Rules that would be realistic, but be a real drag to have to use

[invokethehojo]

Realistic rules for using modern firearms and bullet proof vests.

Using a semi automatic weapon you could fire a clip in a few seconds. A higher caliber weapon like a .45 would give you recoil which would modify your attacks, but a lower caliber pistol like a .22 wouldn't, however it wouldn't do as much damage, however .22 bullets have a tendancy to ricochet off bones within the body producing a kind of "magic bullet" effect. And when you shoot a person how do you determine if it hits the bullet proof vest, and if it does does it hit the armor plate or just the reinforced material, and how do you represent that it turns the lethal bullet damage into something more akin to a jump kick to the chest?

Now figure up how burst fire and automatic spray fire work. Now use those rules in a fast moving game without clawing one's eyes out... now have fun.

 

[Hautamaki]

Realistic rules for using modern firearms and bullet proof vests.

Using a semi automatic weapon you could fire a clip in a few seconds. A higher caliber weapon like a .45 would give you recoil which would modify your attacks, but a lower caliber pistol like a .22 wouldn't, however it wouldn't do as much damage, however .22 bullets have a tendancy to ricochet off bones within the body producing a kind of "magic bullet" effect. And when you shoot a person how do you determine if it hits the bullet proof vest, and if it does does it hit the armor plate or just the reinforced material, and how do you represent that it turns the lethal bullet damage into something more akin to a jump kick to the chest?

Now figure up how burst fire and automatic spray fire work. Now use those rules in a fast moving game without clawing one's eyes out... now have fun.

Just one of the many reasons that I tend to prefer fantasy setting rpgs =p

 

[pawsplay]

Critical failure rules for combat. Speaking from years of experience in combat sports, even games like Rolemaster are fairly generous to PCs. In a real thirty-two person tournament, it's not uncommon to see one or more people drop their weapons, people appearing to hit themselves, one or more stumbles, and so forth. And while my game of choice produces almost no injuries due to strikes, due to our padded weapons, I have seen numerous cases of injured knees, pulled groins, wrenched wrists, and twisted ankles, almost all of which could be described as mainly self-inflicted. And when you include more minor events, people slip and lose their footing, or their grip, with great frequency. If you played out a fight realistically, it would probably seem like a slapstick comedy with gruesome punchlines. Watch enough MMA and you will see some ridiculous things happen.

Pregnancy. The rules would be complicated, and if you implemented them, the results would be unwanted. In real life, it's not uncommon for the Lawful Good crusading lawyer to turn out to have a kid on the side; in fiction, we struggle with that level of inconsistency in our heroes. Female PCs pregnant? Kind of puts a damper on the adventuring lifestyle, and nobody wants to roleplay visiting the Planned Parenthood clinic in Waterdeep. I could see a place for pregnancy rules in a more personal-drama oriented game, rather than action-adventure.

Combat shock. Some people fold in combat; others endure beyond what seems humanly possible. And yet, whether you can take a little or a lot, it seems to be that everyone has a breaking point, beyond which their physiology cannot handle more stress. Even "heroes" break; even psychopaths become fragile when exposed to enough madness and violence. Realistically, heroes would need weeks if not years between adventures to avoid steadily deteriorating.

 

[pawsplay]

Just one of the many reasons that I tend to prefer fantasy setting rpgs =p

Tightly woven chainmail versus a mace is no less complicated. Will the chain deflect the blow, shatter and imbed in the wound, or distribute the force of the blow?

 

[Hautamaki]

Tightly woven chainmail versus a mace is no less complicated. Will the chain deflect the blow, shatter and imbed in the wound, or distribute the force of the blow?

chain mail in our homebrew rules has damage reduction 2 vs bludgeoning, 1 vs piercing, and 4 vs slashing =p


The problem I had when trying to homebrew automatic weapons was the sheer amount of dice rolling you'd need to avoid just hand-waving it. Either you just hand wave and have the weapon do d10 damage or whatever, or else you have to model a chance to hit and a damage amount for every single round fired, which could easily be 30+ for a 6 second round. That's potentially 60+ dice rolls =[

 

[pawsplay]

chain mail in our homebrew rules has damage reduction 2 vs bludgeoning, 1 vs piercing, and 4 vs slashing =p


The problem I had when trying to homebrew automatic weapons was the sheer amount of dice rolling you'd need to avoid just hand-waving it. Either you just hand wave and have the weapon do d10 damage or whatever, or else you have to model a chance to hit and a damage amount for every single round fired, which could easily be 30+ for a 6 second round. That's potentially 60+ dice rolls =[

Don't feel bad. GURPS didn't get it right until fourth edition.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Realistic rules for using modern firearms and bullet proof vests.

Using a semi automatic weapon you could fire a clip in a few seconds. A higher caliber weapon like a .45 would give you recoil which would modify your attacks, but a lower caliber pistol like a .22 wouldn't, however it wouldn't do as much damage, however .22 bullets have a tendancy to ricochet off bones within the body producing a kind of "magic bullet" effect. And when you shoot a person how do you determine if it hits the bullet proof vest, and if it does does it hit the armor plate or just the reinforced material, and how do you represent that it turns the lethal bullet damage into something more akin to a jump kick to the chest?

Now figure up how burst fire and automatic spray fire work. Now use those rules in a fast moving game without clawing one's eyes out... now have fun.

There are a number of games that have hit-location and recoil rules out there...they're just mostly war-games of some kind. The rules in Battletech aren't too bad for this.

 

[giant.robot]

That rule might be realistic (and let's assume for the sake of argument that it is), but it would be no fun to play. Who wants to spend a boatload of points on unarmed fighting skills (plus techniques and supplementary skills) if using that skill is liable to get your hands and feet wrecked?

Any rules that really modeled use of fantasy/medieval weapons. A lot of systems simulate the stage fighting you'd see in movies with single attacks against a dodge, parry, or defensive value. Real fighting is attacks and parries strung together in combinations to better your position for a killing blow. Actually modeling this with dice and a pen and paper would be really tedious. There's a reason stage fighting exists, it's cinematic and easy to follow by the audience. Games use stage fighting (and stage fighting rules) for the same reason.

 

[The Shaman]

Disease can be tough, particularly in historical games.

It would be a strange world in which 17th century adventurers didn't worry about the plague sweeping from town to town, but at the same time I don't want to roll for infection from every sword cut or dysentery from every glass of water. If I played it straight, a visit to East Africa would be a likely death sentence for most of the adventurers - the death toll from trypanosomiasis was something like 70% among the Portuguese during the period.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

It would be a strange world in which 17th century adventurers didn't worry about the plague sweeping from town to town, but at the same time I don't want to roll for infection from every sword cut or dysentery from every glass of water.

I'm reminded of a line from Dragon Half:

"I must conquer...the brown demon...within me! AAAAAAGH!"