Re: alternative wounding rules

From: kaledan2001 <kaledan2001_at_...>
Date: Sat, 06 Dec 2003 20:18:49 -0000

> So you proposed this wonderful idea, something I have been only
dreaming about, and now your quiet? =)

thanks.

Perhaps it would be better to come up with another name for these rules than 'wounding' - sometimes wounds at the description level _do_ correspond to AP losses at the mechanics level. If your intention is to pump large numbers of arrows into a tough creature until it drops, each arrow is an incremental step on the path to your overall goal, and so you use the AP loss mechanics. On the other hand, if you fire a single arrow at an advancing swordsman, that same arrow is a gamble that may make the upcoming fight easier or may have little effect, and so using this mechanic arguably handles the situation better. [A 'nested' simple contest can also work, but its harder to keep coming up with excuses as to why you keep getting a -50% to archery skill every time you fire at someone good at dodging].

In effect, under the standard rules there are 2 possible gambles, 'AP against AP' (normal extended contest round) and 'wound against wound' (nested simple contest). These rules add 'AP against wound' (replaces the 7ap/-1 wounding rules, inflicting lasting harm, possibly at the expense of chances of victory) and 'wound against AP' (replaces the desperation bid rule, risking life and limb in a final throw of the dice. Unlike desperation bids, this can be used on either the attack or defense, increasing the chance of narratively satisfying results like 'you persuaded your nation to go to war, but at the cost of a permanent loss of trust').

Having wounds augmenting wounds means that the biggest wound is 10x more effective than any lesser wounds. This is deliberate - the intent is to make wounding once a viable choice, and then switch back to fighting to win. Applying a fixed penalty for each wound would mean that wounding was either always better or always worse than trading AP. So either the rules would linger unused, or you would just be attriting skills instead of AP.

I hadn't thought of the extension to having multiple types of wounds (head injury, broken arm, etc), not all of which would affect any given action, but its a reasonable way to add grit (and hit locations, effectively) to HQ.

Assigning wounds instead of hurts based on the final results of simple and extended contests makes a lot of sense.

Giving a wound every time APs were transferred would add to bookkeeping without adding any extra player choices or noticable realism, and also increase the difference in odds between simple and extended contests.

soru

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