Here is the alternate combat system that I am using. I think some one out
there may find it useful. When I read and reread the MegaTraveller Personal
Combat system, I was confused and overwhelmed with the procedures and
calculations. Marginal Success and Zero Penetration were just too many terms
to be throwing at players who were somewhat overwhelmed by the game anyway.
My system is very similar to that of MegaTraveller, however, I changed the way
that penetration works. When you have hit your target, you compare the
weapons penetration value to that of the armor. If the penetration is
greater or equal to that of the armor, you do full damage. For each point of
penetration that the weapon is rated below that of the armor, the damage is
reduced by one dice, until no damage is done.
Example: 4mm Gauss Pistol Pen: 4, Dam: 4 firing against Cloth Armor (5).
So since the Gauss Pistol's pen is 4, and the armor is 5, it would hit and only
do 3 dice of damage. A 9mm auto pistol pen:3 and dam:3 would only do one dice
of damage.
If the roll to hit was 4 greater than was needed, the penetration is
doubled. If it is 6 better then it is tripled, and if it is 8 better then it
is quadrupled. This allows weapons to penetrate on good hits armor that they
normally could not. Now, under this system, no weapon can do more damage than
it is rated.
One other problem spot has been found. If a weapon as a pen of 0, it could
never do damage to armored folk (0*4 = 0). In this case, we treat the weapon
as having a pen of 1-1. So if I shot someone with a body pistol and they were
wearing cloth armor, and I rolled 8 better than I needed, then 1*4 = 4-1 = 3
or 2 dice of damage. Cloth armor is not something that the common thug should
have. Before I had every NPC in cloth, not any more. I think that this will
work well, only play testing will tell for sure.
As far as damage goes, I do not use the hits and damaged/destroyed values for
characters. Instead, I apply each dice of damage to a random stat (STR/DEX/END
or SUSP/LOCO/FRAME). When one stat is reduced to 0, the unit stops functioning
(goes unconscious). When all three are reduced to 0, then the unit is
destroyed.
What do you think?
Rob
- --
Rob Miracle | Bitnet : [email removed] CIS: [email removed]
Programmer/Analyst-II | INTERNET : [email removed]
University of Louisville | UUCP : ...[email removed]