Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - Ramming Speed vs Throwing Speed with a side order of Log ST

Anthony · 05-08-2017, 04:17 PM

If you want a damage system for Log ST that actually scales intelligibly, try this one:

Make a ST roll, with modifiers. Your damage is based on your margin of success, with a multiplier or divisor. General rule is:

If you have a multiplier of x1, the ST roll is at +0.
If you have a divisor, the ST roll is at +10, +5x(range/speed modifier for divisor). Round down (so no point to a divisor above /10).
If you have a multiplier, the ST roll is at -10, -5x(range/speed modifier for multiplier).
For objects, find the ST required to lift the object as 1x BL
- Required ST 6-20 has no divisor (+0 modifier)
- Required ST 1-5 has a divisor of 2 (+10 modifier). Each additional -5 increases divisor by 1 step on the range/speed chart.
- Required ST 21-25 has a multiplier of 2 (-10 modifier). Each additional +5 increases multiplier by 1 step on the range/speed chart.
Thrust attacks apply a -5 to the ST roll, and also count as 5 ST lighter in the calculation above. This is equivalent to shifting by 1 step on the range/speed chart.
Best results are generally for weapons where required ST to lift is 10-15 lower than actual ST.

Thus, a weapon in the 2.5-6.3 lb range replaces Swing with a ST+10 roll and divides margin of success by 2 (at ST 10, averages 4.5). A light weapon (0.8-2 lb) replaces Swing with a ST+15 roll and divides by 3 (at ST 10, averages 4.5). A very light weapon (0.25-0.63 lb) replaces Swing with a ST+20 roll and divides by 5 (at ST 10, averages 3.5). Note, however, that the lighter weapons will lose less for weak wielders, and the heavier weapons will gain more from strong wielders (also, damage is slightly higher, because normalizing for 3.5 damage at ST 10 produces messy numbers).

In our LogST 35 example, we want a weapon that requires ST 25 to lift (630 lb), and when wielding such a weapon you'd roll at ST-10 and multiply the result by 2 (average result: 29).

If for some reason Atlas the Planet Lifter (ST 239 for BL 1.6e+24 lb) decides to pick up the moon (1.6e+23 lb, required ST 229) and use it as a club, we start with a ST 24 object, and then shift by 41 steps on the range/speed chart, giving a multiplier of 15 million and a ST penalty of -215, so he's rolling against a 24- (average result 13.5) and multiplying by 15 million, for a total of 202 million damage on average.

05-08-2017, 04:17 PM	#12
Anthony Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Berkeley, CA	Re: Ramming Speed vs Throwing Speed with a side order of Log ST If you want a damage system for Log ST that actually scales intelligibly, try this one: Make a ST roll, with modifiers. Your damage is based on your margin of success, with a multiplier or divisor. General rule is: If you have a multiplier of x1, the ST roll is at +0. If you have a divisor, the ST roll is at +10, +5x(range/speed modifier for divisor). Round down (so no point to a divisor above /10). If you have a multiplier, the ST roll is at -10, -5x(range/speed modifier for multiplier). For objects, find the ST required to lift the object as 1x BL Required ST 6-20 has no divisor (+0 modifier) Required ST 1-5 has a divisor of 2 (+10 modifier). Each additional -5 increases divisor by 1 step on the range/speed chart. Required ST 21-25 has a multiplier of 2 (-10 modifier). Each additional +5 increases multiplier by 1 step on the range/speed chart. Thrust attacks apply a -5 to the ST roll, and also count as 5 ST lighter in the calculation above. This is equivalent to shifting by 1 step on the range/speed chart. Best results are generally for weapons where required ST to lift is 10-15 lower than actual ST. Thus, a weapon in the 2.5-6.3 lb range replaces Swing with a ST+10 roll and divides margin of success by 2 (at ST 10, averages 4.5). A light weapon (0.8-2 lb) replaces Swing with a ST+15 roll and divides by 3 (at ST 10, averages 4.5). A very light weapon (0.25-0.63 lb) replaces Swing with a ST+20 roll and divides by 5 (at ST 10, averages 3.5). Note, however, that the lighter weapons will lose less for weak wielders, and the heavier weapons will gain more from strong wielders (also, damage is slightly higher, because normalizing for 3.5 damage at ST 10 produces messy numbers). In our LogST 35 example, we want a weapon that requires ST 25 to lift (630 lb), and when wielding such a weapon you'd roll at ST-10 and multiply the result by 2 (average result: 29). If for some reason Atlas the Planet Lifter (ST 239 for BL 1.6e+24 lb) decides to pick up the moon (1.6e+23 lb, required ST 229) and use it as a club, we start with a ST 24 object, and then shift by 41 steps on the range/speed chart, giving a multiplier of 15 million and a ST penalty of -215, so he's rolling against a 24- (average result 13.5) and multiplying by 15 million, for a total of 202 million damage on average. __________________ My GURPS site and Blog. Last edited by Anthony; 05-08-2017 at 04:27 PM.