Hit location dice

[badcat]

Almost. I understand the new book is most similar to SB5, that way, so yes but the SB1 chart is simpler with fewer results. Stuff like, 'your right leg is amputated, lose 1d6 Dex and x movement' and so on. The chart in the new book will probably have provisions to dress up the effects (if it is like SB5), give some choices on the fly, like 'this happens, or this, depending on this' and 'like x, above, but worse'. It's more of a guide whereas the earlier SB1 version was more explicit. But the general idea and game effect should be about the same, yes. It has the advantage that you don't worry about where the hit is unless it truly is critical. No round to round tracking until someone does get seriously hurt. The really good thing about the upcoming BRP is that it looks as if everything can be modified to taste with a minimum of confusion. Sort of like GURPS with less in the way of attachments. Hmmm, better reserve judgement on that last. 384 pages of rules is a lot of rules for a game that up until now pretty much consisted of just a few dozen pages of game system rules. We'll soon see. I mean I will, most of the people with the 0 edition seem pleased with the content.

[soltakss]

Originally Posted by Trifletraxor

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

Not really.

Originally Posted by Trifletraxor

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

No chest/abdomen, all hit locations have the same chance.

Originally Posted by Trifletraxor

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.

So, different dice for different body types. It takes the simplicity away from a very simple concept.

Originally Posted by Trifletraxor

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

I like the D20. If I were to change it, I'd use a D100, especially if I needed to roll crunchier locations - hands, feet, limb sections, areas of the body etc.

But a D20 is quick and easy and we have hit locations for a lot of body types from older versions of the RQ rules.

[sdavies2720]

Am I the only one throwing non-humanoid opponants against the players? Even with a D20, we can be short on enough numbers to vary probabilities.

I've been playing with some blank D20s to make custom hit locations. I've gotten tired of the "I hit him in the 4...left leg...no, dummy that's for humans...oh yeah, hold on...tail..." dialog. But our game likes hit locations and the "we're battle-scarred survivors" effect that piecing armor together gives them.

Inking a bunch of Dice turned out to be a problem, and I'd have to keep them all sorted...eek. But your graphic gave me an inspiration. I'll try printing up some chits for hit location and have people draw from a bag. We'll see how that works.

Steve

[The Last Conformist]

I've got an old RPG* that used a special deck of cards to determine hit loc. Each card lists different locs for high, medium, and low melee attacks plus for ranged attacks and a special one for non-humanoid opponents, which has results like "wings (stomach)" meaning the creature's wings are hit if it's got any, else the stomach. It's clever in that it can handle quite different creatures with a single table.

(Something it doesn't handle well are creatures with more than four legs (six if you count wings).)


* It's called The Guide to Adventure and used to be available for free on the 'Net, but appears to've dropped of the edge of the earth.

[Tywyll]

Originally Posted by RosenMcStern

3d6 is nonlinear (it is a bell curve). It is perfect for determining chances of success, as it naturally models casuality and statistics. It is less perfect when you have to design your own critters from scratch.

After designing hit location tables for weird monsters for years for RQ3, I can definitely state that 3d6 is a no-no unless you know that nothink non-humanoid is coming into play, and d100 is definitely more realistic, but a tidbit complicate. D20 is simple enough to design new creatures in a few minutes, and flexible enough to provide for a minimum of realism.

Eh... I found the tables in the Hero Bestiary seem to cover most weird monsters (winged creatures/humanoids, insects, wyrms, dragons, etc). I still find the advantages (high and low shots, rarity of head shots versus body shots, etc) outweigh the disadvantages of a linear system (even a d100 which is ultimately still a linear system).

[RosenMcStern]

High and low shots are in fact easier to do with d20 than with 3d6. Just roll 1d10 (low) or 1d10+10 (high). The point is that an unlinear progression of numbers does not guarantee that contiguous hit locations will be contiguous on the table. And please do not repeat "it's all done there". I know it is there. The point is that d20 allows you to easily design more monsters, the ones not yet invented. 3d6 does not.

As for the likeliness of head shots, with the missile hit loc table, it is one head shot in 20 versus one body shot in three. Seems fair enough to me.

[badcat]

I do OK with a D12...

[frogspawner]

Originally Posted by badcat

We'll soon see. I mean I will, most of the people with the 0 edition seem pleased with the content.

Well, there is a lack of clarity over combat, especially the Attack/PArry Matrix. But Jason said he'd revisit that for 1st ed.

Originally Posted by badcat

I do OK with a D12...

Yes, the poor old D12 needs more use. And The Last Conformist's RW missile stats seem to show the probabilities are remarkably suited to either D6 or D12...

Head / Neck - 14%
Arm / Hand - 13%
Leg / Foot - 33%
Upper Trunk - 21%
Lower Trunk - 16%
Not Specified - 3%

...but the D12 wins, because the surprisingly low incidence of Arm hits means 1 pip on the D6 should be for both arms, whereas a D12 could differentiate them, with 1 face for left and 1 for right.

[GianniVacca]

Originally Posted by soltakss

But a D20 is quick and easy and we have hit locations for a lot of body types from older versions of the RQ rules.

Yes... that's a very good reason -- all those legacy bestiaries.

[Kloster]

Originally Posted by frogspawner

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

Heretic!!

Runequestement votre

Kloster