That dude is creepy!
This chart nicely shows a problem I have with many hit location systems. No matter how you carve up the human body, it's going to be problematic. In this particular case I have a lot of trouble giving a crap about whether a particular hit lands on the upper leg or the lower leg. And any system that supports separate mechanical effects for the two leg segments is probably too complicated for my tastes. But other hit location charts sometimes omit the hands, which I think is kinda dumb. A strike to the swordhand ought to send the weapon clattering onto the ground. That's something I'd like to see in play once in a while.
And looking at that chart, a head shot could mean a lot of different things. Did the character lose an ear? Or his nose? Is a wicked cool scar a possibility? Similarly, if we agree that 20% of all strikes land on the thorax region, what's the chance of spearing a dude right through the heart? By going to a hit location system for information that whole can of worms opens itself up for scrutiny.
One thing this chart gets right on the money: "56-60% Genitals". If there's not at least a 1 in 20 chance of punching an orc in the nuts then your hit location chart is useless to me.
If there's not at least a 1 in 20 chance of punching an orc in the nuts then your hit location chart is worthless to me.
ReplyDeletePlus
http://jrients.blogspot.com/2009/02/otus-hargrave-pure-awesome.html
Equals...
You're on a theme. We're gonna get a d30 table of "Effects of being hit in the genetalia" on April Fools Day, aren't we?
Ha, ha; I love my Role Master critical hit tables, but its true that any system that randomly allocates hit locations probably has some serious identity problems.
ReplyDeleteI think the abstraction of D&D lends itself well to narrating hit locations. A natural "20", followed by maximum damage? Time to roll on my whacky table of combat events! (or alternatively, I just make something up).
While I had a hell of a lot of fun with Bureau 13's percentile-based hit location tables, that level of detail is not my first choice for this sort of thing. I personally like the lesser level of detail you find in the d10-based hit locations of Cyberpunk's "Friday Night Firefight," where hit location and wound severity give you and idea of what the wound means: Wanna know if a torso hit affected the heart? Look at the hit location and check the damage severity. A Flesh Wound missed the heart, while a Mortal Wound probably nicked the aorta.
ReplyDelete(BTW: The Otus images at that link are just wrong. :P Oh, and NSFW! Could be a bit of surprise if the boss sees them...)
Oops! I forgot to mention the NSFW part! Sorry!
ReplyDeletecappadocius' revised hit-location chart:
ReplyDeleteRoll 1d20
1-3: Head, roll on sub-chart A: Head Strikes
4-8: Chest, roll on sub-chart B: Body Blows
9-12: Abdomen, roll on sub-chart C: Abdominal Strikes
13-15: Groin, roll on sub-chart D: Right in the Mommy-Daddy buttons!
16-18: Limb, roll on sub-chart E: Limbs
19-20: Hands, roll on sub-chart F: Disarming attempts
Sub-Chart A: Head Strikes.
Roll 1d6
1: Ear Cut Right off! Subtract -1 from all listening attempts
2: Cut off Nose! Subtract 1 from Charisma. Spite face.
3: Sexy Scar! Add 1 to Charisma
4: Knocked silly. Lose next action.
5: Gash in Forehead, blinded by blood until first aid applied
6: Brained! Instant Death.
Sub-Chart B: Body Blows
Roll d6.
1: Cut armor straps. Reduce armor effectiveness by 1.
2-3: Sliced open. Pain is incredible; Make toughness/fort save, or lose next action.
4: Pierced lung. Reduce stamina by 1.
5: Pierced lung, fluid begins to fill lung. Save or take 1d6 additional damage.
6: Pierced heart. Instant Death.
Subchart C, Abdominal Strikes:
Roll 1d6
1: Cut belt. Lose pants, and next action pulling them back up.
2-3: Painful Cut. Make toughness/fort. save or lose next action.
3-4: Nick intenstines. Complete fight as normal; target will die in agony in 1d4 days if magical healing is not applied.
5-6: Slice open belly; target makes wisdom check, if passed, target loses 1 attack per round holding intestines in. If failed, instant death.
Sub-Chart D: Nut Shots
1: Hit inner thigh. Do 1 additional point of damage.
2-3: Hit in the jimmy. Make toughness/fort. save or become impotent.
3: Right in the mommy-daddy buttons. Target goes cross-eyed and loses next action.
4-5: Emasculated! Target loses 1 point of Charisma, attacker gains trophy.
6: Impaled! Attack goes up the anus and into the innards. Roll again on sub-chart C: Abdominal Strikes.
Sub-Chart E: Limbs
1: Hamstrung. Target can no longer use leg - Roll d6: 1-3 Right Leg, 4-6 Left Leg
2: Pierced Thigh. Do 1 additional point of damage.
3: Knee Capped. Target collapses in pain, further movement is halved - Roll d6: 1-3 Right Leg, 4-6 Left Leg
4: Missed! Roll again - 1-3 Subchart B: Body Blows, 4-6 Subchart C: Abdominal Strikes
5: Pierced Bicep. Do 1 additional point of damage.
6: Struck hands! Roll on Sub-Chart F: Disarming attempts.
Subchart F: Disarming atempts
Roll d3
1: Struck weapon. Use rules for breaking weapons.
2: Disarmed! Weapon goes flying; opponent must use full move to retrieve it.
3: Cut off hand! Like, whoa! Roll 1d6: 1-3 Weapon Hand; 4-6 Off-Weapon Hand. Attacked gains trophy.
I've got a super-simple alternate hit location method:
ReplyDeleteroll a damage die ON a picture of the target. wherever the die lands is where the hit lands.
if the die misses the target, it's a miss, if the damage is more than one die (3d6 or something) then just roll the other 2 dice after you know you hit.
characters with a higher skill or to-hit chance for some reason get to roll more than once and pick the hit they want most. (I'd use a system where you get to roll a number of dice equal to the difference between your DEX and the target's with a minimum of one, but that doesn;t take into account experienmce)
Anyway: to hit, damage, and location all on one roll.
Wow! Cappadocius and Zak, you are both ON FIRE!
ReplyDeleteHit Location should reflect the armor system.
ReplyDeleteFor example if you use a detailed armor system and Thigh Piece, Knee Cops, and Greaves are separate items. Then you should have separate hit locations for each.
If all you have is leg armor and boots then all you need are leg and boot entries.
These days, I am partial to rolling on Criticals to determine where.
ReplyDeleteI use a d8:
1-2: Legs
3-4: Arms
5-6: Torso
7: Head
8: 'Vitals'
If the Vitals are struck on a Critical, the target must make a Save or be dropped to 0 before applying the damage.
It's not perfect, nor do I use it all the time, but it can spice things up when necessary.
roll a damage die ON a picture of the target. wherever the die lands is where the hit lands.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that one of the earlier editions of Warhammer 40,000 used that method, for shooting at vehicles.
Ah, yes, Booty and the Beasts - real-life "Encounter Critical" stuff. I seem to recall the hit location chart was for things such as what location got drilled into oblivion when a Drillbot hit you and what bone(s) got broken from wrestling with a Jovian.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you want NSFW there's always the Queen of Lust...
If I'm not mistaken that monster's wearing a dance leotard. He looks like the love child of Odo and Mary Tyler Moore.
ReplyDeleteMan, the Genitals location... this hit chart is awesome!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I bet if the hit locations are any indication, I bet that guy's sorry he came to dance class today...
ReplyDeleteI have a big 12 sided die with hit locations on it. I roll it sometimes behind the screen when somebody gets a natural 20 and use the result to add some flavor to my description of the strike.
ReplyDeleteWarhammer FRP had a pretty good hit location chart built into it that worked by switching the numbers in the percentile attack roll (a 19 became a 91).
@Grim - would you happen to remember who made that dice? That would be very neat to have.
ReplyDeleteChgowiz, I found it at Ren Fest, some dude had a basket of them.
ReplyDeleteI'll grab a few next summer when I go back if I see them. They were a buck a piece.
I'll look online and see if I spot them anywhere.
Sorry for the double post.
ReplyDeleteFound one at paizo same as mine.
googled "hit location die" and it was the top result.
RPGnow features a hit location dice picture that shows the gonads being whacked. Jeff you will be most pleased. I'm so getting this for you if I see it at my FLGS.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rpgshop.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/l/o/location.jpg
@Grim - thanks! I'm going to ask my FLGS if they can get one of these guys.
ReplyDeleteChgowiz, that die is cool!
ReplyDeleteNever been a fan of hit location charts and such, though I've thought about using one of those dice from time to time.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the Hades that dude is, we're attacking him.
I was dreaming about hit locations last night. I really wish someone just made a d6 printed with the words, "Head/ Body/ Right Arm/ Left Arm/ Right Leg/ Left Leg".
ReplyDelete