Normal to Killing Conversion

[Kage Neko]

This question I found while reviewing NH and UMA, but I feel is general enough to be posted here.

A common ability is a character charging up his weapon to do more damage. An interesting version of this is commonly seen in Anime where high-school students to grand masters seem to constantly carry around a Bokken (wooden version of a Katana [5d6 Normal Damage UMA pg. 169]), get into a tough situation, then charge up and proceed to cut through things like trees, walls, cars, and people (with or without the large splash of blood). A good example of this is the anime Demon City Shinjuku. So here is my question:

1. The damage has obviously become Killing damage. If the power up also boosts the damage (say to double the normal DC), is it a straight DC to DC conversion? 5d6 normal damage Bokken + 5 DC Killing damage = 3d6 + 1 (10 DC) Killing damage.
2. Assuming this is correct, does the bonus strength can add to the damage allow double this new total (ie. if the practioner has a strength of 50 can he do 6 1/2 d6 Killing damage with this weapon) or only the original damage of the weapon or none at all?
3. What if the player does not want to boost the damage, how do you simulate the conversion from damage type to the other considering only resistant defense is good against Killing damage? Do you require the player to pay for a minimum of +1 DC Killing damage?
4. If you assume the damage is also Armor Piercing (for the fact that the practioner seems to be able to cut through anything), do you have to pay for the Armor Piercing advantage on the original 5 DC from the Bokken (+1/2 advantage for 25 points worth of DC = 13 pt. cost)?

A version I came up with that does not require specifically a Bokken is:

Chi Weapon Charge
+2d6 (+6 DC) Killing damage (30 pt.); +1/2 Armor Piercing (active point cost 45 pt.); -1/2 OIF Weapon of Opportunity, -1/4 Incantations, -1/2 Gestures (2-hands), -1/4 Cannot Add More Damage Than the Base Weapon Can Normally Do (a variation on the Damage Shield limitation in UMA pg. 131) [final cost 18 pt.]
plus
+1/2 Armor Piercing for up to 6 DC (15 pt.); -1/2 OIF Weapon of Opportunity, -1/4 Incantations, -1/2 Gestures (2-hands) [final cost 7 pt.]

Total Cost: 25 pt.

Someone with the Chi Weapon Charge ability would be dangerous in almost any environment, the only safe place to confront them woud be in the middle of an empty field, but then that blade of grass at their feet might be a problem (especially if they add the ranged advantage) .

So what do you think? This sound like the right way to simulate this?

[Doug Limmer]

Wouldn't it be easier - and possibly more accurate - to just buy it as a separate power of the character's (with OIF bokken of opportunity) and not link it to the bokken's damage at all?

[Yamo]

Or you could simply put the AP HKA in a bokken Multipower with the less-lethal normal HA.

[SkyKnight]

Try this,


22 Sword Mastery (Multipower, OAF Wooden Sword (-1), 45 point reserve
1 u) 5D6 Hand Attack, 0 END (hand to hand attack -1/2) (0)

2 u) 2D6 Hand Killing Attack, Armor Piercing (4)

You can use the Hand Attack normally, but if you want to do the nasty, armor piercing damage you have to spend END.

[Kage Neko]

The Sword Mastery is an interesting way to handle this, but I was not trying to specify it so much to one weapon. With the Chi Weapon Charge, someone sufficently trained should be able to pick up any normal damage weapon, take a stance, make a few gestures and chants or shouts, and start doing some massive damage. It costs about the same.

If I was trying to incorporate it into a specific style of martial art that focused on one weapon like the Bokken, I might switch to OAF Bokken. But I would still keep the power with the character. The reason I did OIF WoO was that the practitioner should be able to pick up any weapon they are familiar with (with the weapons inherent attributes) and use the Chi ability with it (especially since the CWC really boosts the inherent damage of the weapon). The multipower you describe seems to be more of something I would design as inherent to the weapon, not the practioner.

I would still like to here comments on how strength should play into the Chi boost. So please keep those replies comming.

[SkyKnight]

If you want to use the

Bokken of DEATH! with any weapon, just substitute

OIF Weapon of Opportunity

for OAF Wooden Sword

[Foxiekins]

Actually, this sounds like an Aid...

Let's say you did the Bokken like this:

20 Multipower: 30 point reserve (-1/2 OIF, Bokken of Opportunity)
1u 5d6 Hand-to-Hand-Attack, (-1/2 Mandatory Lim), 0 END for 10 points of HA, (30 Active) END = 1
5u 4d6 HKA, (-1/4 Only while Aided),Armor Piercing, (90 Active) END = 9

And, the Aid looks like this...

100 Aid: 10d6 points to Multipower Reserve

Or, another possibility, with GM approval...

50 Succor: 10d6 points to Multipower Reserve END = 5
note: points remain for as long as END cost is paid, then fade immediately

Does this do what you want...?

[Kage Neko]

Thank you for the idea, I had not even considered aid or succor, but they seem ro require a lot more points and honestly seem a little clunky (no offense intended) being two separate powers, though I assume the multipower could be considered the weapon design.

What I was looking was a relatively simple power, such as the HKA (with or without the Armor Piercing advantage), that would just add to/stack with the inherent damage of the weapon and convert it to Killing damage, not requiring any redesign of the inherent weapon stats.

This is why I brought up question three. If the player does not want to add any DC, what does he have to do to convert to Killing damage since it requires resistant defenses? And question two, assuming DCs were added, where does the DC boost available from strength factor in, if at all?

In addition, with the Chi Boost power as written, or with OAF Some Weapon Type, even if the weapon were designed as a multipower the damage could be added to each part of the power while not necessarilly boosting any of the weapons other abilities.

An aid or succor designated as adding to the DCs or other abilities of a specific weapon type, not necessarilly a multipower, might be something to think about. I will have to think on a design for one such ...