Rejiggering Muscle-Powered Weapon Damage

Landwalker · 09-08-2011, 04:06 PM

So it seems to be pretty widely known that muscle-powered weapons have a "heroic" issue when it comes to damage. This has been bothering me a lot lately, because I want armor—especially the mid-range armor like mail and scale—to really carry its weight (figuratively speaking—it's the PC's job to carry the literal weight) in low-tech games, rather than simply be a minor speed-bump on the way to moderately strong PCs disemboweling all they encounter.

Currently, that doesn't happen. Fine Mail, which Low-Tech itself describes as able to "resist all but the heaviest sword cuts and spear thrusts," is regularly punctured by a ST 10 schmuck with a basic spear—in fact, the 4.5 average base damage of a two-handed ST 10 spear thrust still beats the fine mail's DR. That's hardly resisting all but the heaviest spear thrusts.

Enter Douglas Cole's Pyramid 3/33 article, The Deadly Spring.

Mr. Cole acknowledges, in his discussion of bow damage, that stock GURPS muscle-powered damage is exaggeratedly heroic. What's more, he offers a solution that produces bows with both cinematic and realistic damage options. All other things being equal, the cinematic damage has a 2.5 multiplier, while the realistic damage has a 1.75 multiplier. This results in realistic damage that is 70% of cinematic damage.

In my frustration over muscle-powered damage in general, I got to wondering whether this same ratio (0.7:1) can be extended to all muscle-powered damage, including melee and thrown weapons, without wrecking anything and without necessitating a reconstruction of ST-based damage progression.

Here are a few examples:

ST 10

Cinematic Broadsword: 1d+1 (4.5) cut / 1d (3.5) imp
Realistic Broadsword: 1d (3.15) cut / 1d-1 (2.45) imp

Cinematic Spear (1H/2H): 1d (3.5) imp / 1d+1 (4.5) imp
Realistic Spear (1H/2H): 1d-1 (2.45) imp / 1d (3.15) imp

ST 12

Cinematic Broadsword: 1d+3 (6.5) cut / 1d+1 (4.5) imp
Realistic Broadsword: 1d+1 (4.55) cut / 1d (3.15) imp

Cinematic Axe: 1d+4 (7.5) cut
Realistic Axe: 1d+2 (5.25) cut

ST 14—The 2d Swing Threshold

Cinematic Broadsword: 2d+1 (8) cut / 1d+2 (5.5) imp
Realistic Broadsword: 1d+2 (5.6) cut / 1d (3.85) imp

Cinematic Axe: 2d+3 (10) cut
Realistic Axe: 2d (7) cut

Cinematic Spear (1H/2H): 1d+3 (6.5) imp / 1d+4 (7.5) or 2d (7) imp
Realistic Spear (1H/2H): 1d+1 (4.55) imp / 1d+2 (5.25) or 1d+1 (4.9) imp

Any thoughts on the viability of this as a reasonable house rule to bring muscle-powered damage more into line with realistic values? Any obvious problems?

09-08-2011, 04:06 PM	#1
Landwalker Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Cumberland, ME	Rejiggering Muscle-Powered Weapon Damage So it seems to be pretty widely known that muscle-powered weapons have a "heroic" issue when it comes to damage. This has been bothering me a lot lately, because I want armor—especially the mid-range armor like mail and scale—to really carry its weight (figuratively speaking—it's the PC's job to carry the literal weight) in low-tech games, rather than simply be a minor speed-bump on the way to moderately strong PCs disemboweling all they encounter. Currently, that doesn't happen. Fine Mail, which *Low-Tech* itself describes as able to "resist all but the heaviest sword cuts and spear thrusts," is regularly punctured by a ST 10 schmuck with a basic spear—in fact, the 4.5 average base damage of a two-handed ST 10 spear thrust still beats the fine mail's DR. That's hardly resisting all but the heaviest spear thrusts. Enter Douglas Cole's Pyramid 3/33 article, The Deadly Spring. Mr. Cole acknowledges, in his discussion of bow damage, that stock GURPS muscle-powered damage is exaggeratedly heroic. What's more, he offers a solution that produces bows with both cinematic and realistic damage options. All other things being equal, the cinematic damage has a 2.5 multiplier, while the realistic damage has a 1.75 multiplier. This results in realistic damage that is 70% of cinematic damage. In my frustration over muscle-powered damage in general, I got to wondering whether this same ratio (0.7:1) can be extended to all muscle-powered damage, including melee and thrown weapons, without wrecking anything and without necessitating a reconstruction of ST-based damage progression. Here are a few examples: ST 10 Cinematic Broadsword: 1d+1 (4.5) cut / 1d (3.5) imp Realistic Broadsword: 1d (3.15) cut / 1d-1 (2.45) imp Cinematic Spear (1H/2H): 1d (3.5) imp / 1d+1 (4.5) imp Realistic Spear (1H/2H): 1d-1 (2.45) imp / 1d (3.15) imp ST 12 Cinematic Broadsword: 1d+3 (6.5) cut / 1d+1 (4.5) imp Realistic Broadsword: 1d+1 (4.55) cut / 1d (3.15) imp Cinematic Axe: 1d+4 (7.5) cut Realistic Axe: 1d+2 (5.25) cut ST 14—The 2d Swing Threshold Cinematic Broadsword: 2d+1 (8) cut / 1d+2 (5.5) imp Realistic Broadsword: 1d+2 (5.6) cut / 1d (3.85) imp Cinematic Axe: 2d+3 (10) cut Realistic Axe: 2d (7) cut Cinematic Spear (1H/2H): 1d+3 (6.5) imp / 1d+4 (7.5) or 2d (7) imp Realistic Spear (1H/2H): 1d+1 (4.55) imp / 1d+2 (5.25) or 1d+1 (4.9) imp Any thoughts on the viability of this as a reasonable house rule to bring muscle-powered damage more into line with realistic values? Any obvious problems?