MORE Targeting & Hit Location Questions!

[Thia Halmades]

Hey Steve!

 

So I went over the lack of STUN lotto with the players last night (and the additional hit location tables) and that went over fairly well. However (ain't there always a "however"?) one of my PCs asked this:

 

"So, when we do the big test fights, you know one of the ones Chris wanted to do was against the Pyrohydra - how are you going to work the hit location table, considering that any frontal attack is going to hit him in 'a' face?"

 

I had no reasonable answer to this question, and thought you might. I have the bestiary, it has a Hydra write up in it, but nothing that resolves the normal action of swinging at it. Also, would it be unreasonable for me to House Rule the STUN/BOD modifiers down on a head shot, considering it's all heads? What are your thoughts?

 

~DEM

[Steve Long]

Re: MORE Targeting & Hit Location Questions!

 

Hmmm, interesting. My thoughts are:

 

1. The Hydra Hit Location Table works just fine. If someone's attacking from, say, a particular "end," you could rule that they must automatically perform a High Shot or Low Shot, whatever seems best. But remember that combat models a dynamic situation, so just because someone’s at the head of a hydra when he launches an attack on a battlemap doesn’t mean that the two are rigidly standing there — in a Segment the two opponents may circle one another, launch feints, and so on. Therefore it’s perfectly reasonable in a game context to apply the Hit Location Table as-is.

 

2. Game balance dictates that under no circumstances should characters get free Head shots, or a better chance at Head shots, or what have you, unless they pay for the privilege. (Ah, gaming capitalism. ) However, if you felt it was appropriate to reduce the benefits for hitting the Head, the game balance concerns are correspondingly reduced and you could adjust the Hit Location chart modifiers to suit.