Applying Bonus Damage in T20

[marvo]

Here's a question that my players and I have a question about. The damage system explains how you deduct 1 dice of damage for every point of armour. But what do you do with any extra plus damage? i.e. if something does 2d8+2, where do you apply the extra +2? Logic would dictate that you add this onto the last dice, but given the last dice will be the one that rolled highest anyway, this can make some attacks much more deadly. The alternate would be to split the damage between the dice, but I don't like that idea much.
With most guns etc, this is not really a problem, but the damage on the Animal Encounter tables can get really high. I suppose this makes some sense in a way. If the T-Rex type creature bites you for 3d8+8, your kevlar flak jacket is not going to help much.
Any thoughts anyone?

 

[far-trader]

I think its not meant to be added to any of the dice specifically, but added to the final damage. So for example:

A 2d8+2 attack vs AR 1 you lose 1 die for armor and take 1d8 (the high roll) +2 damage.

A 2d8+2 attack vs AR 2 you lose 1 die for armor and take 1d8-1 (the high roll less the armor soak) +2 damage.

This means that attacks with damage bonuses ignore AR for the bonus.

I'm not sure this is the intention or the right way, it just feels right to me. Like in your example of the love bite of a T-Rex it won't matter what kind of armor you're wearing, 8 points of hurt is gonna happen. I might reduce that as applicable to the scaling rules so that say a Battle Dress trooper (as a vehicle) being chewed on by a T-Rex (as a creature) is only going to take 3 points of damage a round (8-5 = 3 damage for scale) as the BD is slowly crushed, and the same T-Rex trying to chew on a Launch is just gonna get drool all over it (8-10 = no damage).

Hmm <scans weapons table> Now I want an ACR!

 

[marvo]

Hmm <scans weapons table> Now I want an ACR!

That's right, the ACR is the only gun that does +2 damage. My players discovered that, which is how my question first came up. If you are using special bullets, then you might have another +1 +2 or +3 to add on. For 'super' bullets I have been using cores made of Iridium. At just over twice the density of lead, that would be some stopping power. However, just to make it fair, I double the amunition weight.

 

[womble]

Iridium? Wow. They got money to burn too? It's mondo rare... though that's only terrestrially. It's 0.4 ppb by mass of the earth's crust, compared to lead (10000ppb) or Tungsten (1100ppb), but it's harder than Uranium, so it might make a good penetrator if its brittleness isn't too much of a handicap. Not good for a deforming round, though.

Curiously, it's three times more abundant than gold in asteroids or the rest of the Universe and four times more common than Tungsten.

Stopping power of bullets isn't based solely on their mass, either. If you double the mass of the bullet, it's travelling half as fast when it leaves the gun (assuming the explosion driving it applies the same force) which quarters the muzzle energy. If you want to increase the damage that way, you probably need to up the recoil modifiers too, as the propellent charge becomes more powerful to throw the heavier slug as fast as the lighter lead one. Add to that the extra strength/increased wear on the breech seal needed to accomodate the increased power of the propellant and you might throw enough factors in to persuade your players to reserve 'special rounds for special occasions'.

 

[Slink182]

One of my players is an Aslan. Let me tell you, in a hand-to-hand fight, he is EVIL! Almost all of his mods for damage are focussed into his dew claws.

Sure, he can USE a gun, but he just loves the up-close-in-your-face sort of confrontation.

 

[marvo]

One of my players is an Aslan. Let me tell you, in a hand-to-hand fight, he is EVIL! Almost all of his mods for damage are focussed into his dew claws.

I have one in my group too. Although the Aslan is a female academic she can get pretty nasty with her dew claws when Vargr are around. Aslan can also benefit from some of the more primitive hand-to-hand feats from standard D20 rules.

Curiously, it's three times more abundant than gold in asteroids or the rest of the Universe and four times more common than Tungsten.

Yes, I figured that there would be some rich sources out there somewhere. Even so, I made the cost x20. I am not really using iriduim rounds for standard weapons, just for BIG game (read dinosaur sized) hunting rifles.

T-Rex trying to chew on a Launch is just gonna get drool all over it (8-10 = no damage).

But what about the 40,000kg megasaur. It would have an average strength of 4d10+8. An average roll would give it a STR of 30. On the attribute table, that's +10. Now the bite may do +10, but according to the rules a trample does x2 damage. If it has 6 legs then x3. So, even a launch is going to get a few dents and the hated Mr Combat Monster in his battle dress is going to get flattened.

 

[far-trader]

Originally posted by Marvo:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> T-Rex trying to chew on a Launch is just gonna get drool all over it (8-10 = no damage).

But what about the 40,000kg megasaur. It would have an average strength of 4d10+8. An average roll would give it a STR of 30. On the attribute table, that's +10. Now the bite may do +10, but according to the rules a trample does x2 damage. If it has 6 legs then x3. So, even a launch is going to get a few dents and the hated Mr Combat Monster in his battle dress is going to get flattened. </font>[/QUOTE]What a beautiful bit of imagery you've painted in my mind

I thank you