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Caerwyn
Joined: 01 Mar 2008
Posts: 5
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 Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 11:38 am Post subject: How about this idea for deadly firearm damage in D20? |
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Now, I have no idea if some D20 game doesn't already have a similar mechanic.
This is a rough idea, inspired by Unisystem.
I'm thinking of using it for 'realistic' modern D20 gaming.
Anyone hit by firearm damage who is not undead or some other magical being automatically loses half of their current HP and then normal damage based on the weapon. (1d8 for a typical pistol)
Being hit by a burst means your HP gets halved only once, but you roll multiple damage die. (so three bullets from an UZI means you halve your HP and then take 3d8 damage)
Body armour means you lose only 1/4 of your HP + normal damage die afterwards.
This way, even weak characters with 10HP or so have a chance to survive a gun shot but even very strong characters with 50HP will go down in about two shots anyway. Of course this is horribly deadly.
Am I missing any obvious flaw to this? |
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zenten
Joined: 01 Mar 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 11:39 am Post subject: |
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| Sooo...the more hit points you have, the more damage a gun shot does to you? |
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Dulahan
Joined: 01 Mar 2008
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Aside from turning guns into "Magic Wands of Character Death"? Not much. Of course the real question here is: why should being shot by a gun be so much more lethal than being stabbed by a sword, or chopped by an axe? |
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Caerwyn
Joined: 01 Mar 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:06 pm Post subject: |
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It does seem to make firearms pretty overpowered.
In CyberPunk 2020, firearm damage was open-ended, which means that you rolled the damage die again if you rolled max damage. The problem with that is weapons with lower damage dice tended to roll more. Getting max damage on a d4 on consecutive rolls is clearly easier than with a d12. For that reason, firearm damage dice would need to be standardized to a large degree. For Example any type of rifle would use a d10 and any type of pistol would use a d8. |
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HNO3
Site Admin
Joined: 29 Feb 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:09 pm Post subject: |
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Quote:
Originally Posted by castiglione View Post
Sooo...the more hit points you have, the more damage a gun shot does to you?
Yes. The idea is that if you get shot, you're going to be in a very bad state regardless how strong and buff you are.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric Tolle View Post
Aside from turning guns into "Magic Wands of Character Death"? Not much. Of course the real question here is: why should being shot by a gun be so much more lethal than being stabbed by a sword, or chopped by an axe?
Note that in D20, getting below 0 hit points doesn't mean immidiate character death.
Why more deadly than sword and axes? Because not every hit with a melee weapon is a deadly hit. There are cuts and bruises and glancing hits. With bullets however, if you're hit then the bullet penetrates the body and it's alwas serious damage.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StormBringer View Post
It does seem to make firearms pretty overpowered.
I know not everyone likes the whole 'deadly realism' angle, but this is what I'm aiming for. Firearms being as scary (to humans) as they are in reality. |
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Argenon
Joined: 29 Feb 2008
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:13 pm Post subject: |
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It would probably be easier to just boost the damage then. Base it on size category and you should be good.
Fistfuls of dice slow things down, so you could roll a smaller base amount, like 2d8, then use a multiplier, maybe starting at x8 for Medium, then going up and down from there. |
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tim
Joined: 29 Feb 2008
Posts: 9
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:15 pm Post subject: |
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Oblivious ignorant elf View Post
Why more deadly than sword and axes? Because not every hit with a melee weapon is a deadly hit. There are cuts and bruises and glancing hits. With bullets however, if you're hit then the bullet penetrates the body and it's alwas serious damage.
Buh wha?
Quote:
I know not everyone likes the whole 'deadly realism' angle, but this is what I'm aiming for. Firearms being as scary (to humans) as they are in reality.
I'm all for deadly realism; you might be aiming for it, but you're not hitting the mark. The rule you're proposing makes firearms scarier than they are in real life. If you want to increase the lethality of firearms, then I suggest (assuming d20 Modern as the baseline):
Open-ended damage (if all the dice roll max).
or
Change the Fort save DC for massive damage from a straight 15, to 5, or 10 + damage.
or
Non-escalating hit points. !ANTISPAM_DEFENCE_WARNING! |
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zenten
Joined: 01 Mar 2008
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:17 pm Post subject: |
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| How do you account for grazes? Consider a threshold before applying this type of damage. |
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Dulahan
Joined: 01 Mar 2008
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:19 pm Post subject: |
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He doesn't - his system assumes every bullet hits you between the eyes, or punches a hole in your lungs or holes your kidney and has you going into septic shock.
Yet, getting hit with a sword isn't as bad because some of the sword shots are "only" grazes and nicks. ONLY?!?! WTF?!?! A "graze" from a sword being swung at your head with murderous intent would still suck! You'll end up getting semi-scalped. It might not incapacitate you but running around with your scalp hanging down over your eyes might affect your ability to defend yourself. !ANTISPAM_DEFENCE_WARNING! |
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