Darts

[UltraRob]

Now, as some of you may or may not know, in Chinese fantasy Darts, Needles and throwing blades are a big deal. Usually thrown in 3's, they are used as distractions, warnings, and often to carry drugs or poisons to the target.

 

And so far in my HERO experience, have proven to be utterly useless. Which is why I'm asking to see if anyone else has good ideas about how to handle them in HERO.

Usually the PCs have a couple points of rPD (Darts aren't going to do more than 1pip of BODY after all.) and don't seem able to do enough stun to be noticed or even make the target say "ouch".

And, of course they have to penetrate the skin before any drugs or poisons will take effect, so that kills that angle too.

 

About the only thing I have thought of is to declare them all penetrating (or made so by use of a little Qi boost), but that does make them pretty dangerous. Up to 3 body from a single salvo of darts seems a little much, don't you think?

 

Rob

[Hierax]

Re: Darts

 

Use Hit Locations and Partial Armor Coverage.

 

Wimpy darts really shouldn't penetrate decent armor, but armor is rarely worn all over; let it hurt in the soft unprotected spots.

 

There was a thread recently that gave a lot of good reasons for people to not wear armor as much (and IIRC it was specifically for a Chinese setting).

 

(rant)

FWIW, it's little attacks like these that I dont' allow "Combat Luck" as rDEF, If that is why your PCs have rPD I'd recommend using "Damage Reduction" instead of "Armor" for "Combat Luck" so that they still take a minimum of 1 point of damage.

(/rant)

[UltraRob]

Re: Darts

 

Use Hit Locations and Partial Armor Coverage.

 

Wimpy darts really shouldn't penetrate decent armor, but armor is rarely worn all over; let it hurt in the soft unprotected spots.

 

There was a thread recently that gave a lot of good reasons for people to not wear armor as much (and IIRC it was specifically for a Chinese setting).

 

(rant)

FWIW, it's little attacks like these that I dont' allow "Combat Luck" as rDEF, If that is why your PCs have rPD I'd recommend using "Damage Reduction" instead of "Armor" for "Combat Luck" so that they still take a minimum of 1 point of damage.

(/rant)

 

Yeah, "combat luck" as written is a real pain in the a**, players either want it to stack with armour or treat it as their excuse to be invulnerble to low-powered weapons like darts and knives.

I can't help but think "combat luck" should be more like bonus DCV with an activation roll that they get when they're not wearing armour. After all, if you're lucky, you don't get hit at all!

 

Actually, something just occured to me as I wrote this...Would making darts an NND(Not vs Armour 2rPD or greater) which do 1D6 STUN each work? Then they would have an "ouch" factor, but not do real damage, just cause pain. Any poisons would be a carrier attack on the darts.

 

Hmm, I may have just answered my own question...:-P

 

Rob

[Doc Democracy]

Re: Darts

 

Now, as some of you may or may not know, in Chinese fantasy Darts, Needles and throwing blades are a big deal. Usually thrown in 3's, they are used as distractions, warnings, and often to carry drugs or poisons to the target.

 

And so far in my HERO experience, have proven to be utterly useless. Which is why I'm asking to see if anyone else has good ideas about how to handle them in HERO.

 

I think that the problem here is focussing too much on how the darts actually work in real life - sharp point breaking the skin and delivering the real damage - the poison.

 

An example might be a killing poison delivered by blow gun. I could have the poison be an RKA AVLD - where the defence would be +1 for every point rolled above 3 and combat skill level held by the opponent - so a roll of 14 would give a defence of 11 versus the RKA. That would indicate the fact that the closer I got to 3 the more chance there was that I was able to get a good hit and deliver the poison properly.

 

Plenty of other ways to do it but I'd try and make armour worn by opponents part of the to hit roll rather than competing against the damage....

[The Mad GM]

Re: Darts

 

A distraction attack using darts could be a dex drain, a change environment, a flash (make them blink or duck and lose a phase), an entangle (based on CON?), or just a drain, with the provision that the attack has to hit an area without armor.

 

OR, you could buy levels to offset targetting mods, and throw a dagger into their eye, and have a linked attack that only activates if the first does body.

 

I once defined a magic sword as 'lucky' by making it Penetrating, only versus combat luck (+1/4 adv, iirc). Never did use it.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Darts

 

For mooks throwing darts, there needs to be no change at all. Their best efforts with such wimpy weapons are for naught.

 

For experts throwing darts, let them buy their attacks as 1 pip penetrating, requires a Find Weakness roll. No amount of armor will protect against them, assuming the expert can find a chink in the DEF to put them through.

[CrosshairCollie]

Re: Darts

 

One old (like 2E) build for poisoned darts built them as an NND with the defense being 'taking no body from an imaginary 1d6 RKA, Penetrating and Armor Piercing', which may or may not penetrate Combat Luck. The 1d6 RKA didn't actually exist ... but if it would do damage, you took the drug effect.

[UltraRob]

Re: Darts

 

For mooks throwing darts, there needs to be no change at all. Their best efforts with such wimpy weapons are for naught.

 

For experts throwing darts, let them buy their attacks as 1 pip penetrating, requires a Find Weakness roll. No amount of armor will protect against them, assuming the expert can find a chink in the DEF to put them through.

 

Hmm...I think what I will do is this...

 

Needles: 1D6 NND (not vs armour) since they only cause pain, but not injury.

Dart: As you say above, since they are big and dangerous enough to cause injury.

 

And, any poison attacks are linked to the above 2 attacks.

 

Thanks guys!

Rob