STR Min and "Does Not Add/Subtract Damage"

[Mazeus Xenon]

Okay Steve, question:

Under the STR Minimum for equipment in Revised 5ED it says that the STR Min limitation can gain an additional -1/2 if the "Cannot Add/Subtract Damage" is applied. Makes perfect sense - I follow this just fine. What I don't get is how it applies as a limitation to a gun. A gun is built using an RKA, right? And an RKA can never benefit from a high STR score. So why would this qualify for a limitation? It seems like you get a 'free' -1/2 Limitation on all guns that way. Sure you suffer the OCV penalty but big deal - I would have suffered that anyway!

Please explain as I am using a "Characteristic Minimum" in my game (spells req. an INT or EGO minimum, etc.) and I want to wrap my head around this one so I can potentially apply it to spells and abilities. Thanks!

[Steve Long]

There's actually a question about this in the Rules FAQ:


Q: Weapons like bows, guns, and energy blasters are built using RKA. They take the STR Minimum Limitation to represent the STR needed to use them effectively. However, why do they also take the STR Min Cannot Add/Subtract Damage additional Limitation? Characters don’t normally get to add STR to RKAs.

A: That’s a good question. The weapon-building rules, which date from at least the 4th Edition, seem to assume that weapons that do Killing Damage are built using a general “Killing Attack” power to which characters add STR damage. For example, the 5ER sections on various weapon types don’t specifically say the HTH weapons are built with HKA and the Ranged ones with RKA (though that’s the obvious conclusion, especially given example powers elsewhere in the book). Since this is apparently some sort of generalized KA damage to which STR adds, the STR Min Cannot Add/Subtract Damage Limitation is not only appropriate, but required for weapons like guns and bows.

For now, best to stick with tradition and keep applying the limitation. In the future, when we have the chance to revisit the issue of weapons as a whole (in, say, The Ultimate Weapon), we can take another look at this issue and decide how to proceed going forward.