Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
I absolutely hate record keeping when I'm gaming. I keep track of ammo (or make my players do it), but I don't like it.
I like the idea behind the Weakened Blow rule in CT, but I'm not about to keep track of how many rounds a character took regular combat swings, and how many times he took the WB penalty early in order to save his combat blows for later in the fight. (So, I made another rule that addresses Weakened Blows that doesn't require me to count!)
Hit points? Same thing. I do not like having to record wounds, up and down, as a firefight rages on.
I still require wounds to reduce physical stats in the Classic Traveller method (see the Updated Classic Traveller Combat Sequence HERE.), partly because I've always admired how CT reduces a character's ability by actually reducing his stats with wounds.
But, I've thought recently on a new method applying damage to Classic Traveller characters--one that doesn't require bookkeeping.
Are you tired of recording keeping?
Do you hate juggling "hit points"?
Well, take a look at this...
(These are the BROAD STROKES. You'll have to refine the idea to suite your gaming tastes. The basic idea is here, and it lends itself well to fine tuning.)
DAMAGE THRESHOLD
Each character is given a Damage Threshold. The DT is a number--the average of the character's three physical stats. A character with STR-8, DEX-6, END-7 would have a DT = 7.
(Note: The DT can be fine tuned to your tastes. Maybe a random physical stat is used for the DT, rolled each time the charcter is wounded, in effect giving the character three DT's.)
WHEN A CHARACTER IS DAMAGED...
When a character is hit in combat, normal damage dice are rolled against the character's Damage Threshold.
DR < or = DT? The character is stunned for 1 round, but able to act normally the next.
DR > DT? The character is superficially wounded and may be knocked unconscious. Roll greater than damage on 2D to see if character is stunned/unconscious. If stunned/unconscious, the character stays that way for a number of round equal to the number the check missed by.
DR > or = twice DT? The charcter wounded. He's been shot. Stabbed. Broken a bone. Etc.
DR > or = thrice DT? The character is dead.
NOTES
See how this works? There's no record keeping. If a character is wounded, then a roll vs. the character's DT is made. The result of the roll determines how bad the wound is. The higher the character's stats, the better that character is at withstanding damage. The more damage dice a weapon has, the more likely it is that the weapon will do some serious damage on the character.
GMs can arrange the damage effects to suit their tastes.
In strick Classic Traveller terms...
To strictly mimic Classic Traveller damage terms, DR less than DT would be the same as a wound that didn't bring any physical stat to zero. DR equal to DT would be unconsciousness. DR equal to or greater than twice DT would be the same as a wound that brought two physial stats to zero. And, DR equal to or surpassing three times DT would mean character death (all three physcial stats at zero).
One way a GM might want to determine the character's DT would be to reason that a character's END is more important than STR or DEX in withstanding wounds and persevering through pain. This GM might say that a character's DT is equal to (DEX + STR + END + END) / 4. That way, END has twice as much weight in the DT as DEX or STR.
On the other hand, a GM who likes to roll a lot of dice might randomly roll one of the physical stats to stand as the DT each time the character is hit. Sometimes unmodified STR stands as the DT. Sometimes the random roll indicates that the value of DEX is the DT...etc.
Also, a GM could put in blanket wound penalties (since we are no longer keeping track of the physical stats moving up and down). This GM could say: Each wound that is not thrown above the character's DT requires a -1 for that character on all tasks he performs for the remainder of the fight, cumulative. Wounds that are equal to or higher than DT inflict a -2 penalty, cumulative. Wounds that are equal to or higher than twice DT incapacitates the character (because he's been shot or deeply stabbed or some other bad wound).
The damage effects are up to the GM.
I like the idea behind the Weakened Blow rule in CT, but I'm not about to keep track of how many rounds a character took regular combat swings, and how many times he took the WB penalty early in order to save his combat blows for later in the fight. (So, I made another rule that addresses Weakened Blows that doesn't require me to count!)
Hit points? Same thing. I do not like having to record wounds, up and down, as a firefight rages on.
I still require wounds to reduce physical stats in the Classic Traveller method (see the Updated Classic Traveller Combat Sequence HERE.), partly because I've always admired how CT reduces a character's ability by actually reducing his stats with wounds.
But, I've thought recently on a new method applying damage to Classic Traveller characters--one that doesn't require bookkeeping.
Are you tired of recording keeping?
Do you hate juggling "hit points"?
Well, take a look at this...
(These are the BROAD STROKES. You'll have to refine the idea to suite your gaming tastes. The basic idea is here, and it lends itself well to fine tuning.)
DAMAGE THRESHOLD
Each character is given a Damage Threshold. The DT is a number--the average of the character's three physical stats. A character with STR-8, DEX-6, END-7 would have a DT = 7.
(Note: The DT can be fine tuned to your tastes. Maybe a random physical stat is used for the DT, rolled each time the charcter is wounded, in effect giving the character three DT's.)
WHEN A CHARACTER IS DAMAGED...
When a character is hit in combat, normal damage dice are rolled against the character's Damage Threshold.
DR < or = DT? The character is stunned for 1 round, but able to act normally the next.
DR > DT? The character is superficially wounded and may be knocked unconscious. Roll greater than damage on 2D to see if character is stunned/unconscious. If stunned/unconscious, the character stays that way for a number of round equal to the number the check missed by.
DR > or = twice DT? The charcter wounded. He's been shot. Stabbed. Broken a bone. Etc.
DR > or = thrice DT? The character is dead.
NOTES
See how this works? There's no record keeping. If a character is wounded, then a roll vs. the character's DT is made. The result of the roll determines how bad the wound is. The higher the character's stats, the better that character is at withstanding damage. The more damage dice a weapon has, the more likely it is that the weapon will do some serious damage on the character.
GMs can arrange the damage effects to suit their tastes.
In strick Classic Traveller terms...
To strictly mimic Classic Traveller damage terms, DR less than DT would be the same as a wound that didn't bring any physical stat to zero. DR equal to DT would be unconsciousness. DR equal to or greater than twice DT would be the same as a wound that brought two physial stats to zero. And, DR equal to or surpassing three times DT would mean character death (all three physcial stats at zero).
One way a GM might want to determine the character's DT would be to reason that a character's END is more important than STR or DEX in withstanding wounds and persevering through pain. This GM might say that a character's DT is equal to (DEX + STR + END + END) / 4. That way, END has twice as much weight in the DT as DEX or STR.
On the other hand, a GM who likes to roll a lot of dice might randomly roll one of the physical stats to stand as the DT each time the character is hit. Sometimes unmodified STR stands as the DT. Sometimes the random roll indicates that the value of DEX is the DT...etc.
Also, a GM could put in blanket wound penalties (since we are no longer keeping track of the physical stats moving up and down). This GM could say: Each wound that is not thrown above the character's DT requires a -1 for that character on all tasks he performs for the remainder of the fight, cumulative. Wounds that are equal to or higher than DT inflict a -2 penalty, cumulative. Wounds that are equal to or higher than twice DT incapacitates the character (because he's been shot or deeply stabbed or some other bad wound).
The damage effects are up to the GM.
