal d6 (maybe a d6 with dots and not numbers to differentiate it from the others)?

whtprdicebox.JPG

A d6 as location dice would cover

[table=head]d6|humanoid|four-legged

6|head|head

5|left arm|left front leg

4|right arm|right front leg

3|body|body

2|left leg|left hind leg

1|right leg|right hind leg

Humonoid and four-legged opponents cover at least 95% of all opponents in my games. If humnoid or four-legged with wings or two extra limbs, roll d8 and use 7 & 8 for extra appendage.

Haven't tried this myself, but though about it when seeing the dice.

SGL.

Ef plest master, this mighty fine grub!
b1.gif 116/420. High Priest.

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The only issues I see are:

1. You'd have to conflate the abdomen and chest hit locations to just "body"

2. The current spread of locations takes into account some factors like size of hit location and likelihood of hitting during hand-to-hand combat, with the missile hit location spread handling ranged combat. Having every hit location be the same chance (just over 16%) negates that.

I've always liked the Warhammer FRP system, where the hit roll result is flipped and the same value used for the hit location. For example, if you hit someone with a roll of 37, you have a hit location roll of 73. Makes for one fewer dice rolls.

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I'm thinking about using the HP for each location of the body. I was thinking that rolling twice on the hit point location die when the hit points of a location are exceded. That way you can find out where the extra damage goes when the arm a pc or non-pc is using to block a sword slice is lopped off. The six siders might be best used for that (finding out where the extra damage goes).

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It looks like 8 sides go to the extremities, that is 2/3, the same as with a d6, so it's probably not that big a difference.

The only issues I see are:

1. You'd have to conflate the abdomen and chest hit locations to just "body"

Yes, that's an issue, I agree. I'm not sure it's that big an issue though.

2. The current spread of locations takes into account some factors like size of hit location and likelihood of hitting during hand-to-hand combat, with the missile hit location spread handling ranged combat. Having every hit location be the same chance (just over 16%) negates that.

d20 melee: legs 40%, abdom+chest 20%, arms 30%, head 10%

d6 loc dice: legs 33%, body 16,7, arms 33%, head 16,7%.

I can't really say one spread is more likely than the other. I think the d20 spread might have a bit high percentages for the legs compared to the rest of the body, and maybe a bit little for the head. I can't say the d20 is "better" in melee though.

For missile, yes realism would drop a bit, as most missiles are aimed for the body. However, having two d20 missile locations tables to slow things down a bit. For hightened realism using the d6, you could say that any hit with a missile weapon that was an odd number went for the body, and even numbers rolled the dice. This would lead to higher casualties though.

I've always liked the Warhammer FRP system, where the hit roll result is flipped and the same value used for the hit location. For example, if you hit someone with a roll of 37, you have a hit location roll of 73. Makes for one fewer dice rolls.

A d100 hit location table?

SGL.

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Trif, I think that in this thread you are doing exactly the same thing that Mongoose did with the removal of general hit points.

You are fixing what is not broken.

Maybe, maybe. A d6 would be simpler and might lead to faster more streamlined combat. At the same time you do lose some of usefull complexity a d20 can provide. Haven't tried it though, I'm just discussing it. :cool:

SGL.

Ef plest master, this mighty fine grub!
b1.gif 116/420. High Priest.

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A d6 would be simpler and might lead to faster more streamlined combat. At the same time you do lose some of usefull complexity a d20 can provide.

The Location D6 (or D12) is a cute gimmick. (What more 'useful complexity' do you think a D20 provides, though?)

But if you want simpler, faster, streamlined combat - why not just use BRP? The default, that is: no hit locations... ;)

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A d100 hit location table?

It works pretty well in practice.

I've probably got about a dozen games with d% hit location tables.

The most fearsome hit location table I've ever seen is the default system for Tri-Tac Systems (games like Stalking the Night Fantastic, Incursion, FTL 2448, etc.) which has you roll d% for hit location (around 25 or so locations are specified) and then has a 2d6 roll that's handled as two numbers (so the results are 1,1; 1,2; 1,3;...). Each location is roughly about an inch or so of flesh.

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A d100 hit location table?

Because BRP is a d100 system, a non-d100 table is better if you're using the hit locations option - so you can roll your HitLoc D20/D6/D12 at the same time as your d100 attack dice, and can tell it apart. That's the way to streamline it...

Britain has been infiltrated by soviet agents to the highest levels. They control the BBC, the main political party leaderships, NHS & local council executives, much of the police, most newspapers and the utility companies. Of course the EU is theirs, through-and-through. And they are among us - a pervasive evil, like Stasi.

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The most fearsome hit location table I've ever seen is...

Your own Major Wound Chart is pretty scary! :eek:

Britain has been infiltrated by soviet agents to the highest levels. They control the BBC, the main political party leaderships, NHS & local council executives, much of the police, most newspapers and the utility companies. Of course the EU is theirs, through-and-through. And they are among us - a pervasive evil, like Stasi.

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The Location D6 (or D12) is a cute gimmick. (What more 'useful complexity' do you think a D20 provides, though?)

But if you want simpler, faster, streamlined combat - why not just use BRP? The default, that is: no hit locations... ;)

That's too streamlined! :D

But I am thinking of using only general hit points, while still keeping the location dice.

SGL.

Ef plest master, this mighty fine grub!
b1.gif 116/420. High Priest.

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But I am thinking of using only general hit points, while still keeping the location dice.

Well you might care to try what I do, then - only rolling for location when it's a major wound* (or equivalent) - which feels fine to me, and works well (with a sub-table of wounds relevant to each location). The players seem to like it, because when I innocently ask "Location?" they know they've probably felled the monster.

(* and on rarer occasions it's significant, like net-entanglement, grappling, wildly inconsistent armour, splats of green slime... :))

Well, I didn't make that one up... I just updated it.

Having now seen it, I agree the Major Wound Chart isn't much use as a hit location chart. But since you didn't invent it, I hope you won't be too offended if I come up with an alternative, that combines both functions...

Britain has been infiltrated by soviet agents to the highest levels. They control the BBC, the main political party leaderships, NHS & local council executives, much of the police, most newspapers and the utility companies. Of course the EU is theirs, through-and-through. And they are among us - a pervasive evil, like Stasi.

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Well you might care to try what I do, then - only rolling for location when it's a major wound* (or equivalent) - which feels fine to me, and works well (with a sub-table of wounds relevant to each location).

That is a good idea, but I my players object if they can't have different armor points on different hit locations. Which is why I'm considering a simpler location dice, to use with general hit points & major wounds rules. I'd be interested to see your take on a major wounds/hit location table. :)

SGL.

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my players object if they can't have different armor points on different hit locations.

Ah, I can sympathize with them there. But my players usually don't, reserving their objections more for the perceived slowness of d100 combat, and how few hit points they get (D&D-ers. :rolleyes:). So...

The location/injury tables I currently use are here. It's vaguely based on an article for Aftermath in a very old White Dwarf, with just a touch of Rolemaster criticals for good measure. It strikes me that it may actually be more useful to you than the all-in-one version I was planning to adapt from the BRP wounds chart, though there is the slight problem of having two different levels of "major" wound (i.e. serious/critical, corresponding to the D&D healing spells).

Britain has been infiltrated by soviet agents to the highest levels. They control the BBC, the main political party leaderships, NHS & local council executives, much of the police, most newspapers and the utility companies. Of course the EU is theirs, through-and-through. And they are among us - a pervasive evil, like Stasi.

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I had the same idea as Kloster (and am also a former Top Secret player). I plan on using a house rule where the 1s digit of the attack roll determines the hit location

1-2=head

3-6=body

7= l arm

8 = r arm

9= l leg

10= r leg

That seems to me to be the simplist method. You don't even have to roll a seperate die for hit location.

At the same time, I recognize that the purpose of the new BRP rulebook is not to change the system, but to compile all the rules from the different pre-existing BRP games into one consistent set of rules: "Chaosium's Greatest Hits" so to speak. Don't you hate it when a band records a new version of one of their songs for the greatest hits album? Same principle applies here.

That's why I am content to keep it as a house rule.

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The "swap the dice for hitloc" method has been tried out during the MRQ playtest, and it simply does not work with BRP. With your hit location table, you would simply have ALL criticals hit the rigth leg.

The system is fine as it is - either general hit points only, or a d20 roll for hit location.

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I think a purely random method for generating a hit location is not a good thing.

I'd take into consideration the player's description, and adjust the outcome according to the attack level of success and the damage taken.

For instance, if a player says "I aim the head", rolls a normal success and deals 1 point of damage, I'd describe he hit his opponent's shoulder, or arm if he has made a parry.

I'd only keep track of a wound locations in case of a major wound.

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Personally, I prefer Hit Locations to only come into play if a player specifically aims for something, otherwise they just slow down combat (in my experience) and lead to armless-legless PCs (not something most of my players are that keen on experiencing).

However, when I do use HL, I much prefer HERO's 3d6 Location roll. I think the linear nature of a simple d20 providing basically the same % chance to hit the head as there is to hit the chest (or nearly) is way off. Also the HERO method allows for Aim High, or Aim Low for when you are either doing something like a fist fight (and you just aren't ever going to hit the leg) or have a relative height advantage/disadvantage. And since the fantasy bestiary came out, there are all sorts of HL for weirdly shaped monsters.

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The Location D6 (or D12) is a cute gimmick. (What more 'useful complexity' do you think a D20 provides, though?)

But if you want simpler, faster, streamlined combat - why not just use BRP? The default, that is: no hit locations... ;)

I think hit locations are great for running survival horror style games, like I'm planning on doing. That way you can know what limbs were hacked off and what the effects would be--such as how long the PC has till they bleed out. It makes the survival factor much more important.

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For missile attacks, this hit loc table may be interesting - it's based on US statistics for gunshot wounds suffered in assaults.

The black rivers of pitch that flow under those mysterious cyclopean bridges - things built by some elder race extinct and forgotten before the beings came to Yuggoth from the ultimate voids - ought to be enough to make any man a Dante or Poe if he can keep sane long enough to tell what he has seen.

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