Wednesday's post on the Shaken rules in Savage Worlds got me thinking about health systems in games. I've been thinking about how certain systems, like D&D/Pathfinder's Hit Points, abstract damage to make things easier and how other games go for a more realistic damage system to represent how taking a hit would actually affect a character.
For awhile now, I've been toying with a post-apocalyptic game. Instead of going the more "gonzo" route of Gamma World, I wanted to make a game that was more gritty and lethal. I want it to be a game where combat is the last option because when two people pull out guns, one of them is going to die quickly and the other will probably die slowly and painfully of an infected wound.
So, I've been trying to figure out a way to handle this kind of damage without making the system extremely complex. However, that's easier said then done. I was thinking maybe it there could be three types of wounds (like major, minor, and moderate) that vary in deadliness. A character could take a certain amount of each wound before becoming incapacitated or die. However, determining what deals what kind of wound and if the location of the hit should effect the severity of the wound has made things difficult.
Really, this is just me thinking out loud. Maybe I'm trying to do something that just can't be done. However, I always like a challenge and some help would be much appreciated. If anyone has any ideas on how I could handle this and make it work, I'd love to here them.
The Blue Planet rpg has one of the best rationales for its wound system ever:
ReplyDelete1) All damage is potentially lethal
2) Where a hit lands is less important than the trauma it inflicts.
For the most part, trauma is a very random animal. Yeah, head shots for the most part are lethal IRL. But that has to do with where the bullet actually winds up - between its exit from the barrel and getting to that final resting place there are a whole hell of a lot of variables.
For that reason, I prefer wound systems like you describe and no hit location. The Silhouette system from DP9 works like that. There are three wound levels: Flesh, Deep and Dead. Even if you take only Flesh Wounds, you can only take so many before you go into shock. Weapon damage is fixed, but how good the blow is multiplies it. Getting wounded means having a penalty on all die rolls, representing shock, blood loss and loss of functionality. It's fast, it's lethal and it hits the right spot in terms of "realism" (at least for me).
Hmm, DP9's system actually sounds perfect for what I'm trying to do with this post-apocalyptic game. I might just check it out. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteBest as I can say, I agree with Wil 100 percent. If you want to check it out, I would think that the most recent version (SilCORE) would suit. It was the last one they came out with I believe, maybe the 4th version (Wil, stop me if I'm wrong there).
DeleteBut yes, the system is lethal. Which makes sense for a Gritty-style game. Looking forward to hearing more from you on the swubject, Cody.
I managed to download the PDF for SilCore yesterday and I've taken a look at the injury system. I really like it and think it'll be a perfect fit for my game after some tweeking so it'll fit the rest of the system I've created, which shouldn't be that hard really.
DeleteGood to hear. :)
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