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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Edena_of_Neith" data-source="post: 4007863" data-attributes="member: 2020">Ok, nobody in a D&D game is going to have to dodge a bullet (unless they go through City Beyond the Gate, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, or the like.)  But what if they had to?  What stats would it take to do so?  I tried to extrapolate.  How'd I do?  What do you think?  A bullet fired from a small gun travels at around 600 miles per hour.  A bullet fired from a high powered rifle travels around 2,000 miles per hour.  Or something like this?  So, let's categorize bullets by speed:  Bullet travels at 600 mph (880 feet per second)  Bullet travels at 1,200 mph (1,760 feet per second)  Bullet travels at 1,800 mph (2,640 feet per second)  - Let's assume the person firing the gun is standing 40 feet from the target, and;  - The shot is dead accurate, aimed at the center of the torso of this humanoid (man-sized) target, and;  - The target has *no* chance to react until *after* the gun is fired, and;  - The target can somehow see the oncoming bullet, in order to dodge it.  What is now needed?  If the target begins reacting when the bullet (880 feet per second version) is still 20 feet away (halfway point from shooter to target), then the target is reacting in 0.023 seconds (the actual theoretical fastest human reaction time is 0.1 second, so this is 4 times faster than that.)  If the target begins reacting when the bullet (1,760 feet per second version) is still 20 feet away, then the target is reacting in 0.011 seconds (9 times the theoretical maximum.)  If the target begins reacting when the bullet (2,640 feet per second version) is still 20 feet away then he is reacting in 0.008 seconds (12 times the theoretical maximum.)  If the target reacts only when the bullet reaches him, his reaction time would be half as fast (and, obviously, not fast enough to save him.)  If the target reacts when the bullet is 10 feet out from the shooter, his reaction time is double the above.   If the bullet is only 5 feet out, quadruple the above.  If an 18 dexterity represents the maximum human reaction time, what score represents 4 times better than that?  8 times?  12 times?  16 times?  24 times?  48 times?  Based on the 2nd edition strength bonuses to lift and carry, with a linear increase for every point beyond 25 (+300 pounds of lifting/carrying capacity), I estimate 4x maximum would require a Dexterity in 2nd Edition terms of 24 (24 Str lifts 1,200 pounds without encumbrance, compared to 18/00 lifting 300 pounds, or 4x lifting/carrying power.)      Thus, reacting at 4 times the theoretical human maximum (represented by 18 Dexterity) would require 24 Dexterity.  8x would require 28 Dexterity.  12x would require 32 Dexterity.  16x would require 36 Dexterity.  24x would require 44 Dexterity.  48x would require 68 Dexterity.  I do not know what these numbers would represent in 3rd edition.  I am guessing you would have to add around 30 to the Dexterity number in 3rd Edition.  -  Now, once the target began to react, he would have to move his body out of the way of the bullet.  It is not far that he has to move;  only a mere 2 feet.  But he must accelerate quickly enough to move that 2 feet before the bullet travels the remaining distance to him (the remaining 20 feet, in the middle scenario.)  That is, he must move 2 feet in the time it takes the bullet to travel the remaining 20 feet.  How much time he has to move depends on the speed of the bullet.  If the bullet is moving at 880 feet per second, he has 0.023 seconds to move.  If the bullet is moving at 1,760 feet per second, he has 0.011 seconds to move.  If the bullet is moving at 2,640 feet per second, he has 0.008 seconds to move.  He must move, on average, at incredible speed (*can anyone calculate this out in MPH?*) to avoid the bullet.  Incredible acceleration requires both incredible Strength (to move) and incredible Constitution (to survive the acceleration.)  I remember seeing a massive cannon firing a shell at a target 10 miles distant, and the shell hitting that point seconds later.  So, materials exist strong enough to withstand the acceleration.  I'm guessing properly made steel was used, and thus if one were as tough as strong steel one would be able to survive the acceleration.  But how high of a Constitution must one have, to have the equivalent toughness of solid steel of a size equal to their own body size?  Can anyone tell me?  I'm guessing it's a very high number.  Can anyone guess the amount of Strength needed for the acceleration?  Certainly, it is prodigious.  Not even a Titan can accomplish this, so obviously greater than Titan Strength is needed.  Just how much is required?  Mr. Smith, in The Matrix, was able to 'bend the rules' of the Matrix Program sufficiently to simulate such high Dexterity, Strength, and Constitution (before he surpassed the Matrix altogether, that is.)  Remo Williams was supposedly able to dodge bullets as well.  In D&D, monks and some others can dodge arrows.  Xena the Warrior Princess could dodge arrows.  What would it have taken, then, for them to dodge bullets?  Again, I figured Dexterity from 24 (for low caliber bullets from small handguns) to 68 (against a high powered military rifle) in 2nd Edition terms (add around 30 to Dex for 3rd Edition conversion.)  Strength?  Unknown.  Constitution?  Unknown, but equivalent to the person being as tough as if made of solid steel of an especially strong grade.  Your thoughts?</blockquote>

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