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Old 08-06-2018, 09:42 AM   #1
Rasputin
 
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Default Chopping down a tree

I'm trying to see what the general penalties are for chopping at the same spot on a tree. This comes out of GURPS Magic: Plant Spells, which says: "Plant DR is ablative to burning, crushing, cutting, and huge piercing attacks to the same spot. DR is semi-ablative to multiple impaling, piercing, and large piercing attacks to the same spot." So, what's the penalty to hit the same spot? I assume George Washington is making Telegraphic Attacks to his father's cherry tree (as well as All-Out Attack (Strong)), a luxury someone chopping down a tree that fights back would be unable to have.
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Old 08-06-2018, 12:29 PM   #2
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Default Re: Chopping down a tree

I don't think it wold be a AoA strong, but AoA determined, for +4 to hit.

one spot of 5" gets -7 to hit, and I don't think a lumberjack have lots of points spend in Axe, as his target don't move.

so, +4 for AoA, +4 for favorable conditions and -7 for the spot he gets a +1 in total.

with Axe 12 he gets a 13 and 83,8% chance of hiting the same spot, a small one.

I would also consider that only a 18 misses the three and you could hurt yourself, but 14 to 16 hit another spot and 17 hits but could damage the Axe
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Old 08-06-2018, 03:06 PM   #3
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Default Re: Chopping down a tree

Personally I'd call it 'hand' sized (-4) and call it a day. Maybe 'neck' (-5) if I was feeling particularly mean about it.


'Hand' sized puts it exactly at 'covered by Telegraphic Attack', which feels correct to me. Most tree choppers aren't going to AOA (Determined), you need to remain responsive in case things go awry, like missed chops, the blade turning, flying debris. But as most trees also aren't trying to dodge you, Telegraphic makes a nice 'fit' in my opinion.

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Old 08-06-2018, 03:33 PM   #4
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Default Re: Chopping down a tree

Consider task difficulty here too. It not moving would be a decent bonus alone.
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Old 08-06-2018, 03:33 PM   #5
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Default Re: Chopping down a tree

Quote:
Originally Posted by Empada View Post
One spot of 5" gets -7 to hit, and I don't think a lumberjack have lots of points spend in Axe, as his target don't move.
So the Wounded modifier for the hit location. Which was my first thought, though it seemed kinda small.

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Originally Posted by evileeyore View Post
Personally I'd call it 'hand' sized (-4) and call it a day. Maybe 'neck' (-5) if I was feeling particularly mean about it.
By contrast, a bigger target. Of course, the hit would also get the SM as a hit bonus too.
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Old 08-06-2018, 03:36 PM   #6
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Default Re: Chopping down a tree

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Originally Posted by Boge View Post
Consider task difficulty here too. It not moving would be a decent bonus alone.
I’m not interested in how tough the task is. For just chopping a tree, I’d just wave my hand. I’m interested in having a location modifier in case the tree fights back.
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Old 08-06-2018, 06:00 PM   #7
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Default Re: Chopping down a tree

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Originally Posted by Rasputin View Post
Of course, the hit would also get the SM as a hit bonus too.
Unless the wound channel is suddenly increased in size due to having hit a larger target this is not the correct way to go...


In other words, it didn't matter so much the size of the tree when I went chopping, the axe channels tended to be the same size. Granted after a few blows the channel is widened, but that's a slightly different issue.
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Old 08-06-2018, 07:22 PM   #8
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Default Re: Chopping down a tree

Not All-Out Attack (Strong) unless you're a very good axeman and are in a big hurry. For most people, it's AoA (Determined). In any case, delivering one stroke of the axe per second to a tree is excessively fast and will tire people very quickly.

Two-Handed Axe/Mace skill really isn't the skill to use. Instead, it would be Pro Skill (Lumberjack) or something similar, which allows you to inflict more damage at a higher rate over a period of time while not fatiguing as fast.

Hitting "roughly the same spot" on a stationary target can be done by anyone with any degree of trained skill with a weapon. For ordinary wood-chopping, that's usually good enough. The skill a trained axeman brings to the show is the ability to change the location of each strike, and hit precisely, so that you control the direction the tree will fall. Canonically, that means skill level 12.

Felling a tree isn't just the ability to inflict damage, but the ability to inflict damage in such a way that the tree becomes structurally unstable and falls - preferably in the direction you want it to go. Anything much over 1/2 HP inflicted to generally the same location on the tree is going to reduce the tree's HT, and force it to make regular HT rolls, at a penalty based on further damage, to avoid toppling.
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Old 08-06-2018, 09:25 PM   #9
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Default Re: Chopping down a tree

Quote:
Originally Posted by evileeyore View Post
Unless the wound channel is suddenly increased in size due to having hit a larger target this is not the correct way to go...
You're reading this wrong. The SM of the tree is applied to the skill roll.
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Old 08-06-2018, 10:20 PM   #10
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Default Re: Chopping down a tree

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Originally Posted by Rasputin View Post
You're reading this wrong. The SM of the tree is applied to the skill roll.
I think what he's saying is that the SM of the tree is applied to the first hit, after that, it's only the SM of the wound that matters, though of course misses will strike the tree more frequently. The head of a battle axe is usually 4-6" in size, though a two-handed war axe like a dane axe can be closer to a foot long. Such blades are sub-optimally configured for chopping wood (wedge is best for that), but the general principle would likely be that the wound you're aiming for to repeatedly hit the same area is a very small (hand-size in length, much, much smaller in width, like 0.25" or so).
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