Quote:
Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth
Making the 1xHP limit a damage threshold rather than an injury threshold is something I like, yeah.
|
3e had that, mostly, and it had some odd effects. For example, this means that a 7.62x51mm NATO APHC bullet doing 7d pi- would only ever do 10 x 0.5 = 5HP damage to a 1-HP target. Note that this is insufficient to create a major wound or to 'cripple' a limb. So we have the odd effect of AP rounds from full-bore rifles being unable to drop people or even slow them down unless they are shot 2+ times or a hit in a fairly limited number of places, while standard ball rounds (which generally have very similar wound tracks) can.
Back in 3e my rules was 'damage is capped at HP, injury at HP or HP x wound modifier, whichever is
higher' to avoid this. It still makes .45 ACP ball noticeably more effective than 9x19mm ball rather than slightly, which is a bit annoying.
I think if I were to introduce a damage cap for piercing and impaling attacks today I'd go with twice the major wound threshold for limbs and extremities, and 2xHP for the torso.