Re: (TFT) Random thoughts on rpg combat systems.

[Martin Gallo <martimer@mindspring.com>]

While we are on the subject...

Many years ago, I designed "My Ultimate Role Playing System" (MURPS?? 
Of course, this predates GURPS) that used what I thought were the 
best parts of TFT as its basis.

For weapons, I used a different tact than what I had seen in the past 
- I based the damage dice of the weapon on the ST required to wield 
it, so that weapons that required more ST to use did more damage - no 
surprise there. I then used a progression of dice for the actual 
damage rating, split up by damage type. I 'factored in' the idea of 
hit location by the number of dice thrown and any modifiers. All of 
the combinations were based on some simple statistical work ups I had 
done for minimums, averages and maximums. I have not seen those notes 
in years so no specific examples come to mind.

Missile weapons were basically a die (d2, d3, d4, d5, d6, d8, d10, 
d12) with some -1s thrown in for some types. So basically 0 to max 
damage. The idea is that the hit is either really good, or really bad 
or something in between. I allowed damage re-rolls for critical hits 
or aimed shots (essentially the same thing). It is easier to get a 
max damage result with a missile weapon (intentionally in my system).

Edged weapons were typically 2 dice (of the types listed above) in 
staggered combinations to control the increase of both the average 
damage and the max damage. Thus there were weapons that did d4+d6 
(higher min than d10, lower average) or d3+d8-1. I rationalized the 
averaging because these weapons are used in direct combat, and you 
are typically hitting a major location (head, chest, arms, etc.) that 
will have a debilitating effect on your ability to function. Most 
edged weapons do not have a lot of mass behind them, though - as the 
damage is mostly imparted by cutting through the armor/tissue.

Hafted/crushing type weapons were combinations of dice, similar to 
edged weapons, but had more dice (for a higher minimum and average). 
Same rationalizations as edged weapons, but more damage energy is 
imparted.

The 0's represented glancing blows or incidental damage - I got tired 
of worrying about hit locations and tracking fatigue separately from 
HP (I was playing DragonQuest, TnT and TFT). I once toyed with rating 
each weapon for type of damage (piercing, slicing and crushing) and 
armor for protection rating against each type, but quickly abandoned 
that as more paperwork than I wanted (or my players, more 
importantly).

I gave bonuses for 'extra ST' but there were also penalties (weapons 
breaking, as usual).

I was really happy with the result, but my players hated it. They 
hated having to roll different sized dice for every roll in the game! 
There is also the problem that armor was not handled very 
realistically without the different protection ratings.

The quest continues...
--
Always in motion is the future.
    	   Yoda

I practice Ty-Fu, the art of slaughtering what I type.

"Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to 
make them all yourself."
             Unknown

There's always someone better than you, but you're never as bad as 
some think you are."
             Rip Torn
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