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Old 05-20-2016, 02:24 PM   #28
GodBeastX
 
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Default Re: Questions about hitboxes, impaling weapons, rigid armor, and hit chances

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
At TL2, some people might have helmets that largely enclose the face but no one is likely to have neck armor. If you've got the skill for it (and you can buy a Technique to help) stabbing folks in the neck is a very appropriate approach.

I've got to disagree with this in some respects. The torso is never the best place to hit, but it's often not the worst. Especially if you're using the 1-in-6 chance for torso hits to actually be Vitals.

Most importantly, impaling (or big piercing) damage loses its favorable wounding effects on limbs. You might want to stab someone in the arm sometimes, but you're losing a lot of damage potential.

For crushing, and especially for cutting (which has no Vitals effects), the torso has less going for it. But it can still be a good target for very strong attacks where you'll lose a lot of wounding to the cap on limb hits. Of course smashing somebody's arm or leg to uselessness has a considerable benefit of its own, but one-shotting them to negative HP may be more useful than breaking their arm.

If that's your only reason to aim for the torso, you should take a random location instead. It doesn't cost you any skill and gives you a chance of hitting somewhere else. This may often be a good choice for a cutting or crushing attack.
This assumes you are mixing in Martial Arts rules, which I never assume when people are posting. Yes, if you take the possible vital hit then Torso isn't bad, but otherwise it requires you to do massive damage in order to effectively end combat. I say End COmbat because even killing someone may not be the goal of a fight. I also said "Almost" always, not "Always". I am usually careful about making absolute statements, because things like reducing effective skill to low to be useful and other factors tie into choosing a location too.

However, if you're trying to make someone ineffective in combat, Torso is not often the best place to hit.
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Last edited by GodBeastX; 05-20-2016 at 02:27 PM.
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