6e HKA Rules

[Hugh Neilson]

Ok, I'm confused. I've copied the source of my confusion below. Everything in the rules suggests to me that a HKA can be enhanced by 1 DC per 5 points of STR. There is no mention of a maximum, except in reference to an optional rule in Heroic games for STR minima and real weapons.

 

I don't think Armadillo is in a Heroic game, using STR Minima or using a real weapon, but he caps out at 2d6 HKA below. Is this a legacy of a 5th Ed example carried forward (ie Armadillo should do 4d6+1 HKA as he has a 50 SR to add 10 DC's) or is there a rule I have missed (I have certainly not read 6e in any thoroughness)?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

An HKA only works in HTH Combat, but the

character may add +1d6 to his HKA for every 15

points of STR used with it (or, to put it another

way, +1 Damage Class for every 5 points of STR

used with it) (see Adding Damage, 6E2 99, for

more information).

 

Examples: Armadillo has powered gauntlets

with claws that do HKA 1d6. He also has

STR 50. Armadillo may do 1d6 Killing Attack

for 1 END by using his HKA. He may do 2d6

Killing Damage for 2 END by using his HKA and

15 STR.

 

Arkelos has a knife (HKA ½d6, or 2 Damage

Classes’ worth of Killing Damage). His STR is 10.

When using his knife, he can add his 10 STR for

+2 Damage Classes, making it do 4 DCs damage

(i.e., 1d6+1 HKA). If he had a 15 STR, he could

still only add 10 STR because his campaign uses

the rules for STR Minimum and Real Weapons

(see Chapter Seven of 6E2).

 

Strength (STR) adds to the damage done by

HKAs: +1 DC for every 5 STR used with it (or to

put it another way, +1d6 HKA for every 15 STR

used).

 

In Heroic campaigns, a character using a

weapon doesn’t add his STR to a weapon’s HKA

damage automatically — it only adds damage if it

exceeds the weapon’s STR Minimum (6E2 199).

For every full 5 points of STR a character has

above the weapon’s STR Minimum, he may add

+1 DC of Killing Damage (or, for weapons like

staffs that do Normal Damage, +1d6 of Normal

Damage).

 

Example: Brak the Barbarian (STR 21) wields

a dagger (1d6-1 [2 DCs], STR Min 6). Since his

STR is 15 above the STR Minimum, he can add

+3 DCs to the dagger’s damage. Ordinarily that

would mean increasing the damage to 5 DCs, or

1½d6. However, since the STR Minimum rules

are involved, he cannot do more than double the

base damage of the dagger (2 DCs). Therefore he

only increases its damage to 4 DCs, or KA 1d6+1.

Later, Brak wields a battle axe (2d6 [6 DCs],

STR Min 13). His STR is 8 points above the STR

Minimum. That means he can only add +1 DC of

damage, since he needs 5 full points of STR above

the STR Minimum to add a DC. Thus, he does

KA 2d6+1 with the battle axe (if he has other

ways to add damage, he can increase the axe’s

damage up to a maximum of 4d6, or 12 DCs). If

he had STR 23, he could add +2 DCs, making the

axe do KA 2½d6 damage.

[Steve Long]

Re: 6e HKA Rules

 

It's probably just a legacy reference I overlooked.