Some rules clarifications (1)

[karask]

How do you rule the following scenarios:

1) Healing skill off-combat.
a. Should healing a minor wound (1d6) be automatic (the rules say you shouldn't really roll of combat but it seems quite powerful)
b. If the wounded has 2 minor wounds can the healer heal both separately ?

I am considering:
i. Allow a) but only once
ii. Allow all wounds to be treated separately without a skill roll but heal 1hp per wound (or something like that).

 

2) I see that in the rules, Ready Weapon is a full CR !!  This seems to much. Unsheathing a sword seems much easier/faster and one might even do it as part of his movement... no?

I am considering:
i. Unsheathing requires losing movement
ii. Unsheathing requiress movement and action (so you are only left with a reaction)

 

3) Let's say a troll (size 26) attacks a human (size 11) with its claw. What size is the claw considered? What if it was a dragon attacking?
i. I am considering some kind of simple table for specifying natural weapon sizes based on creature size...

 

4) If one successfully parries a claw attack with a shield will the troll take the shield's bash damage (as it would if the defender was using a weapon) ?
i. I am considering no...

 

What do you guys think?

Thank you

 

 

[Sunwolfe]

Hey, Karask! 

Interesting questions. Sounds like you're hosting an active and lively table. Cheers!

The following is how I would rule your scenarios at my table.

A caveat is in order, however, to avoid repetition:  I adopted OQ over other BRP iterations because I was looking for simplicity. Over the years "Rules-Creep" (a common BRP malady) had contributed to less and less roleplaying and more and more simulation at my table. The RPG fun we'd had when I was a teen was in short supply. As adults, we'd evolved into rule-oriented discussioneers as apposed to roleplaying engineers. Thus, though I have tinkered with OQs mechanics (another BRP disease and as mentioned in other posts), I am a hard-core advocate of keeping it simple, believing that less time in dice-rolling means more time for role-playing. 

With that in mind...off we go! :-)

1.a.) In the spirit of the rules (30) if the situation was not critical or performed under stressful conditions, I'd rule that there was no need for a skill roll and that the application was successful. Next, I'd ask the healer to: "...roll 1d6 and see how well you did." 

1.b.) Because I don't use hit-locations to keep track of such things, I would only allow the Healer a single roll for the overall HP damage regardless of how many minor wounds the injured took.

2.) Each combat round is about 5 seconds. Considering all that goes on, or could go on, in a combat round, I feel that's a good middle ground for me without going full Youtube-and-a-stop-watch simulationist on my role-playing crew. While the Ready-Weapon rule does say it takes "...one combat round" to do so; later the paragraph also says it takes "A single Ready-Weapon action..."(60). Thus, I rule readying a weapon takes their Combat Action, but they still get their Defensive Reaction if they need it (60). BRP combat in any of it's iteration is deadly by nature. I try to avoid taking any advantages from my players.

3.) It's all about the Damage Modifier table, baby (16)! That troll has a SIZ and STR of 52 and thus gets a DM +2d6 to his 1d6 claw. The dragon on the other claw, has a SIZ and STR of 135 and thus gets his apocalyptic +7d6 DM adde to his 1d8 claw. Looks like your table has been written for you :-)

4.) I say no as well; indeed, it's the PC who's in trouble. A shield bash is an attack and therefore a Combat Action. What you've described is a Defensive Action. If it was my troll, I'd decide if the 1d6+2d6 claw was a medium, large, or huge weapon (I'm going with medium). Thus, after the PC's successful parry, I'd ask him if his shield was a small, medium, large or huge? If the PC's parrying shield/weapon was medium sized, our hero is good to go as it blocks all the troll's damage. If it was small, however, PC's going to take half of troll boy's damage because he's blocking a medium attacking weapon with a small parrying weapon. Could be Major Wound time.

As for that dragon, I'll be conservative and call the claws (plural) large. PC better at least have a large shield (hoplon or sputum) and an amazing plan because in my game, a SIZ 135 dragon really doesn't need to engage a SIZ 14 creature with any seriousness. Enchanted armor or no, if the worm steps on the PC, concussion damage alone is going to break something that would probably have been better left whole. And if the surface beneath the PC is unyielding stone...well, yeah, there it is.

Anyway, there's my perspective! YOCMV!

Cheers, mate!

 

[karask]

Hi Sunwolfe!

Thank you for the feedback! I like OQ for its simplicity as well. Are the numbers in parenthesis pages? If yes, I cannot find them either in OQ Deluxe or the OQ Basic. 

1) I don't have hit locations either but in general we keep wounds separately. But I prefer what you suggested as well (the i. option). Just once and automatic.

2) Losing only combat action is fair.

3) I am considering the natural weapon to be one size smaller than the creature... but it would depend on the creature and the table helps!

4) Agreed!

Cheers!

 

 

[Sunwolfe]

18 hours ago, karask said:

Are the numbers in parenthesis pages? If yes, I cannot find them either in OQ Deluxe or the OQ Basic. 

Hmmm. That's interesting.

They're MLA style page references for the OQ 2nd Edition Deluxe hard cover and accompanying .pdf (which though its pages are numbered the same, the .pdf is chronologically off by one because the numbering includes the cover).

(16) is referring to the Damage Modifier table in the center of the left hand column.

(30) is referring to the right-column box "Game Master's Advice" and specifically the "When to call for a skill test" advice concerning when to call for a skill test.

(60) is referring to the "Ready Weapon" ruling at the bottom of the left hand column.

Cheers!

[karask]

Ah.. my mistake. It makes sense to look at the actual page... not the pdf page :-)

Regarding Ready Weapon (60) (I re-read the text) I think it means the full round. It is actually more explicit a bit later where it says:

"Sheathing one weapon and drawing another takes two Combat Rounds,, as does readying two weapons"

I will actually rule it to take a single action (like divine) and if you have 100+% you can split and even attack at the same round. If you can do it with divine spells I feel it is fair. Again at least half of % has to go to unsheathe the weapon.

I will see how it works in practice (not much experience with OQ) and decide.

 

By the way, why does the attack split if >100% does not apply for ranged weapons?  For balancing reasons? 

Let me know what you think.

Cheers

Edited April 25, 2017 by karask
confirmed dodge > 100% rule and removed

[Sunwolfe]

18 hours ago, karask said:

Regarding Ready Weapon (60) (I re-read the text) I think it means the full round. It is actually more explicit a bit later where it says:

"Sheathing one weapon and drawing another takes two Combat Rounds,, as does readying two weapons"

I see where you're coming from on this and agree. It takes a round to ready a

weapon. In my game, however, that only represents their combat action; they still get a Reactive Action (dodge or parry) in response to an incoming attack during the round they ready the weapon. That's what shields on the off hand are for ;-)))

18 hours ago, karask said:

By the way, why does the attack split if >100% does not apply for ranged weapons?  For balancing reasons? 

That's a good question. Presumably you could house-rule that archers with ranged skills of >100% could split their attacks and launch multiple arrows. It might have something to do with limitations on rate-of-fire and physically loading the weapon.