Hit the Torso by 5+, hit the vitals instead...

[Gudiomen]

Originally Posted by Xplo

I think the point that those in favor are trying to make is that there shouldn't be any such motivation; (almost) all torso shots are aimed at center mass, and are thus actually vitals shots anyway.

Well, strictly speaking the center of mass is below the sternum, and thus not a particularly vital area. From the side, you'd hit the lungs, from the back you'd hit the spine. A swinging blow actually targets a cross-section, for instance, any line that would form the diameter of the center of mass area... but the hit will land on the external of that circle, shoulders if diagonal, ribs if sideways, etc...

I understand where your coming from, but I think GURPS "vitals" isn't your everyday vitals. RAW means, IMHO, very very vital areas such as the heart, perhaps the lungs and kidneys. If we were to talk about important internal organs, then sure, it's hard to miss them when targeting the torso, but I don't think that's what we should consider the vitals hit-location to be. A shot to the intestines, something that punctures the appendix, a punctured lung, should probably be fatal (over minutes or days) barring significantly modern medical intervention. The rules don't reflect this by default, chest-wounds much less fatal than in real life.

Mechanically, falling unconscious due to significantly negative HP will do this to you, there's the optional bleeding and internal bleeding rules, rules for infections (punctured intestines, apendix, etc... should definitely qualify), there's tons of ways to making chest wounds more lethal without this particular house-rule, I'd look into those things first. And I still think there should be some motivation for a targeted shot to the vitals, so 5+ for me would be more acceptable. But we all have our tastes.