extra damage

[Deleted]

inspired by falcon's 'head-shot' house rule with a bow, here is a general house rule for all weapons/attacks that i'm twiddling with between my ears...

example:
Gyllantha attacks an orc with a dagger (held or thrown, doesn't matter for illustration). Her DX is 12 and she has Dagger+1 skill. Instead of rolling 3/DX, she elects to roll 4/DX to hit. If she passes that check, she may add the lowest die of the 4 die rolled to her damage. If she decided to make it a 5/DX to-hit roll and she passed, she would be able to add the 2 lowest die of the to-hit roll to her damage. etc.

thoughts? bodily functions?

[diocletias]

Couldn't find falcon's headshot rule, but I like this idea. Could be tough on characters when a high DX monster takes advantage of the rule. Follows a similar thought to the current ability Check rules in LAW.

[Deleted]

Nov 9, 2012 11:34:46 GMT -5 diocletias said:

Couldn't find falcon's headshot rule, but I like this idea. Could be tough on characters when a high DX monster takes advantage of the rule. Follows a similar thought to the current ability Check rules in LAW.

i got the impression that such special treatment for the bow was quite common. i'm not too fond of it...because it is 'special treatment'. the rule is something like 5/DX for an extra die of damage...don't really know the particulars myself...not real interested either...as said, i think it's too much 'bow-love'...'cupid's affliction'

anyways, glad you like it. i thought it seemed to flow like a logical river from the 'win against' check rules and gave all weapons a nice chance to do extra damage. using this and dropping the 'extra damage' option on weapons skills also brings weapons skills into complete 'harmony' with the other skills, however, that just another option. of course, this same 'extra die' idea could be applied to the other skills as well, if there is ever a situation that would benefit from it.

as far as monsters using it, wasn't too worried about that. the popular practice is to not play monsters too intelligently (ex. they don't counter-attack or dodge) unless the adventure text specifically instructs you to do something specific with them. neither have i seen or heard of an adventure yet where the monster has a weapon skill and the player must decide how the monster will use the weapon skill...for to-hit bonus or damage bonus...but i've only played the intro adventures and skimmed the 4 adventures i've bought (not to cheat but looking for examples on how to write things into an adventure; luckily, i have a very bad memory, so any 'secrets' i might have seen will be long forgotten by the time i actually play through)

[Deleted]

p.s. i may not have made this clear before but i would stipulate that you must have some level of skill with the weapon in question in order to use more die for the check.

[falcon]

Hey ewookie,
I like your idea on the extra damage for a head shot. This is what I had down for aimed shots. My thought is that it's not just with a bow but with any weapon ranged or melee.
Aimed Shots (Saves are made at a minus for each damage point Taken)
Head = 5/DX + weapon skill to hit, +1d6 damage. The subject must make a 3/ST save or be knocked out.
Weapon Arm = 4/DX + weapon skill, + 1d3 damage. The subject must make a 3/ST save or drop his weapon.
Shield Arm = 5/DX + weapon skill, +1d3 damage. The subject cannot subtract the armor of the shield to the damage roll. On a failed save, 3/ST, he loses his shield.
Leg = 4/DX + weapon Skill, +1d3 damage. The subject must make a 3/ST save or falls prone.

[Deleted]

can't say that i'm a fan of those aimed shot rules. they seem horrendously complicated to me but i'm a minimalist when it come to combat. however, for some reason (i'm crazy like this), i do like something like the following:

Feats of Strength
Knockdown...ST12...2F...After a successful hit, foe falls down. Foe loses next turn.
Knockout...ST14...3F...After a successful hit, win ST against foe to knock foe out. Foe will regain consciousness at the beginning of next encounter.

Feats of Dexterity
Disarm...DX12...2F...After a successful hit, disarm weapon or shield.
Trip...DX14...3F...After a successful hit, foe falls down. Foe loses next turn.

[terdwillow]

If I remember correctly, the old Melee and Wizard had a rule for extra damage built in didn't it?

16 = Auto Hit
17 = Double Damage
18 = Triple Damage

And I think the damage bonus came after modifications for armor and magic effects too. And the rule I always loved was...

3 = Miss and broken weapon
4 = Miss and dropped weapon
5 = Miss

I dont know how many times when someone was about to get Kronked did an errant 3 roll pop up and change the battle significantly. Without this rule... the DX roll almost became a waste of time when the char's DX got very high.

[Deleted]

i think it was the other way around. 3 and 4 were 2 and 1 extra die of damage and the upper numbers were misses, etc.

the rule i came up with here can be used in conjunction with the old extra damage rule or as an alternative. the idea was to give a character/player with a decent DX and some weapon skill a means to almost always do a little extra damage.

welcome to the board, um, terdwillow!
(your name smells a little punny but that's cool )

[mister frau blucher]

Hey terdwillow,

Welcome to the boards!

Yeah, switch those numbers around, and you are right. Our house rules have a 4 doing an extra die and 3 doing 2 extra dice of damage, rather than double and triple. I always felt that the double/triple thing was too powerful, but you are right that it often countered the advantage of high DX.

Bret

[terdwillow]

Oops..you're right..those are backwards. I think I like the idea of 1 or 2 more dice damage better also!

[Deleted]

i've never liked the extra damage die on a roll of 3 or 4. it seems too wild and too powerful. allies and enemies could die in one swing.

i'm not too crazy about the idea that started this thread anymore either. it has been supplanted by the idea here:
darkcitygames.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=gotopost&board=law&thread=21&post=2688