Originally posted by Supplement Four:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by tbeard1999:
The result are weapons that hit *and* cause damage virtually automatically.
I'm working on a two-roll CT damage system. Yes, it adds a new roll to the mix, but I think it will be "fun" during the game. Although not inspired by it, the thought of a "defense" roll is not new. Star Wars D6 (one of my all-time favorite games) for instance, has an optional rule for this type of thing.
"That Vargr fired his weapon and will hit you unless you EVADE!"
I picture a roll of 8+ needed to-hit. Many hits will be scored, but not all. If a hit is scored, then the target rolls a defense roll. If the defense roll is equal to or higher than the amount of the attack, the attack misses. Otherwise, it hits.
If the 8+ roll is not made on the attack roll, no defense roll is needed.
I'm still working on this, but once I get all the kinks worked out, I think it will eliviate some of the trouble you cite with the vanilla Book 1 system.
For example, all gun fire damage will be taken straight, summed together, from a single stat (just like the first blood rule, except that every gunshot will be handled this way). Brawling/Blade combat will be handled in the normal fashion where damage is taken in solid die from stats of the defender's choosing.
This way, the focus is to avoid being shot (the defense roll), but if you are shot, you'll probably be hurt badly. I'm setting it up to where actually getting shot is a difficult thing to accomplish (to keep characters alive), but a character, if shot, can also die, flat out, from a single gunshot wound.
Brawling/Blade combat is a different matter--more akin to vanilla CT as-is. </font>[/QUOTE]I was never able to come up with an agreeable 3 roll system like you describe. I've always been a little annoyed by the parry rolls in Runequest or defense rolls in GURPS. Maybe you'll have more success.
One thing I have toyed with is to simply assume *all* shots hit unless the target dodges, with the firer's skill (and other "to hit" modifiers) being a modifier to the dodger's roll. In Striker terms, the base dodge roll would be a 6+. If shot at by an assault rifle, with standard skill and autofire modifiers of +4, I'd say to the player "He shoots you. Roll a dodge at -4"
This system involves the player (and takes a lot of die rolling off the referee). It also limits the referee's ability to manipulate the dice, which may be a Good Thing or a Bad Thing depending on the group.
IMHO, the CT combat system is simply too limited to handle the range of weapons that it was asked to handle. A 2d6 roll with 8+ as the nominal base success roll does not give room for many modifiers. A mere +3 converts the to hit chance from about 40% to 83%. And the bell curve makes the extremes nearly useless. A 4+ to hit isn't materially worse than a 2+; while a 10+ to hit isn't really much better than a 12+ to hit. In both cases you'll hit or miss the vast majority of the time. This makes the range of *meaningful* modifiers quite small...say +/-3.
With gun combat skill levels ranging between 1-5 (and levels even higher aren't uncommon with Book 4), and DEX modifiers for combat rifles being +2 at DEX 8, it's very easy to break the system.
Striker suffers from this as well, but the problem is mitigated somewhat by the presence of a penetration roll that has few external modifiers.
If I were gonna try to fix CT, I'd address the fact that the external (i.e., non-range and non-armor) modifiers can easily break the 2d6 range.
The best solution I've found (that requires the least amount of surgery) is to reduce the all "external modifiers". Reduce all positive/negative DEX DMs to +/-1. Then use half the gun combat skill, rounded down.
Some comparisons: A man with a positive DEX modifier and Combat Rifle-3 fires an ACR burst (DS) at an cloth armored target at short range. He does likewise with an assault rifle.
In CT, he hits with the ACR on a 2+ (100%). With my system, he hits on a 5+ (83%).
In CT, he hits with the assault rifle on a 3+ (97%). With my system, he hits on a 6+ (72%).
I'd leave the negative modifiers (evasion, drawing a weapon, etc.) as is unless playtestig shows a problem.
An alternative would be to use a d12 instead of 2d6 and leave all the modifiers the same. This would help mitigate the automatic hit problem to some degree. Using a d20 with a to hit target number of 12+ would work very well. In that case, the ACR would hit on a 6+ (75%) and the assault rifle would hit on a 7+ (70%).
Of course, at the end of the day I'm not sure the result is worth the effort.
--Ty
