From: JOVANOVIC@CUCCFA.CCC.COLUMBIA.EDU
Date: Fri 02 Jul 1993 - 02:16:31 EEST
RQIV Damage Bonus, Weapon Damage, Armor and Hit Location Proposals
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The following document contains a number of proposed changes to the
RQ damage system (a number of which based on comments from various
playtesters). Since this particular set of changes would result in
a significant change from the current rules, we are very interested
in getting your feedback on whether you think they would be worth
implementing.
To give you some background, these changes were made in response to
a number of comments on the RQIII damage system. The comments
included complaints regarding the sudden jumps in the damage bonus
table, and the odd mathematical progression of the current damage
bonus table. The other major set of complaints had to do with the
extreme amounts of damage RQIII weapons did. Essentially, given the
ease of achieving a 1D4 damage bonus in RQIII (since an average
human in RQIII has 13 SIZ, and would need but a 12 STR to obtain a
1D4 damage bonus) and the damage done by weapons, most weapons,
even daggers, would incapacitate whatever location they struck
on an average or above average (12-13 HP) human. An average
dagger blow (1D4+2+1D4, or 7 points of damage) would sever or
irrevocably maim the arm of an average human (with 3 HP arms).
The weakest possible blow (4 points of damage) would automatically
render the arm useless - there is no chance of a light wound occuring.
A second set of comments came from a number of people that found
keeping track of two hit location tables (Melee and Missile/Spell)
an unnecessary complication.
To address the first of these issues, we have developed and tested a series
of changes to damage bonus, weapon damage and AP values for parry armor
and armor. Damage bonus is smoother, has far less extreme breakpoints,
and is much easier to apply. Weapon damage was reduced and simplified
slightly (for the most part, by simply removing any adds to weapon dice,
that is a 1D8+1 Broadsword would now do 1D8 damage). This makes rolling
weapon damage faster and simpler (particularly useful for GMs), since
now the GM generally need only roll 1D8+2, to calculate weapon and damage
bonus damage, as opposed to RQIII, where a typical damage roll would be
1D8+1+1D4. The weapon die roll still retains a strong random element
with respect to the amount of damage done - so one can still land
a weak blow or a solid blow. However, since the total amount of damage
done is slightly reduced by these changes, the results of weapon damage
now seem slightly more realistic - a good dagger blow might well render
an arm useless, but would not on the average sever or irrevocably maim
the arm. A weak dagger blow might leave the arm still functional.
Heavier weapons have more serious effects, but in general weapon damage
seems to have a more realistic set of effects, and is simpler to calculate
than in RQIII. To compensate for the slight decrease in weapon damage, weapon
parry AP and armor AP were slightly reduced - typically by 2 AP - which brings
armor values back in line with RQ2 values, for those of you familiar with RQ2.
To address the second issue, we have a single hit location chart which
combines the melee and missile hit location charts. Using the melee
chart or missile/spell chart alone to cover both types of actions
seemed unrealistic (if using the melee chart alone, spells and missiles
tend to hit the legs most often, and the abdomen or chest very rarely,
which seems unreasonable; if using the missile chart alone, head
hits seemed too infrequent, and chest hits too frequent).
Although we feel that both of these changes address some of the comments
we've received and are improvements on the current set of rules, we're
not sure whether people currently playing RQ2 or RQIII feel that their
advantages outweigh their disadvantages, namely that they would force
conversion of PC and NPC damage bonus and weapon damage statistics in
current RQIII games and in published RQIII scenarios. Thus the reason
for the distribution of this document - following the rules changes
described below is a simple two question survey. We would greatly
appreciate receiving your responses to the survey.
Thank you,
Oliver Jovanovic
DAMAGE BONUS
Damage Min. Avg.
STR+SIZ Bonus STR+SIZ
1-5 -4 1
6-10 -3 3
11-25 -2 6
16-20 -1 8
21-25 0 11
26-30 +1 13
31-35 +2 16
36-40 +3 18
41-45 +4 21
46-50 +5 23
51-55 +6 26
56-60 +7 28
Each +5 add 1
Footnote to Damage Bonus Table
Damage bonus for large creatures (or any creature) can be
simply calculated by dividing the creatures STR+SIZ by
5, rounding up, and subtracting 5.
[This set of changes is meant to smooth out the progression of
MELEE WEAPONS
Damage AP A% P% SR ENC STR DEX Cost Notes
1H Swinging
1H Axe
Hatchet 1d6 6 15 10 2 0.5 5 9 10
1H Dagger
Knife 1d3 3 15 10 3 0.2 0 0 5 Easy
1H Flail
Grain Flail 1d6 4 10 5 2 1 7 9 5 (vs. 3/4 Def)
1H Mace
Singlestick 1d4 4 15 10 2 0.5 7 7 3
1H Hammer
Warhammer 2d4 6 15 5 2 2 9 9 60
1H Sword
Shortsword 1d6 6 15 10 2 1 7 7 40
1H Thrusting
1H Dagger
Knife 1d4 3 15 10 3 0.2 0 0 5 Easy
1H Spear
Javelin 1d4 4 10 5 2 1.5 5 7 30
1H Sword
Shortsword 1d4 6 15 10 2 1 5 7 40
Lance
Lance 1d10 8 5 5 0 3.5 7 7 75
2H Swinging
2H Axe
Battleaxe 1d10 8 5 5 2 1 7 9 50
2H Flail
Military Flail 1d10 8 5 5 1 2.5 13 11 120 (vs. 3/4 Def)
2H Mace
Quarterstaff 1d8 8 10 15 1 1.5 9 7 5
2H Hammer
Great Hammer 1d10 8 10 10 1 2.5 11 9 100
2H Sword
Swordstick 1d10 8 10 15 1 2 7 13 75
2H Thrusting
2H Spear
Javelin 1d6 4 15 15 2 1.5 5 7 30
2H Sword
Swordstick 1d8 8 5 15 1 2 7 13 75
Fist
Fist
Fist 1d3 3 30 30 3 0 0 0 NA Easy
Kick
Kick 1d4 3 15 5 3 0 0 0 NA
Grapple
Grapple 1d4 3 30 30 3 0 0 0 NA
MISSILE WEAPONS
Damage AP A% P% ENC(m) STR DEX Cost Notes
Blowgun
Blowgun 1d3 2 5 5 .5(.05) 0 9 25 Easy
Bow
the damage bonus, eliminate the extreme breakpoints, and
simplify and speed the calculation of damage. The progression
at higher levels is very similar to RQIII (1D6 per 16 points, or
3.5 per 16 points in RQIII, vs. 3 per 15 points or 3.2 per 16 points).]
Battleaxe 1d8 8 10 5 2 1 7 9 50
Dagger 1d4 4 15 10 3 0.5 0 0 15 Easy
Main Gauche 1d4 6 10 15 3 1 0 9 50 Easy
War Flail 1d8 6 5 5 2 2 9 11 100 (vs. 3/4 Def)
Light Mace 1d6 6 15 5 2 1 9 7 25
Heavy Mace 1d8 8 15 5 2 2.5 13 7 40
Sickle 2d3 5 10 10 2 1 7 9 30
Scimitar 2d4 8 10 10 2 1.5 7 9 60
Broadsword 1d8 8 10 10 2 1.5 9 7 60
Bastard Sword 1d8 9 10 10 2 2 13 7 125
Dagger 1d4 4 15 10 2 0.5 0 0 15 Easy
Main Gauche 1d4 6 10 15 2 1 0 9 50 Easy
Spear 1d6 6 10 5 2 2 7 7 15
Heavy Spear 1d8 8 10 5 2 2.5 9 7 30
Scimitar 2d3 8 10 10 2 1.5 5 9 60
Broadsword 1d6 8 10 10 2 1.5 7 7 60
Scythe 1d10 6 10 10 1 2.5 9 9 10
Greataxe 2d6 8 10 10 1 2 13 9 75
Poleaxe 2d6 8 5 10 1 2.5 13 9 125
Heavy Mace 1d10 8 10 10 2 2.5 13 7 40
War Maul 2d6 9 10 10 1 3 13 9 50
Troll Maul 2d8 10 10 10 1 5 17 7 50
Bastard Sword 1d10 9 10 10 2 2 13 7 125
Great Sword 2d6 9 10 5 1 3.5 11 13 250
Spear 1d8 6 15 15 1 2 9 7 15
Heavy Spear 1d10 8 15 15 1 2.5 11 7 30
Pike 1d10 10 15 5 0 3.5 11 7 50
Great Sword 1d10 9 5 5 1 3.5 11 13 250
Cestus +1 5 30 30 3 1 9 0 25 Easy
Claw 1d4 5 15 15 3 1 7 9 50 Easy
Short Bow 1d6 3 5 5 .5(.05) 9 9 75 4
Nomad Bow 1d8 4 5 5 .5(.05) 13 9 200 5
Crossbow
Light Crossbow 1d6 4 30 5 3.5(.05) 9 7 100 Easy
Med. Crossbow 1d8 5 30 5 5(.05) 11 7 200 Easy
Heavy Crossbow 1d10 6 30 5 8(.05) 13 7 300 Easy
Javelin
Dart 1d6 3 15 5 0.5 7 9 15
Javelin 1d8 4 15 5 1.5 9 9 30
Ataltl +2 4 5 5 0.5 7 9 15 Launcher
Lasso
Rope Special NA 5 NA 1 9 11 75
Pole Special 4 15 5 3 9 9 50
Sling
Sling Stone 1d6 NA 5 NA .1(.05) 5 11 NA
Sling Bullet 1d8 NA 5 NA .1(.1) 5 11 0.1
Staff Sling
Stone 1d8 4 15 5 1.5(.1) 7 9 NA
Bullet 1d10 4 15 5 1.5(.2) 7 9 0.5
Throw
Rock 1d3 NA 15 NA 0.5 5 11 NA Easy
Thrown Axe
Throwing Axe 1d6 5 15 5 0.5 9 11 40
Thrown Knife
Throwing Knife 1d4 4 5 5 0.2 5 11 40
Shuriken 1d3 NA 5 NA 0.1 0 13 10
SHIELDS
Damage AP A% P% SR ENC STR DEX Cost Notes
Small 1d3 8 5 15 3 2 5 7 50 Assumes wood.
Medium 1d4 10 5 20 3 4 7 7 75 Leather: -1 AP
Large 1d6 12 5 25 3 6 9 7 100 and 1/2 cost
Bronze: +1 AP
and 2x cost
Footnotes for Melee Weapon, Missile Weapon and Shield Tables
Using a 1H weapon 2H adds 2 to effective STR.
Can trade excess STR for DEX, 2 to 1 to meet DEX minimum.
For each point of STR or DEX below weapon minimum, -10 to skill.
[This set of changes is meant to bring weapon damage to slightly
more realistic levels, at the same time simplifying and speeding
the calculation of weapon damage by simplifying the number and
kind of dice rolled. Weapon AP have been adjusted to take into
account the slightly reduced damage done by weapons.]
ARMOR
Area Protected Type Material AP ENC Cost
Legs Greaves Leather 1 1 15
Heavy Leather 2 2 20
Cuirboilli 3 2 40
Bronze Scale 5 9 125
Bronze 6 7 600
Trews Leather 1 1 15
Bronze Ringmail 4 3.5 70
Bronze Brigandine 5 8 150
Bronze Chainmail 5 7 300
Abdomen Skirts Leather 1 .5 5
Heavy Leather 2 1 10
Linen 3 2 8
Bronze Scale 5 4 50
Bronze Chainmail 5 3 120
Chest Byrnie Leather 1 .5 8
Heavy Leather 2 1 12
Bronze Ringmail 4 2 40
Bronze Chainmail 5 4 160
Curiass Linen 3 2 12
Cuirboilli 3 1 24
Bronze Brigandine 5 4.5 90
Bronze Scale 5 5 70
Bronze 6 4 320
Doublet Bronze Chainmail 6 6 240
Abdomen and Chest Hauberk Leather 1 1 15
Heavy Leather 2 2 20
Linen 3 3.5 20
Bronze Ringmail 4 3.5 70
Bronze Brigandine 5 8 150
Bronze Scale 5 9 130
Bronze Chainmail 5 7 280
Arms Sleeves Leather 1 .5 8
Bronze Ringmail 4 2 40
Bronze Chainmail 5 4 160
Vambraces Heavy Leather 2 1 12
Cuirboilli 3 1 24
Bronze Brigandine 5 4.5 90
Bronze Scale 5 5 70
Bronze 6 4 320
Head Hood Leather 1 .5 4
Bronze Ringmail 4 2 20
Bronze Chainmail 5 4 80
Open Heavy Leather 1 1 6
Helm Cuirboilli 2 1 12
Bronze Scale 4 4 30
Bronze 5 3 120
Closed Bronze Scale 5 5 35
Helm Bronze 6 4 160
Footnotes for Armor Table
Cuirboilli, Bronze Ringmail, Bronze Brigandine, Bronze Scale, Bronze Chainmail
Overlapping armor has little effect normally - if the lighter of the
and Bronze Plate armor has padding already taken into account in its AP and
ENC values.
overlapping armors has at least 3 AP, add 1 AP to value of the heavier armor,
but make sure to count the full ENC of the overlapping armor. Two pieces of
hard armor (greaves, curiass, vambraces, open or closed helm) may not be
overlapped. Armor must be properly designed to take full advantage of
overlaps, and most Gloranthan cultures do not have the level of technology to
do so.
More advanced forms of armor exist in the advanced cultures of the West and
among the Mostali. These include bronze platemail (7 AP, 30 ENC and 3000L
for a full suit) and bronze full plate armor (8 AP, 25 ENC and 7000L
for a full suit). They are not normally available in other parts of Glorantha.
[These armor values are slighly reduced to take into account the slight
reduction in weapon values, bringing them in line with RQ2 armor values.]
HIT LOCATION TABLE
Melee, Missile and Spell Hit Location Table for Humans and Humanoids
D20 Location Description
19-20 Head Neck and head
16-18 Left Arm Entire left arm and shoulder
13-15 Right Arm Entire right arm and shoulder
11-12 Chest Rib cage and collarbone
07-10 Abdomen Groin to just under the rib cage
04-06 Left Leg Left leg from foot to groin level
01-03 Right Leg Right leg from foot to groin level
Footnote to Hit Location Table
The table is laid out so that one can roll 1D10 for blows from below,
and 1D10+10 for blows from above.
[A single table, which should speed and simplify the rolling of
hit locations. The table is also laid out to make it easy to
remember - splitting the body in half (abdomen/chest) along
the die half (10/11). A similar merging of melee and missile
hit location tables would occur with non-humans.]
SURVEY
1) In your opinion, are the proposed changes to damage bonus, weapon damage
and armor values worth making?
Yes/No
(For the purposes of this survey, please answer the above question
taking the whole of the changes to damage into account - if you
particularly like or dislike one or more of the changes, feel free
to append this to your answer.)
2) In your opinion, is the proposed change of using a single merged hit
location table worth making?
Yes/No
Please email your responses to:
jovanovic@cuccfa.ccc.columbia.edu
Feel free to simply reply:
1) Yes (or No)
Thanks again,
Oliver Jovanovic
2) No (or Yes)
0,,
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