Collateral damage

[The_Fan]

I've been thinking about just how much damage people tend to do to their environment in movies and books. People smash into tables, trolls take out pillars of rock with a stray swing, arrows stick in trees, etc.

So, I thought about adding some collateral damage rules. Nothing major, here's the way I would treat it:

Whenever a melee attack misses, an object within the reach of both combatants takes the damage that the target would have taken had it hit. To reduce rolling, average the damage. If no suitable object is within range, then the attack hits the floor. Normally, hitting the floor means nothing, but sometimes there might be a chance of breaking through.

Whenever a ranged attack misses, the likelihood of collateral damage is much lower. If using an object as cover (note: Not a character), the object is automatically hit. If not, the ranged attack hits something within a cone originating from the target in the direction away from the attacker, up to the next range increment. Remember that ranged attacks do half damage to objects and piercing ranged attacks deal no damage, so in most cases this does not need to even be considered.

When two characters are grappling, the nearest object takes damage equal to the highest unarmed attack of either character. In the case of monsters with slam attacks, use that damage.

This probably won't add too much mental math on my part, but it will certainly make combats more dramatic. I fully expect my players to level a building in their first fight with these rules.

 

[Bront]

Seems excessive if every melee swing does colateral damage.

honestly, seems like a slowdown for combat. I'd rather just use common sense, and occasionaly add colateral damage to add drama.

 

[The_Fan]

Hrm...well, of course there are going to be plenty of cases where you don't have any possibility of actually harming the object. In that case I wouldn't even bother considering it. On the other hand, I rarely have fights that aren't big and dramatic. Not a fan of "random encounters."

I'll probably also limit it to one collateral damage per combatant per round.

 

[Bront]

I'll probably also limit it to one collateral damage per combatant per round.

That still seems excessive. We're talking swords, maces, and other weapons, not machine guns.

 

[Nifft]

IMHO it would be great, and would not slow down combat so much as teach people about HP and inanimate objects, which will be of great help when they start sundering weapons and bashing through walls of stone.

-- N

 

[The_Fan]

Thanks Nifft. That is at least part of the intention. My players are far too willing to just stand there and slug it out. I try tripping, grappling, disarm, etc. Their complaint "It's not epic!"

News flash: Neither is standing still and taking turns slapping each other.

Oh, I've made another adjustment: This only comes into effect when they fail to meet an enemy's touch AC.

 

[Nifft]

Don't forget rules for rubble -- balance checks, effects of being prone, etc. -- after a few rounds, the typical room might be littered with debris. Gives people another good reason to move around, or to be Rogue-ish swashbucklers -- or both.

I really love the idea of a battle that changes the terrain as it goes.

-- N

 

[Bront]

Thanks Nifft. That is at least part of the intention. My players are far too willing to just stand there and slug it out. I try tripping, grappling, disarm, etc. Their complaint "It's not epic!"

News flash: Neither is standing still and taking turns slapping each other.

Oh, I've made another adjustment: This only comes into effect when they fail to meet an enemy's touch AC.

Ok, that adjustment I like, seems a bit better.

As for the other problem, I used to think that too, because if you crunch numbers, damage per turn always seems to be the thing to do, but disarm can be very effective, especialy against a nasty weapon wielder. Trip can be more fun.

Next time your party encounters a BBEG, have him have one guard who only does special attacks (disarms, trips, ect) with his spiked chain, and give him combat reflexes, Improved Trip, and Improved Disarm, and then let the other guards go at the party. See what they think then. (Granted, this is an extreme example, but it's a usefull lesson that there are other tactics, especialy teamwork)

I know that in my group, if you're standing still, you'll be flanked quickly.

 

[boredgremlin]

I like this idea. It might slow some combats down and the DM will have to keep track of more HP's. Because there are gonna be a lot of items damaged but not smashed within one or two attacks. If you think your up to it though i think it could work out really cool. I would make it where its only if the character rolls really poorly though. Even with a touch AC your not really taking into account the fact that the enemy is probably parrying attacks. Most people figure thats what accounts for the base 10 AC. I would do it where you only hit an object if the attacker rolls under a 5 or something.

 

[Talic]

Perhaps it would be better to not focus on specific objects, but do focus on the amount of rubble(and the rules associated with it) and things that end up on the floor because of these broken objects.

I dont know if you need a specific table to define things, but make a judgement call on how cluttered the space is with breakable objects. Then remove said objects if they are large obstacles and start imposing the balance and tumbe rules for a floor that is lightly obstructed, severely obstructed, or even hampered movement. Base that on either how much breakable junk is in the room, or how many rounds of combat have taken place. As the battle goes on, characters may have to deal with increasingly difficult terrain.

A method like this would save lots of book keeping, rolls, and calculation. However, it does introduce that interactive, dynamic enviroment you want.

Also, it might be fun sometimes to deal with the after affects of the trashed room. The nobleman may be happy you fought off the robbers, but if his trophy room is wrecked, just how happy will he be?