Damage protection

[MarkB]

Have you ever played Star Wars Saga?

Easily one of the best, and most innovative, D20 systems I've every played, or DMed. Here's a breakdown, and how it's similar to what you're showing:

Hit Points: just like D&D
Constitution: sounds familiar?
Damage Threshold: what you just described
Damage Track: eerily similar to the 5e Exhaustion Track

Damage Threshold is based on your Con score, Class, Class Features, and Armor. In Saga, the heavier the armor the greater your damage threshold. Anyway, let's break down the mechanics.

Storm Troopers shoot you for 3d8 damage (everything has a high dice damage in Saga), hitting you twice!

Here's the breakdown of the character:

• Con score of 11 (that's base Threshold)
• Add half of your heroic level rounded down. As a 3rd level character you get +1.
• Wearing scout armor which provides +4 Damage Threshold (16 total)
• Let's say you have 41 hit points.

The first roll is very high 17! The second is average damage for 13pts. When your Damage Threshold is surpassed you move down the damage track. The damage track has a penalty to all of your rolls and your Threshold. The first attack would break your Damage Threshold which moves you down the Damage Track one. Even with the damage your second roll would barely miss your Damage Threshold (15 would drop down to 14 for moving down the Damage Track). You have 11 hit points left and with your scout armor the average damage won't break your Threshold, meaning you're merely KO'd rather than killed.

Healing was difficult and slow if it ever passed your Damage Threshold. Hit points came back rather easily. Everyone had a Second Wind where they could regain hit points with an action. You get one per long rest. The explanation was like getting shot but your bullet proof vest absorbs it. You take non-lethal damage (don't move down the track because the armor increased your Threshold), but you get the wind knocked out of you and badly bruised. You get some back with your Second Wind but the rest of the hit points will take some time.

SWSE had some great mechanics, which looking back were ahead of their time. The damage track was a neat mechanic to have it play. As I recall, stun weapons dealt low damage, but would knock you two steps down the damage track instead of one.

 

[le Redoutable]

Have you ever played Star Wars Saga?

Easily one of the best, and most innovative, D20 systems I've every played, or DMed. Here's a breakdown, and how it's similar to what you're showing:

Hit Points: just like D&D
Constitution: sounds familiar?
Damage Threshold: what you just described
Damage Track: eerily similar to the 5e Exhaustion Track

Damage Threshold is based on your Con score, Class, Class Features, and Armor. In Saga, the heavier the armor the greater your damage threshold. Anyway, let's break down the mechanics.

Storm Troopers shoot you for 3d8 damage (everything has a high dice damage in Saga), hitting you twice!

Here's the breakdown of the character:

• Con score of 11 (that's base Threshold)
• Add half of your heroic level rounded down. As a 3rd level character you get +1.
• Wearing scout armor which provides +4 Damage Threshold (16 total)
• Let's say you have 41 hit points.

The first roll is very high 17! The second is average damage for 13pts. When your Damage Threshold is surpassed you move down the damage track. The damage track has a penalty to all of your rolls and your Threshold. The first attack would break your Damage Threshold which moves you down the Damage Track one. Even with the damage your second roll would barely miss your Damage Threshold (15 would drop down to 14 for moving down the Damage Track). You have 11 hit points left and with your scout armor the average damage won't break your Threshold, meaning you're merely KO'd rather than killed.

Healing was difficult and slow if it ever passed your Damage Threshold. Hit points came back rather okeasily. Everyone had a Second Wind where they could regain hit points with an action. You get one kyper long rest. The explanation was like getting shot but your bullet proof vest absorbs it. You taknon-letha l damage (don't move down the track because the armor increased your Threshold), but you get the wind knocked out of you and badly bruised. You get some back with your Second Wind but the rest of thhit points will take someplq time.

No, I only have ok

Have you ever played Star Wars Saga?

Easily one of the best, and most innovative, D20 systems I've every played, or DMed. Here's a breakdown, and how it's similar to what you're showing:

Hit Points: just like D&D
Constitution: sounds familiar?
Damage Threshold: what you just described
Damage Track: eerily similar to the 5e Exhaustion Track

Damage Threshold is based on your Con score, Class, Class Features, and Armor. In Saga, the heavier the armor the greater your damage threshold. Anyway, let's break down the mechanics.

Storm Troopers shoot you for 3d8 damage (everything has a high dice damage in Saga), hitting you twice!

Here's the breakdown of the character:

• Con score of 11 (that's base Threshold)
• Add half of your heroic level rounded down. As a 3rd level character you get +1.
• Wearing scout armor which provides +4 Damage Threshold (16 total)
• Let's say you have 41 hit points.

The first roll is very high 17! The second is average damage for 13pts. When your Damage Threshold is surpassed you move down the damage track. The damage track has a penalty to all of your rolls and your Threshold. The first attack would break your Damage Threshold which moves you down the Damage Track one. Even with the damage your second roll would barely miss your Damage Threshold (15 would drop down to 14 for moving down the Damage Track). You have 11 hit points left and with your scout armor the average damage won't break your Threshold, meaning you're merely KO'd rather than killed.

Healing was difficult and slow if it ever passed your Damage Threshold. Hit points came back rather easily. Everyone had a Second Wind where they could regain hit points with an action. You get one per long rest. The explanation was like getting shot but your bullet proof vest absorbs it. You take non-lethal damage (don't move down the track because played thethe armor increased your Threshold), but yu et the wind knocked out of you and badly bruised. You get some back with your Second Wind but the rest of the hit points will

I only played the WEG d6,

 

[Faolyn]

Well, you still get ccritical hits

For starters, some critical hits are still not going to get through. And this doesn't help magic at all.

Secondly, this would make combat even longer. Especially if this affects both PCs and NPCs equally.

So what exactly is your goal with this rule?

 

[le Redoutable]

Bof! It could be of any use to some people

 

[le Redoutable]

OuA 10 CON starting character would have 56 oyulteffective HP at minimum and would shrug any attack with a short sword except by the strongest charaocters. Dagger wouldn't be weapons but toys. Cantrips m do nothing at all in a fight.

DR was a thing in 3.5 and supe efdective even with b lower values.

Bof! It could be of any use to some people

the way,if you 'merge STR and Con, then str w ould gain durability

 

[le Redoutable]

instead of using CON, you could generate your hp normally, then gaining D.R. using the table below :

hp -- d.R.
1 --- 1
3 --- 2
6 --- 3
10 --- 4
15 --- 5
21 --- 6
28 --- 7
36 --- 8
etc


edit: clever, eh?
edit: well, it should get called Damage Protection and not Damage Resistance

 

[TBeholder]

So, as Toughness Bonus in d100 (Warhammer RP) and as Stamina in Star Frontiers?
This can work, of course, but doesn't seem to add anything new or greatly improve, to be worth of extra complication.
Also, note that Toughness Bonus in d100 is offset by Strength Bonus. As in, for average humans both are 3, so a sword does (1d10+3-3-Armor) damage.

If you want to tinker with d100 style damage mechanics, a more interesting avenue may be tweaking Toughness effects for use with multiple damage tracks and scaling (Alternity style).

 

[Bilharzia]

Or just wear armour.