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Is this a fair review of PF2?
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<blockquote data-quote="GrahamWills" data-source="post: 8099118" data-attributes="member: 75787"><p>I think it's a bit extreme to write off all of D&D's combat mechanics as "worthless". D&D has always been cagey on what hit points represent -- presenting them as a mix of luck, physical and magic -- and so it's never been definitive about telling you if an arrow hits you.</p><p></p><p>D&D lets you choose the narrative. Mechanically, an arrow does 8 hit points (say). It's up to you to say what the narrative effect is on the 100 hit point fighter. For me, I tend to describe hits leaving you with over half your hits as near misses, scratches and bruises. But if it's falling damage, it's clearly not just near misses -- it's bruises and so on. </p><p></p><p>In contrast Fate is very clear on this; if you only take stress damage, it is never a wound or injury; only when it goes through your stress to cause a consequence is it clearly an actual injury.</p><p></p><p>I think what you're looking for is a crunchy system (so not Fate) that has explicit rules that clearly state what the physical effects of damage are without the GM needing to make stuff up (so not D&D). Savage Worlds would be my next guess as a system for you, but I think the emphasis on "fun" over "realistic" will turn you off, so I guess, like others, I'm left with Rolemaster as the most likely system to satisfy you.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="GrahamWills, post: 8099118, member: 75787"] I think it's a bit extreme to write off all of D&D's combat mechanics as "worthless". D&D has always been cagey on what hit points represent -- presenting them as a mix of luck, physical and magic -- and so it's never been definitive about telling you if an arrow hits you. D&D lets you choose the narrative. Mechanically, an arrow does 8 hit points (say). It's up to you to say what the narrative effect is on the 100 hit point fighter. For me, I tend to describe hits leaving you with over half your hits as near misses, scratches and bruises. But if it's falling damage, it's clearly not just near misses -- it's bruises and so on. In contrast Fate is very clear on this; if you only take stress damage, it is never a wound or injury; only when it goes through your stress to cause a consequence is it clearly an actual injury. I think what you're looking for is a crunchy system (so not Fate) that has explicit rules that clearly state what the physical effects of damage are without the GM needing to make stuff up (so not D&D). Savage Worlds would be my next guess as a system for you, but I think the emphasis on "fun" over "realistic" will turn you off, so I guess, like others, I'm left with Rolemaster as the most likely system to satisfy you. [/QUOTE]
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