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Post by logan9a on Jan 22, 2017 22:59:21 GMT
One of Logan's widely held views on all players:
"If you tell a player that a sword gets an extra +1 damage during full moons if the creature has fur, they will remember it. Every time. If you tell the 12 HP character they have a 3 HP per round bleeder, it will be forgotten after the first round in at least half the cases."
Disclaimer: Not for any specific group but after GM'ing hundreds of people I've found it to be true often enough that I can say "It's always true enough."
Therefore, here is how I'm doing poisons, disease, sudden bleeders and other stuff that would normally take off HP's over rounds.
It's all right the fuck now.
But, because I don't think it's a particularly nifty way to die (outside of books and maybe some sagas) I'm 'wussifying' it by giving a resistance roll.
For example, I was just writing up a creature that has poison.
Copy/paste from there:
"To hit/Damage: 30%/ d6 + poison. Con/endurance roll or take extra d6 immediately."
Hence, if the character makes their con/endurance/whatever it's called - the skill that replaces CON - they pretty much ignore the poison aside from "Oh no, you've been poisoned" and the ability for the character to tell their party "Start sucking."
Sound OK?
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Post by Fantômas on Jan 23, 2017 1:32:25 GMT
I think DND 5e does something similar to simplify things. ie fail save instant dam, make save, ok. Works well.
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Post by bentpaperclip on Jan 23, 2017 12:16:49 GMT
I don't see an issue with this - until you get into things that might now do HP damage. Unless everything just does HP damage, in which case, no problem.
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Post by logan9a on Jan 23, 2017 15:37:49 GMT
I don't see an issue with this - until you get into things that might now do HP damage. Unless everything just does HP damage, in which case, no problem. Not sure what you mean - could you clarify?
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Post by bentpaperclip on Jan 23, 2017 16:50:15 GMT
Non-HP damage. Something that perhaps applies a skill modifier or "status/condition" to the character. For example, alcohol. I'd see this applying a status of "drunk" (some kind of skill modifier) rather than doing HP damage. Chloroform probably applies a condition (unconscious) rather than HP damage, unless you plan on having it do stun until people pass out (but then they'd be asleep until tomorrow). Some poisons cause paralysis, others blindness, others vomiting, others seizures. None of that can easily be represented by HP damage.
So my point was, "your idea works for poisons that do HP damage. Other poisons might cause other conditions that can't be summed up in one round like that."
Otherwise I see this happening: Ipecac! CON - Fail! Puke entire contents of body for 1 round. All better next round unless poisoned again. Can Puke and Attack as a multiaction.
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Post by logan9a on Jan 23, 2017 18:06:50 GMT
So my point was, "your idea works for poisons that do HP damage. Other poisons might cause other conditions that can't be summed up in one round like that." Oh - yes - quite right. Also, the effects may vary depending on what Logan wants at the time. (See also 'deep sense of sadism'). For example, one time a bad guy clapping a chloroform rag over someone's mouth may be a 'con/endur roll or lose d6 temp HP'. Another time it might be 'con/endur roll or be at (cumulative) -10% to 'do shit'. The consistent parts will probably be the con/endur roll makes everything OK. Player: "I thought chloroform did d6! Not -10% to skills!" GM: "Different brand." Player (mutters darkly)
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Post by bentpaperclip on Jan 23, 2017 18:18:42 GMT
Another time it might be 'con/endur roll or be at (cumulative) -10% to 'do shit'. Which the player immediately forgets about.
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Post by logan9a on Jan 23, 2017 18:25:49 GMT
Rule 1 yes indeed. I think the only time that the -10%'s would be used is if the NPC's wanted to capture the players for some purpose (bad guys get lonely too?) and wanted to render the PC's completely helpless. A little at a time. Perhaps the bad guys want to tie them to the 'needlessly slow dipping machine' that will put them into some sort of bad death trap. Then, the NPC can go off and attend other business, confident that the lone guard they left will see to it everything goes OK.
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