Hit Locations

[C. Baize]

Target sheet

Couple of disclaimers....
1: Remember... I wrote it when I was 16, and I haven't rewritten it, since.
2: It was amusing when I was 16 for the number 13 to be unlucky. *sigh*
I really should get around to re-writing it.

 

[CarlZog]

Bio-One.

A detailed set of hit location tables and effects for firearms. Unfortunately, it'll probably be hard to get a hold of. It was published in the mid-70s by TSR, and has now become one of those ridiculously coveted collectibles.
Anyway, I used it a lot with Top Secret and the results leant a deadly aura to gunfights.

Z

 

[ddougan]

I use a hit location system for my Spycraft campaign. Basically, armour has no bonus to defence, but acts as damage reduction only (obviously only certain hit locations - jackets covering chest and abdomen, helmets covering head etc). Hit Location is a single D10 roll. Each body part has individual hit points assigned to it (typically characters will get 1-2 HP per level per body part - so in total they have much more HP than a normal Spycraft character, but any given body part is much more vulnerable to multiple hits).

Area affect weapons will either be divided across the entire body (or those parts not behind cover), or else assigned to 3 hit locations. For example, a fireball from an explosion will be divided across all 10 hit locations. Whilst damage from a frag grenade is divided in 3, and each location (possibly the same location more than once) gets 1/3 of the damage.

Recovery is based on HP per hit location per hour - unless the character is wounded (if any hit location has all available hit points used, then any further damage comes off the central wound pool).

Cover no longer affects defense, but instead offers additional armour protection and possible concealment. So if an enemy is standing behind a crate, any hit which is behind the crate is actually a miss (unless its a potential threat, in which case its assumed the round hit the crate at the correct point to vector onto the target hit location). Should a potential threat occur, then the crate provides damage reduction.

(Much of this is borrowed from Twilight 2000 and Traveller 2300 hit location rules)

The end result is a little more (perceived) realism, a lot more anxiety in individual fire fights, and yet a quick recovery rate between action scenes. Given the combat oriented nature of our Spycraft campaign, we've found it works really well.

Spycraft has the advantage over DnD in this area that virtually all the combatants (apart from the occassional guard dog) are humanoid, and so use a single hit location chart.



You may want to check out the following:

Star Wars Galactic Campaign Guide - simple hit location chart, with location-specific affects for called shots

Torn Asunder - detailed critical hits for DnD, covering non-humanoid creatures as well.

 

[DMH]

I have Torn Asunder and it is simple enough to not slow combat significantly. In fact it may speed it up with all the damage inflicted.

Does anyone have the Advanced Player's Guide from S&S? I read it has a section on critical effects.

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

In my last campaign I used the one from Mongoose's Quintessental Fighter, which basically expands on the critical hit system. It's more of a called shot system than what most people thing of as a hit location system (ie roll a die, consult a chart, etc).

Basically, whenever someone gets a crit they can choose to forego the extra damage in exchange for calling where the shot hit, and putting a penalty on the foe, such as crippling their weapon hand or blinding them or whatever. The locations had a minimum BAB requirement, so that the smaller, harder-to-hit, or more damaging ones couldn't be chosen at lower levels.

The system seemed to work pretty well, and the players liked having the extra option to describe their attacks and weaken opponents. For me, I prefer a system like this that adds to what the players can do, rather than a typical one that just randomly determines the location every time. I've always assumed that the PCs in combat are getting in the best shot that they can, so skill (BAB here) should be the main factor.

 

[ddougan]

Does anyone have the Advanced Player's Guide from S&S? I read it has a section on critical effects.

I have. Although I've not used it at the gaming table, it flooded back memories of the old MERP critical hit system - tables of different damage types per hit location.

I can't remember the exacts of the S&S mechanics, but it something along the lines of generating a Critical Value (based on the damage rolled and the critical multipler), and then rolling some dice. Then there are multiple sets of tables (for slashing, piercing etc) to cross reference the Critical Value against the hit location. Typical effects at lower CV are things like dropping a weapon, being stunned. At higher values, its loss of limbs etc and then of course "Dies from shock and blood loss"


The text in the S&S APG says the system isn't meant to make crits more powerful, just different, so those worried about unbalancing their game *shouldn't* have to worry about it too much - though as I say, I've never tried running a game with it.

(I was intending to use it in my own D20 LOTR game, but then it seemed Decipher was going to finish off the Coda system titles ... though it now appears thats behind schedule and even then, the ROTK sourcebook is nowhere insight, so maybe my D20 LOTR will get ressurrected again...)

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I use the Swashbuckling Adventures rules for hit locations as criticals. In OGL Steampunk I allow them to replace a failed Massive Damage roll with the expenditure of an Action Point. (In this case the limb is pretty much beyond repair, Lefty.)

The Auld Grump

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Torn Asunder is well worth picking up. It was the Silver ENnie Award winner for Best Rules Supplement at the 2004 ENnie Awards.

 

[Telas]

The first edition of Runequest had a hit location system based on a D20, and armor was damage reduction.

The cool part was that you could customize your armoring, and enough damage to a location had certain effects (too much would sunder a limb).

I don't remember how they handled quadrupeds, different sizes, etc.

Telas

 

[TheAuldGrump]

The first edition of Runequest had a hit location system based on a D20, and armor was damage reduction.

The cool part was that you could customize your armoring, and enough damage to a location had certain effects (too much would sunder a limb).

I don't remember how they handled quadrupeds, different sizes, etc.

Telas

First, second, and third editions of RQ actually.

Heroquest/Hero Wars just did not float my Gloranthan boat.

The Auld Grump