about armor as damage conversion and undead in Grim Tales

[Azizar]

I was reading through grim tales and stumbled upon the armor as damage conversion rule variant. I like the variant, but wouldn't this variant make undead much stronger, being immune to non-lethal damage ?

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I was reading through grim tales and stumbled upon the armor as damage conversion rule variant. I like the variant, but wouldn't this variant make undead much stronger, being immune to non-lethal damage ?

Yes. Is that a bad thing?

It's as nasty a combination as undead magical adepts and undead with cyberware-- like the sample Lich in the campaign settings.

 

[Azizar]

Okay...

I like to play in fantasy settings an I like to use grim tales in my campaign. The problem is that my players will be up against a kingdom of undead creatures with a Vampire as lord. Most intelligent undead will wear armor. Just image how long battles are going to take if all undead with a chainmail can ignore 5 points of damage. I think what I will not use the variant rule or just treat weapon damage to armored undead as lethal damge.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Just image how long battles are going to take if all undead with a chainmail can ignore 5 points of damage.

Yet if you're looking for gritty and realistic, this would do the trick.

The only way to kill a zombie is to chop it up, right? So if the zombie is wearing full plate armor, it follows that you have to hit it hard enough to chop THROUGH the armor and take it down.

You are simply not going to "exhaust" an undead creature to death.

Very grim. Very realistic. I say go for it.

Wulf

P.S.

If your players take Power Attack, they can always spend an action point to make up for the lost attack bonus they will HAVE to spend on Power Attack to plow through armored undead.

P.P.S. Armored skeletons will be uber-nasty, cause they also have DR/bludgeoning, right? In this case, you have to power attack with blunt weapons, pounding up the armor and turning the bones to dust inside the armor. Good gods, what a scene!

And isn't Grim Tales all about making memorable scenes?

 

[Psion]

P.P.S. Armored skeletons will be uber-nasty, cause they also have DR/bludgeoning, right? In this case, you have to power attack with blunt weapons, pounding up the armor and turning the bones to dust inside the armor. Good gods, what a scene!

And isn't Grim Tales all about making memorable scenes?

It could also turn out to feel like drudgery if you don't play it right. Or if the players don't get the point that this is not D&D (and choose to avoid fights) after the second or third 4 hour fight with a skeleton.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

It could also turn out to feel like drudgery if you don't play it right. Or if the players don't get the point that this is not D&D (and choose to avoid fights) after the second or third 4 hour fight with a skeleton.

Yep.

Also, don't forget that Armor as Damage Conversion doesn't work with energy attacks-- God bless Prometheus, FIRE still works against the horrors of mankind.


Wulf

 

[ledded]

<snip>

If your players take Power Attack, they can always spend an action point to make up for the lost attack bonus they will HAVE to spend on Power Attack to plow through armored undead.

<snip>

I kind of like this twist myself, makes even lower-powered undead a lot more scary (as, in a gritty game, they should be IMO).

Seriously though, if my PC's had any inkling in-character that this was true they would most likely start using fire or even go for sundering the armor before just whacking away at the plate armored skeleton for round after round.

Oh, and a little off topic, but Wulf we picked up Grim Tales a while back and after giving it a read, I'll just say this to be brief.

I *really* like what you've done with the place

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Oh, and a little off topic, but Wulf we picked up Grim Tales a while back and after giving it a read, I'll just say this to be brief.

I *really* like what you've done with the place

Ego-boosting is never off topic.

Glad you like it. Let me know what you DO with it!

Wulf