Resistant Piercing Question

[skinnerkw]

I keep seeing Resistant Piercing show up in the weapons write up for certain weapons in the Weapons and Armor prefab. Can someone tell me exacting what this means. I dont see it as a limitation or advantage. What gives?

 

Thanks ahead of time

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Resistant Piercing Question

 

I don't know that you'd find the rules in FH -- AFAIK it was reintroduced in Dark Champions, and the rule exists there. Short version?

 

- Armor Piercing you're familiar with; it cuts armor in half.

- Penetrating you should also be familiar; at least X points go through regardless of defense.

- Resistant Piercing says that each point of RP which you place on your weapon deducts that same number of points from the armor you wear.

 

So if you buy, say, APDS ammunition and its 2 points RP, then any armor you shoot will lose two points of protection off the bat. That should give you the explanation without "giving away" the mechanic that drives it. Does that makes sense? Now at least you can use the write up you have.

[Edsel]

Re: Resistant Piercing Question

 

To add to Thia's explanation... The resistant piercing rules were from an older edition of the game (pre-4th Edition). In a setting like Dark Champions it is very useful for those who want more granularity in their firearms and other weapons. Due to requests from numerous people Steve brought back the Piercing rules as optional rules in the Dark Champions book. Since then a lot of people who have numerous genre books have used this optional rule in other settings. For instance, It is not uncommon in our home Fantasy Hero game for a masterwork sword to have a point or two of resistant piercing.

 

Any amount of hardened defense stops any amount of piercing.

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Resistant Piercing Question

 

Oh, yeah, he's right, forgot that part. Oh, one other thing - you CAN purchase Resistant Piercing twice - just like you can purchase Penetrating or Armor Piercing twice; this is the only way to get around Hardening. Or, to have multiple powers on the stack (AP, PEN, RedPEN) and then the Hardened character must decide which to stop, and which to let through.

[Eosin]

Re: Resistant Piercing Question

 

I keep seeing Resistant Piercing show up in the weapons write up for certain weapons in the Weapons and Armor prefab. Can someone tell me exacting what this means. I dont see it as a limitation or advantage. What gives?

 

Thanks ahead of time

 

I suspect those are mine

 

Edsel and Thia hit the head on what it does. Here is why - RP allows for much finer control of weapons and armor in heroic games. AP cuts down the already low armor by half which in many cases is simply too much for something like a finely made sword or a bow that is so powerful that it simply cuts through lesser armors. Another example: Excalibur with 6 points of RP ignores chainmail and even plate isn't all that effective against her but if Excalibur was AP then even padded armor would still provide some DEF - and chain would manage to turn most blows (8-10 points of Killing Damage) from nearly fatal into endurable in most cases.

 

We have played with RP in our Heroic games for going on 15 years and the only downside that I have observed is that they can get out of hand if the GM isn't careful (just like anything else). 3 levels of RP should be viewed in the same light as an extra 6k of Killing Damage but without the problems of the Stun Multiple (in fact, it adds no additional Stun at all - another reason why I favor them in low STUN Heroic games).

[The Souljourner]

Re: Resistant Piercing Question

 

I hate to ask for rules from books I don't own, but this sounds like a great rule for my upcoming FH campaign, and I'd love to know what the full rules are. Given that I just ordered over $200 in fantasy hero books from herogame's website and picked up $60 worth of hero books at my local game store over the weekend, I don't feel too bad about asking for one rule from one book I probably wouldn't purchase anyway.

 

So... what's this resistant piercing rule? 2 points for -1 to applicable defenses or something along those lines?

 

-Nate

[Thia Halmades]

Re: Resistant Piercing Question

 

I'd like to help, but my understanding is that we literally aren't allowed too - because they have a copyright on the material. I know there's been a taboo on sharing rules, but you can ask Steve or Darren for clarification. I would be happy to tell you what the mechanic is, but I'm not comfortable doing so without their say-so.

[The Souljourner]

Re: Resistant Piercing Question

 

 

I know it's as much in deference to the fine writers who put this book together as anything, so I'll go ask the copyright holder for permission. Happens to be pretty easy around here

 

-Nate

[The Souljourner]

Re: Resistant Piercing Question

 

In response to a private message I sent to Steve Long asking if it was ok for you to explain resistant piercing (and referencing my recent purchases):

 

While I don't actually accept that logic at all' date=' I don't mind if he wants to explain the basics of Piercing to you. [/quote']

 

Heh. Well there you go.

 

-Nate

[The Souljourner]

Re: Resistant Piercing Question

 

Got my answer via a private message. Thanks Edsel.

 

I really like the fine grained control of this mechanic. Like others have said, it's a great way to differentiate between weapons in heroic campaigns without doing too much damage.

 

It's really not cost efficient unless you take into consideration damage caps etc that are often in place in heroic games. Your GM might not let you have a 2d6 killing dagger, but he might let you have a 1d6 killing dagger with 3 RP, which is almost as good against people with decent armor.

 

-Nate