Scatter-Based Hit Locations

[prestidigitator]

Here's a possibility for an alternate Hit Locations resolution system. There are two attachments. One has diagrams of a character silhouette with Hit Locations marked shown as if you are attacking the target from front, back, and rear (left, middle, and right respectively). This might have to be printed and enlarged with a copier, or printed on a couple of sheets of normal-sized paper. The other attachment is a target diagram meant to be printed out on a transparent sheet (such as you might use on an overhead projector).

 

To use the images, what you do is place the transparent target diagram over the most appropriate silhouette for the direction from which you are attacking, with the center at the point you're aiming at. Make a normal attack roll. If the attack roll "hits" (indicates you hit the target's DCV or better), the target diagram can be used to find where your attack actually landed, including Hit Location. Concentric rings show the scatter distance based on the amount by which you made the attack roll. Radial lines show the angle of scatter based on the roll of two additional d6s (you could rig a spinner or a Warhammeresque scatter die instead if you wanted). If the resultant point is outside the silhouette, the attack misses. Otherwise it indicates the Hit Location your attack actually lands on.

 

This is one possible implementation of such an idea. Scatter distances could be played with, as could pose and the shape of the model. Obviously size and shape of Hit Location areas could be changed, and I imagine this will be one of the most common areas of disagreement/customization (I'm not happy with the head being so big and easy to hit, for example). A neat possibility is that sectional armor could actually be drawn right on the figure, and even if it only covers part of a location, you could figure out whether and what part of the armor comes into play for any attack. Likewise for a held/worn Focus or whatever. Alternate transparent targets could also be constructed for different types of weapons (imagine a stretched one for a sword or other slashing weapon, for example).

 

Okay...discuss!

 

EDIT: Hmm. The way this forum software displays the images, the transparent target looks completely black, but it's not; the non-black portions are simply transparent. The transparent target should be completely identical in size and appearance to the version placed between the middle and right-most models on the main diagram, so that should provide a good idea of what it'd be like if you don't actually download the image.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Scatter-Based Hit Locations

 

I love this approach: it seems to me to be far and away the most accurate way to do hit scatter, whilst still being playable.

 

I have seen something like this in a game called ‘Millennium’s End’. There are a number of really rather interesting possibilities, for example, if a target is behind cover then you just cover up part of the silhouette, and if the hit scatters into cover, you’ve hit cover. Also you can create a number of different ‘silhouette profiles’: prone (front on), prone (side on), standing, kneeling, crouching, etc, etc and even individualised templates: there will be a smaller template for characters with shrinking (you could even represent the difference between someone who was 5 feet tall and someone who was 6 feet tall – but that may be a little unnecessary. You could certainly use it to model non-human shapes very effectively.

 

 

 

It also means that you might aim away from the ‘centre point’ because you have a better chance of hitting something a little further out – and hoping that you roll in the right quadrant i.e. it potentially introduces an element of ‘gamer skill’ into the process of hitting. Not for everyone, but a big plus for some.

 

 

 

One issue here is range though. You could either use smaller silhouette templates (each doubling of distance halves the effective character height) or create different scatter templates for different ranges.

 

 

 

Also in HtH combat you might want a different shaped scatter template: rather than a circular template, you could have an oval for ‘slashing’ type attacks, which an attacker could not only place but also rotate.

 

 

Excellent work though. I really like it – and I could see a market for something like this, maybe as a series of ‘Silhouette templates’ and transparent overlays in APG 2, or 3. Hotcakes. Seriously.

[prestidigitator]

Re: Scatter-Based Hit Locations

 

Yeah, I was thinking about the possibility of gaming it by placing the aim point near a desired location and hoping for the best too. It might introduce a little meta-gaming imbalance, but honestly it's realistic that way, and everyone (presumably including the GM) would be using it, so it's not exactly unfair.

 

The biggest issue with that is that the 3d6 roll will tell you the most likely radius where you will hit, rather than a more realistic "I know I can hit within 20cm of the bullseye from this distance, but it might be anywhere within this range of scatter...". Maybe I'll see if I can work up something even a little more realistic, that being something like a random bell curve for the scatter distance, with the standard deviation based on the OCV-DCV difference or the margin of success of the to-hit roll. Might take different transparent target templates though. Hmm....

 

Range doesn't need to be taken into consideration, actually. The range penalty will simply influence the amount by which you make your attack roll. Same with the size modifier, though different body proportions would make a difference if you want to get that detailed.

 

I actually constructed the diagrams by using a 3D model in Blender, coloring the Hit Location areas on the model's surface, posing it, rendering, then changing the colored regions to outlines in the GIMP and doing some touch-ups. So creating different poses and angles and such wouldn't be that difficult, though I'll probably have to fix up the skinning on the joints a bit to keep elbows and hips from deforming (I actually took the Second Life male avatar OBJ files and hooked it up to an armature for posing, but only did a rough job of it).

[Sean Waters]

Re: Scatter-Based Hit Locations

 

You'd still need different sized silhouettes for different sized characters - child soldiers are so much more difficult to hit I see what you mean about the range modifiers but I was thinking - sort of - of not applying them: there are two elements to range:

 

1. The target looks smaller (so in that respect hitting it is no different to hitting a smaller target, but closer) and

 

2. The behavior of your attack may be less predictable over distance: bullets slow and dip.

 

Some attacks, lasers, for instance, would not really be affected by the second element, but would by the first: so if you have a 'No Range modifier' attack you'd need a smaller template anyway because the target is still harder to hit because it is smaller. I had not really thought of that before but NRM doesn't make much sense for the majority of attacks I've seen it used for!

 

It does look excellent though - good job.

[Jagged]

Re: Scatter-Based Hit Locations

 

Trying again

 

I've used a couple of systems like this and they were always unsatisfactory because the second scatter roll just causes a second chance to miss.

 

If scatter has that effect shouldn't it also make the occasional miss a hit too? Maybe a slightly better approach would be to scatter first and then attempt to hit?

 

So you:

 

1) centre the scatter template where you want to hit.

 

2) roll the random scatter dice to see where your shot would land.

 

3) roll OCV vs DCV

 

4) move the shot closer or further away based upon the result.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Scatter-Based Hit Locations

 

If you extend the scatter template past '0' into the misses, a miss, with the right scatter, could hit. Of course that has the potentially silly consequence that, against REALLY high DCV characters, you have a better chance of hitting by aiming to miss. So maybe not then...

[Sean Waters]

Re: Scatter-Based Hit Locations

 

As a general point I've always felt that Hero lends itself to hit locations far less than some other games. Many games have an amalgam 'life/hit point' that takes into account both combat skill at avoiding damage and general toughness. Hero clearly delineates those roles, and allowing a more accurate roll to equal more damage blurs that distinction.