[Runequest] Ow being hit with a sword hurts

[Styopa]

On Tue, May 27, 2008 at 1:59 PM, <steve at limitedchaos.com> wrote:

> I also agree that d4+2 (plus any damage bonus) is a problem when a limb can
> be 3 points, or even 4. Maybe a more linear curve for damage is appropriate.
> Wayne had one for his old Defenders of Justice game that might be adaptable.
> Essentially a damage bonus kicks up the dice of the weapon. D6 becomes D8,
> etc. Perhaps all weapons are either d4 (daggers and such), d6 (swords and
> axes), or d8 (two-handers). Each also has a minimum Damage Factor (or
> something) which tells you how much of a damage bonus you have to have to
> increase the die of the damage. Perhaps 3x the max damage of the weapon? So
> someone with a dagger only has to exceed 6 in both STR and SIZ to increase,
> while someone with a broadsword has to have STR 9, SIZ 9, and Someone with a
> two-hander has to have 12/12. Assuming these are also the points where the
> die increases, it means that someone with 12/12 does just as much damage
> with a dagger as a two-handed sword.
>

No, but I've toyed strongly with the idea that crits are inherently a whacky
concept and should be dispensed with entirely.  It's odd, because I've
always LIKED the realistic fear a character should have of that duck with a
heavy crossbow pointed at your head.

Here's the thought:

Specials become freebies - ie, a special attack or a special parry leaves
you able to attack or parry again.  Criticals would then have the 2x damage
effect of current specials, without the ignore armor function.  A fumbled
parry or dodge escalates the quality of the opponent's strike - from miss to
hit, from normal hit to special, and from special to critical.  A fumble
when the opponent criticals would perhaps escalate it to the current 2x
damage + ignore armor supereffect.

Stupid idea?

The reason I bring this up is because I've always had a little trouble with:
- criticals bypassing magical protection?  Is it more logical that it does
or doesn't?  Gameplay ramifications of either way?  Or is Protection the
"assumed" gameplay solution to the risk of crits?
- criticals against natural armors
- criticals against massively well-armored and protected foes.  Should JoJo
the trollkin boy REALLY have a 1% chance to stick his toy dagger through the
breastplate of the Ogre Lord if he doesn't dodge or parry?
- crits against sorcerous damage resistance.

Oh, and a note from the current campaign: we have a sorcerer that's worked
his damage boosting up to 75%.  Therefore he maliciously wants to catch a
mosquito in a jar, cast damage boost +5 on it with 12 hour duration, and
arrange that the jar fall open in the lunar barracks.  Mosquito lands
unnoticed on otherwise generally filthy lunar hoplite, goes to bite him in
the neck, guy dies from massive head wound.  If mosquito isn't killed by his
reflexive response, repeat until hilarity ensues.  This character's goal is
to eventually get to damage boosting +15 to introduce 'decapitatory'
mosquitoes into Glorantha.
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