Brittlizing an Engine

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: Brittlizing an Engine

 

Guess what? I have NEVER said that it would. But naturally occurring effects (like strong winds on tall buildings) would.

 

I think folks are having a disconnect on the math consequences of having 0 PD (like the rose in nitrogen example). 0 PD means almost ANY application of force will do BODY to the object. To argue otherwise is silly imo.

 

No, having a 0 PD means that any attack that does at least one BODY will do BODY to the object. Someone with a 5 STR could punch an object with a 0 PD and have a 1 in 6 chance of doing no BODY to it.

 

To argue that forces that don't do at least 1 BODY worth of damage will do BODY damage to objects with 0 PD is silly imo.

 

The disconnect here, to me, is that the game mechanics are limited by necessity. If we want 0 PD objects to be broken by high winds, then high winds must have the capacity to inflict BOD damage. But then we look at tiny creatures who we build, in game, with no PD or ED, and 1 BOD, because even a swat from a 5 STR person will reliably kill them (and even then we get a 1 in 6 survival rate for a mosquito - do you REALLY swat a mosquito with full STR? An above average roll with 10 STR should inflict 2 BOD on your arm!), and we know they fly when it's windy and don't get wiped out. And we can't give a small spider the 1 BOD damage needed to kill the mosquito, because then 8 spider bites reduce a normal human to 0 BOD.

 

Unless we want to, say, multiply all the numbers by 1 million, so Joe Average has 8 million BOD, and starting characters get 10 million BOD, so we can have a cat's claws inflict 100 - 600 BOD, and a tiny gnat does only 1 BOD, there are going to be granularity issues. Playability conflicts with realism.

 

And if we make the above change, then someone will be unhappy that the wind does only 1,000 BOD so it will take 1,000 segments or phases or turns to break a glass windowpane with no PD.

 

People fall on their bathroom floor and die, and they fall from aircraft and survive. Good luck finding a game system that reflects these statistical possibilities.

[archermoo]

Re: Brittlizing an Engine

 

The disconnect here, to me, is that the game mechanics are limited by necessity. If we want 0 PD objects to be broken by high winds, then high winds must have the capacity to inflict BOD damage. But then we look at tiny creatures who we build, in game, with no PD or ED, and 1 BOD, because even a swat from a 5 STR person will reliably kill them (and even then we get a 1 in 6 survival rate for a mosquito - do you REALLY swat a mosquito with full STR? An above average roll with 10 STR should inflict 2 BOD on your arm!), and we know they fly when it's windy and don't get wiped out. And we can't give a small spider the 1 BOD damage needed to kill the mosquito, because then 8 spider bites reduce a normal human to 0 BOD.

 

Unless we want to, say, multiply all the numbers by 1 million, so Joe Average has 8 million BOD, and starting characters get 10 million BOD, so we can have a cat's claws inflict 100 - 600 BOD, and a tiny gnat does only 1 BOD, there are going to be granularity issues. Playability conflicts with realism.

 

And if we make the above change, then someone will be unhappy that the wind does only 1,000 BOD so it will take 1,000 segments or phases or turns to break a glass windowpane with no PD.

 

People fall on their bathroom floor and die, and they fall from aircraft and survive. Good luck finding a game system that reflects these statistical possibilities.

 

Well put. It is important to keep in mind that the Hero System isn't intended to be a reality simulator. It is an RPG geared towards representing Heroic Fiction.

[yamamura]

Re: Brittlizing an Engine

 

But what happens when they're damaged/destroyed? Presumably, there are rules in that regard or there would be no point in having the hit locations.

 

In any case, if you want to destroy the tires, a 1.5d6 Defense Drain (standard effect) plus a 1/2 d6 KA (only when vehicle moving; tires only; DoT 2 increments) would blow the tires out in one hit. That's not a ton of AP.

 

[ASIDE: That -7 looked steep until I considered the usual DCV levels of a vehicle...]

 

The Ultimate vehicle has a chart that you roll on that reduces the speed or handling roll if the car lost a tire. But the book also discusses that vehicles that are not moving are no fun, while those that are moving are fun. So it is best to encourage players not to shoot at tires or engines.

[Michael Hopcroft]

Re: Brittlizing an Engine

 

There is a spell in the Slayersverse (Demona Crystal) that covers surfaces (and presumably other objects) in ice, makes them super-cold and super-brittle, and enables you to break through them with ordinary casual STR. It has been shown to enable the caster to shatter a stone wall, making a big enough hole to pass through. You still need to make physical contact (strike the wall, run into it, or something like that) to use the shattering effect.

 

This would probably need to drain both PD and BODY to work. You need to reduce the PD to reduce the resistance and reduce the BODY so you can punch through. Since stone walls have lots of BODY this is a potentially expensive spell. It would be more expensive if you want to use it the way it was used in the OVA, casting it while you run rapidly enough that it's had its full effect by the end of the phase when you actually get there.