Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > The Fantasy Trip

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-06-2020, 07:38 PM   #1
harlandski
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Default Minimum of 1 damage for all weapons?

I've got the "Two Complete Games in One Box" version of Melee. The very last sentence of the Melee booklet data "Since his sword will do at least 1 damage, Wulf is a goner". Flavius was using a gladius (shortsword), which is listed as 2d-1. I suppose this would always do one damage, as the minimum you can roll on two dice is two. But I'd like to know if there is a general assumption that a weapon will always do one damage on a hit (not counting for armour). So Dagger, Main Gauche, Javelin, Thrown rock, Sling, and Small bow all have the potential of zero (or negative) damage. Is this the intention of the rules - that such weapons sometimes do no damage, or is there an assumed 1 damage per successful hit?
harlandski is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2020, 08:27 PM   #2
Shostak
 
Shostak's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: New England
Default Re: Minimum of 1 damage for all weapons?

Yes, any weapon with a subtractive modifier equal to or more than its dice damage has the potential to deal zero damage on a hit--even a double or triple damage hit.
Shostak is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-06-2020, 09:28 PM   #3
larsdangly
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Default Re: Minimum of 1 damage for all weapons?

It's important that zero mean zero, not 1. Otherwise there are a bunch of 1-die attacks that should be significantly different in average value but end up being closely similar.
larsdangly is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-07-2020, 02:21 AM   #4
harlandski
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Default Re: Minimum of 1 damage for all weapons?

Ok, thank you for your replies. About doubling / tripling @Shostak, so I take it the results of rolls are doubled/tripled (or halved etc), not the number of dice and modifiers?
harlandski is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-07-2020, 03:33 AM   #5
Chris Rice
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: London Uk, but originally from Scotland
Default Re: Minimum of 1 damage for all weapons?

Quote:
Originally Posted by harlandski View Post
Ok, thank you for your replies. About doubling / tripling @Shostak, so I take it the results of rolls are doubled/tripled (or halved etc), not the number of dice and modifiers?
Yes it's the total rolled that is doubled etc. So if your rolled total is zero, it's still zero on a double or triple.
Chris Rice is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-07-2020, 10:47 AM   #6
Skarg
 
Join Date: May 2015
Default Re: Minimum of 1 damage for all weapons?

We used to double and triple the number of dice instead. We enjoyed the feel, drama, and sound of rolling more dice.

There is a game effect of doing that, of course, on the possible and likely numbers you tend to get. (Multiplying the number of dice is less likely to get a very low or very high result, and it also means it's possible to get amounts that aren't multiples of 2 or 3.)
Skarg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-17-2020, 10:29 AM   #7
Oneiros
 
Oneiros's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Default Re: Minimum of 1 damage for all weapons?

I've seen one house rule that double damage simply adds a d6, triple adds 2d6. Makes things slightly less lethal, and negates the "Critical Zero!" scenario.
Oneiros is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-09-2020, 04:02 PM   #8
JustAnotherJarhead
 
JustAnotherJarhead's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: Cali
Default Re: Minimum of 1 damage for all weapons?

I always liked the More Dice approach. watching 6d6 get rolled on a broadsword crit...is sheer entertainment!
JustAnotherJarhead is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2020, 11:18 AM   #9
Skarg
 
Join Date: May 2015
Default Re: Minimum of 1 damage for all weapons?

Quote:
Originally Posted by JustAnotherJarhead View Post
I always liked the More Dice approach. watching 6d6 get rolled on a broadsword crit...is sheer entertainment!
Yep! And hearing the dice-rumble of doom!
Skarg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-10-2020, 12:31 PM   #10
hcobb
 
hcobb's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Pacheco, California
Default Re: Minimum of 1 damage for all weapons?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Oneiros View Post
I've seen one house rule that double damage simply adds a d6, triple adds 2d6. Makes things slightly less lethal, and negates the "Critical Zero!" scenario.
Isn't the Uber-dagger powerful enough already?
__________________
-HJC
hcobb is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:21 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.