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Old 11-18-2016, 04:33 PM   #1
phayman53
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Default House Rule to Target the Whole Head

I was wondering about making a House Rule to target the whole head. It seems strange to me that there is no way to aim for the "center" of the head and have whether you hit the skull or face be randomly determined and I would like to make one. This is mostly because, per RAW, hitting the face or skull is prohibitively hard in combat at realistic skill levels (12-14 being "professional" as per Tactical Shooting). This is not to say that every blow aimed at the head should be as easy to land as the torso, but -5 or -7 is REALLY hard. However, it seems to me that in most hand-to-hand combat with weapons, the head is often a not to difficult target that professionals usually aim for. So I want to make it a bit easier but still keep the RAW penalty for targeting just the Face or just the Skull.

My thought is to have the Skull, Face, and Neck rolled into one hit locations, the Head, with the sub area hit being determined by a 1d6 roll:

From the front:
1 = Neck
2-4 = Face
5-6 = Skull

From the back:
1 = Neck
2-3 = Face
4-6 = Skull

Then, if you are using the more detailed rules about face sub locations and arteries, you would roll 1d6 again to determine that effect (I know this is a lot of rolls and would not appeal to everyone, but I don't mind).

What I am wondering is what an appropriate penalty for the Head location would be. I cannot decide between -4 or -3. I am leaning towards -3 because -4 is the same as the hands, which, even together, are much less surface area than the head.

Thoughts on the appropriate penalty?
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Old 11-18-2016, 04:38 PM   #2
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Default Re: House Rule to Target the Whole Head

If ever you wonder the modifier for a target like this consult: B.19 Size Modifier Table.

You will always be right if you use that as your guideline.
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Old 11-18-2016, 04:39 PM   #3
Anthony
 
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Default Re: House Rule to Target the Whole Head

Quote:
Originally Posted by phayman53 View Post
Thoughts on the appropriate penalty?
Not better than -4. Realistically, hit location penalties should be different for different attack types, hands are relatively easy to hit in melee because they're often forward, and the head is hard because that's where our eyes are so it's easy to recognize attacks aimed at it.
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Old 11-18-2016, 05:05 PM   #4
phayman53
 
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Default Re: House Rule to Target the Whole Head

Quote:
Originally Posted by GodBeastX View Post
If ever you wonder the modifier for a target like this consult: B.19 Size Modifier Table.

You will always be right if you use that as your guideline.
Except the hands are -4 to hit while the Face is -5 even though it is bigger than one hand--though maybe equal in surface area to both if the hands are open. The neck is also -5 and is definitely smaller than the head. And the arms and legs are equal even though the arms are much smaller than the legs. So there are definitely other factors involved in attack penalties for locations besides just size (like how much those areas are presented forward in a fight, perhaps).
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Old 11-18-2016, 05:18 PM   #5
dripton
 
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Default Re: House Rule to Target the Whole Head

The face is -5 to hit, but remember that misses by 1 hit the torso, so it's *really* only -4 to hit in some sense.
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Old 11-18-2016, 07:50 PM   #6
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Default Re: House Rule to Target the Whole Head

Quote:
Originally Posted by phayman53 View Post
Except the hands are -4 to hit while the Face is -5 even though it is bigger than one hand--though maybe equal in surface area to both if the hands are open. The neck is also -5 and is definitely smaller than the head. And the arms and legs are equal even though the arms are much smaller than the legs. So there are definitely other factors involved in attack penalties for locations besides just size (like how much those areas are presented forward in a fight, perhaps).
Is your face bigger than your hand? Keep in mind part of it is your skull for a hit location (Which I believe is the forehead), and neck is a separate location too. Here is the actual part of your face included in the -5:

Hit Location

With that in mind, hold your hand up to your face and tell me which has the bigger dimension. My hand is bigger.
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Old 11-18-2016, 08:47 PM   #7
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Default Re: House Rule to Target the Whole Head

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Originally Posted by phayman53 View Post
Except the hands are -4 to hit while the Face is -5 even though it is bigger than one hand--though maybe equal in surface area to both if the hands are open. The neck is also -5 and is definitely smaller than the head. And the arms and legs are equal even though the arms are much smaller than the legs. So there are definitely other factors involved in attack penalties for locations besides just size (like how much those areas are presented forward in a fight, perhaps).
Quote:
Originally Posted by GodBeastX View Post
Is your face bigger than your hand? Keep in mind part of it is your skull for a hit location (Which I believe is the forehead), and neck is a separate location too. Here is the actual part of your face included in the -5:

Hit Location

With that in mind, hold your hand up to your face and tell me which has the bigger dimension. My hand is bigger.
I'll be honest, the area indicated as the “Face” location on myself is bigger than my hand. But I'll also note that I'm usually trying to attack with my hands while keeping my face well away from being targeted.
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Old 11-18-2016, 09:18 PM   #8
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Default Re: House Rule to Target the Whole Head

Quote:
Originally Posted by Celti View Post
I'll be honest, the area indicated as the “Face” location on myself is bigger than my hand. But I'll also note that I'm usually trying to attack with my hands while keeping my face well away from being targeted.
And that is why hands should be easier to hit than the face. The hand will generally be much closer to the enemy than your face.

We also have some pretty strongly inbuilt flinch reflexes for our face/head. Not quite as strong for our hands (which a trained fighter will have mostly overcome due to training).
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Old 11-18-2016, 09:54 PM   #9
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Default Re: House Rule to Target the Whole Head

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Originally Posted by evileeyore View Post
And that is why hands should be easier to hit than the face. The hand will generally be much closer to the enemy than your face.

We also have some pretty strongly inbuilt flinch reflexes for our face/head. Not quite as strong for our hands (which a trained fighter will have mostly overcome due to training).
That should really be a bonus to dodge attacks to the head. That was a 3e house rule by, I think, Tbone.
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Old 11-18-2016, 10:03 PM   #10
phayman53
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Default Re: House Rule to Target the Whole Head

I'm not trying to change the price of the face location, only pointing out that direct size does not necessarily determine penalty (and yes, my GURPS face location is about the size of both ny hands put together, and my hands are pretty normal size). I was just trying to price the whole head and neck as one location, like the torso is the chest and abdomen.
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