CT Only: Hard Damage

[Supplement Four]

From experience, the CT damage system isn't as deadly as it's reputation would lead you to believe. If you survive the first hit, chances are your character will be knocked out, unconscious, before he is out-right killed.

I've always viewed that as CT's method of keeping PCs alive and combat fun.

But, if you want a little more realistic deadliness to your CT combat, I've been toying with an idea...



On any successful hit, subsequent to the first (because the First Blood rule is used), any doubles that result on the damage dice are applied randomly to the target's physical stats.

For example, the character is hit by a weapon that does 4D damage. The character has already suffered a wound in this combat, so the First Blood rule no longer applies to damage. Damage rolled is: 3, 2, 2, 1.

Since the "2" and the other "2" are doubles, these dice must be applied to the target's wounds individually, but randomly. The "3" and "1" dice can be applied to wounds a the defender's choice.

Target has stats 777. The first "2" is randomly applied to END. The second "2" is randomly applied to STR. Making the character 575. Now, the player decides how to apply the "3" and "1" damage dice.

This rule can make CT combat a bit more realistic and deadly without making the game so deadly that it is unplayable.

 

[mike wightman]

Scrap the first blood rule - it is totally unrealistic.

Keep its mechanics for a natural roll of 12.

 

[McPerth]

When I refereed CT (may years ago) I used to use On Target (from White Dwarf #28) cystem for locating hits, with multipliers to damage and colateral damage (as broken bones) that could cripple your character for some time.

But I liked to keep it more realist than CT weapons are, and the casuality toll among my players was not too high, as they learned to think twice before using violence as a solution (and most adventures could be played avoiding it, of course).

 

[Supplement Four]

I like the First Blood Rule. It gives players that trepidation they should have about entering a fight. It makes them hesitant knowing that they have no control over damage dice, and a single shot could kill them or (more likely) take them out of the fight before they've fired a shot.

If a character survives the First Blood rule, well then, his physicals are lowered. The defender has the choice of where to put incoming damage dice, but he's dealing with physical stat numbers that are lower than their max--which will influence how he takes and arranges damage.

 

[sabredog]

I also like to use the First Blood rule - as pointed out by the OP it does help some of the less than heroically statted characters to survive in combat. Indeed, I noticed early on that those characters with high stats tended to actually die, or be crippled and recovering (thereby out of play for a long time) more often because after the first hit or two they were still up and in action - though with perilously low stats.

I never used the rule, though, that each die rolled was a separate packet of hit damage. It never made sense to me and seemed to just slow things down in large combats. Instead, First Blood comes off a random stat that I pick, from that point on dice rolled for damage are added up to one lump number and distributed as the player sees fit. Once a characteristic reaches zero you can't point any more points into it.

This sped things up and made it easier for me and the players to quickly resolve even a large combat situation against some army of faceless NPC goons without having to stat out all the targets. So long as you did at least 7 points of damage in a single round to the target (average mook) you put him down for the combat. 10 points for an elite mook, and 12+ for a legendary mook. Anything less and it took a second hit to put the bad guy down.