Hit location miss by 1

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by OldSam

In the specific example with the additional d6:
As an alternative it would be possible to save the extra roll by interpreting a single dice of the normal roll two times - maybe that would be a faster solution... What do you think about something like that?
e.g. let's say one dice of the normal three has a different and outstanding color and that one is counted for the "extra roll", too, in case of a miss by 1.
so no extra roll is needed, but we'd have a single random number anyways.

or yet another way: if all the dice are rolled sequential one could just read the last one twice, to get that extra result for the miss...

The problem here is that it weights the final result depending on what the necessary to-hit roll is. For example, if the attacker needs to roll 11 for a miss-by-1, then the "location" die will only come up a 6 if the other two dice total exactly 5. Thus, the 6 result comes up much less frequently than 1/6 of the time.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Hands-on, regular players rarely find that extra detail is worth an extra roll.

I wouldn't really want it as GM - I'd be willing to do it if the players wanted, but their interest in hit locations tends to be confined to arms, legs, torso and vitals*, depending on what they want out of the fight. It's much the same for the games I play in: we're more story- than tactics-orientated, and I can't remember when we last got a hex map out.

*Edit: Forgot necks. That's the specialty of the man with Weapon Master (Greatsword).

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by MIB.6361

Definitely not RAW, but a good alternative that might suit your needs. I used to use Killer Crosshairs in any settings where guns were a factor, but it's just as usable for melee weapons as well.

It allows you to pinpoint where you're aiming and then gives scatter results based on how much you missed the target number by.
It has rules for use with GURPS (3rd) and many other systems.

I did something like this with circular and elliptical radii, which followed the speed range progression in expanding size. You'd put one on the target, and roll the dice, plus an extra d12. If you made it by zero, you were on the appropriate ring, in a direction decided by the d12 (think hands of a clock). If you made it by more, you were closer to your point of aim, by less, farther away.