…a system like Star Fleet Battles or Battletech/Crimson Skies to track character damage and incapacity?
The question popped into my head on my way home from a game store today. I’m familiar with over 100 different systems- mostly the big names- but cannot recall any taking this approach.
CORPS has separate tracks per location, with boxes.
THe number marked is the largest, plus one for each additional. The penalty is the number of boxes for the used locations (Head and chest are for almost all. Head for all.)
Mekton uses a system of boxes to track damage, as well, again by location... but in this case, the boxes are not the penalty. Other interlock games don't.
RuneQuest doesn't have tracks of boxes, but many people's homebrew sheets do. Same for many other BRP games. This is due to tracking HP to each location as well as to the overall HP.
The GDW House Engine (T2K 2.x, Dark Conspiracy, Traveller: The New Era, Cadilacs & Dinosaurs) has damage by hit location for PCs, but doesn't use the boxes, but again, some people's custom sheets do.
There are many more....
My sheets for Alien use boxes on the edges for HP, air, water, power, and food.... use a paperclip.