05-02-2019, 01:57 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Aug 2018
|
Hit Location Symmetry
On the hit location table (B552) it seems that right leg is 6-7 whereas left leg is 13-14. My math says that's 12% and 17%, respectively. Arms seem to be similar. I tried quick googling, searching the forum and the faq for "hit location", but didn't find anything about this. Have I missed something or why the asymmetry?
|
05-02-2019, 02:14 PM | #2 | |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
|
Re: Hit Location Symmetry
Quote:
Any two results on 3d6 that add up to 21 have the same probability of occurring.
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one! |
|
05-02-2019, 02:27 PM | #3 | |
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: FL
|
Re: Hit Location Symmetry
Quote:
By Anydice: 6: 4.63 7: 6.94 = 11.57 13: 9.72 14: 6.94 = 16.66 Which round to the OP's numbers.
__________________
Formerly known as fighting_gumby. |
|
05-02-2019, 02:58 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Jul 2008
|
Re: Hit Location Symmetry
I'd guess that table is a pretty old piece of legacy that hasn't been reconsidered in a while, though I wasn't around to know that.
Asymmetry checks out - it looks like it's because Torso+groin gets three out of the four biggest slots, and there wasn't anything else to stick in the fourth of them. I can't see how higher odds of hitting the left side limbs would be simulating anything, anyway... You should be comparing 6 and 14, and 7 and 13, not 6 and 13. But you're right about the imbalance of the ranges.
__________________
I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident. Last edited by Ulzgoroth; 05-02-2019 at 03:08 PM. |
05-02-2019, 03:01 PM | #5 |
Hero of Democracy
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: far from the ocean
|
Re: Hit Location Symmetry
__________________
Be helpful, not pedantic Worlds Beyond Earth -- my blog Check out the PbP forum! If you don't see a game you'd like, ask me about making one! |
05-02-2019, 06:21 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: FL
|
Re: Hit Location Symmetry
Quote:
I could have been really thorough and pointed out that (6+7+13+14)/2 != 21 which has the same entailment and covers all possible ways of adding pairs, but isn't as clear. I don't use the table for much, but a simple solution would be to count all leg locations as "legs" and all arm locations as "arms" then roll 1d: evens left, odds right.
__________________
Formerly known as fighting_gumby. |
|
05-02-2019, 06:29 PM | #7 |
GCA Prime
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Portland, OR
|
Re: Hit Location Symmetry
I always assumed that was because one arm and one leg were considered to be 'leading' and therefore hit more.
__________________
Armin D. Sykes | Visit my GCA5 blog for updates and previews. | Get GURPS Character Assistant 5 now at Warehouse 23. |
05-02-2019, 06:31 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ronkonkoma, NY
|
Re: Hit Location Symmetry
One does not typically stand perfectly perpendicular to the direction toward one's opponent. A few percent variation for the sake of a simple 3d table shouldn't be too worrisome. If it bothers you anyway, swap left and right when considering someone who is left-handed.
|
05-02-2019, 06:54 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
|
Re: Hit Location Symmetry
The table, if it's more than simply unbalanced because of a lack of 'room' to place everything, seems to assume you're leading with your left said, as you would if you were a right-hander with a shield and one-handed weapon (or a rifle at the shoulder). If it bothers people, they could just reverse the sides for targets that are presenting the right side rather than the left.
__________________
Rupert Boleyn "A pessimist is an optimist with a sense of history." |
05-02-2019, 07:10 PM | #10 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: 100 hurricane swamp
|
Re: Hit Location Symmetry
Yes, I recall that explanation from some years back. Though, I'll be deuced if I can find it anymore (it may have been in Roleplayer or the online Pyramid).
|
Tags |
hit location, symmetry |
|
|