Drow Jones
First Post
Hi everyone,
Here's what Sean K Reynolds thinks about the VP/WP system:
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1. One, it makes battles MUCH tougher, because any critical hit automatically goes to wounds (based on Con) instead of vitality (based on level). That means that any creature capable of doing 15 or so points of damage has a chance of instantly taking out most typical PCs (since most PCs don't have 15+ Con).
2. Critical hits overcome damage reduction. So a if you crit a creature with DR 20/magic with a _nonmagical dagger_, it's suffering 1d4 points of damage right off its wounds. Heck, if you crit a creature with DR 20/adamantine with a _piece of thrown bark_, it's taking wound damage. That makes no sense.
3. Wound points can't drop below zero. That means if you're at 1 wound point and an orc hits you for 1 wound point, you're at zero and disabled, and have to save or be dying. If a dragon hits your for 30 wound points ... you're still at zero and disabled, and have to save or be dying.
4. Item 3 above also means that if you're at zero and dying, normal hits can't hurt you any more ... normal hits either come off your vitality points (which you don't care about, because you're already disabled and possibly dying) or go to your wound points ... but since wounds can't go below zero, nothing extra happens ... you're still disabled and possibly dying. In fact, even if you reduce someone to 0 vitality and 0 wounds, you can't hurt them any more with normal attacks! The only sort of thing that can make them worse is a coup de grace ... and only because it forces another save (DC 10 + damage) ... it doesn't make your wound points drop any more. Baffling!! If at 0/0, the tarrasque could make all of its attacks on you every round, and all you have to worry about (assuming that you're dying and not just disabled) is making your save (DC 10 +1/round) to not die and possible stabilize. The 0/0 guy under attack from the tarrasque is no worse off than the 0/0 guy resting on a hospital bed.
5. No massive damage rule. So the dragon hits you for 50 points of damage, wiping out your last ten vitality and wounds. You're at zero, and possibly dying ... but your save isn't any more difficult than it would be if it was an orc who hit you for your last 1 WP and VP.
6. NPC classes don't give you vitality. So now all creatures with NPC classes (say, like those warrior elves, dwarves, and city guards) are even weaker than their sucky NPC classes would normally make them. How does this affect CRs? Why would a PC ever take an NPC class now (one of the good ones, like aristocrat or expert)?
7. Creatures with regeneration take wound damage from fire and acid (though they can make a save to take it as vitality instead). That means that if you hit a human with a fireball for 15 points, he can suck it up with VP, but if you hit a troll, the troll might take it as WP (and see point 1 about how that takes out creatures quicker because of direct hits against their Con-based WP). And if the troll takes that as WP damage, remember that taking even a single WP means you're fatigued and has a chance of stunning you. So, oddly enough, the troll is MORE vulnerable than a human to certain attacks because of its regeneration instead of less.
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Original post here: http://pub17.ezboard.com/fseankreynoldsboardsfrm1.showMessage?topicID=1609.topic
Just some food for thought...
- DJ
Here's what Sean K Reynolds thinks about the VP/WP system:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1. One, it makes battles MUCH tougher, because any critical hit automatically goes to wounds (based on Con) instead of vitality (based on level). That means that any creature capable of doing 15 or so points of damage has a chance of instantly taking out most typical PCs (since most PCs don't have 15+ Con).
2. Critical hits overcome damage reduction. So a if you crit a creature with DR 20/magic with a _nonmagical dagger_, it's suffering 1d4 points of damage right off its wounds. Heck, if you crit a creature with DR 20/adamantine with a _piece of thrown bark_, it's taking wound damage. That makes no sense.
3. Wound points can't drop below zero. That means if you're at 1 wound point and an orc hits you for 1 wound point, you're at zero and disabled, and have to save or be dying. If a dragon hits your for 30 wound points ... you're still at zero and disabled, and have to save or be dying.
4. Item 3 above also means that if you're at zero and dying, normal hits can't hurt you any more ... normal hits either come off your vitality points (which you don't care about, because you're already disabled and possibly dying) or go to your wound points ... but since wounds can't go below zero, nothing extra happens ... you're still disabled and possibly dying. In fact, even if you reduce someone to 0 vitality and 0 wounds, you can't hurt them any more with normal attacks! The only sort of thing that can make them worse is a coup de grace ... and only because it forces another save (DC 10 + damage) ... it doesn't make your wound points drop any more. Baffling!! If at 0/0, the tarrasque could make all of its attacks on you every round, and all you have to worry about (assuming that you're dying and not just disabled) is making your save (DC 10 +1/round) to not die and possible stabilize. The 0/0 guy under attack from the tarrasque is no worse off than the 0/0 guy resting on a hospital bed.
5. No massive damage rule. So the dragon hits you for 50 points of damage, wiping out your last ten vitality and wounds. You're at zero, and possibly dying ... but your save isn't any more difficult than it would be if it was an orc who hit you for your last 1 WP and VP.
6. NPC classes don't give you vitality. So now all creatures with NPC classes (say, like those warrior elves, dwarves, and city guards) are even weaker than their sucky NPC classes would normally make them. How does this affect CRs? Why would a PC ever take an NPC class now (one of the good ones, like aristocrat or expert)?
7. Creatures with regeneration take wound damage from fire and acid (though they can make a save to take it as vitality instead). That means that if you hit a human with a fireball for 15 points, he can suck it up with VP, but if you hit a troll, the troll might take it as WP (and see point 1 about how that takes out creatures quicker because of direct hits against their Con-based WP). And if the troll takes that as WP damage, remember that taking even a single WP means you're fatigued and has a chance of stunning you. So, oddly enough, the troll is MORE vulnerable than a human to certain attacks because of its regeneration instead of less.
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Original post here: http://pub17.ezboard.com/fseankreynoldsboardsfrm1.showMessage?topicID=1609.topic
Just some food for thought...
- DJ