How to avoid killing your player characters as GM

Colonel__Klink · 08-03-2023, 09:01 AM

Someone mentioned keeping limbs in and always rolling randomized limb damage (maybe keeping the head off the list? ) It was a really interesting idea considering the kind of campaign I'm doing.

The only thing that makes it work is that it would require per game rules two hits regardless of the weapon to blast the limb off. With the damage profile of a rifle on the lower end of the power spectrum (5.56, 5 dice) without the damage limiter to limbs it would blow an unprotected limb O*F*F* every single time! As it is the limb hit would knock most players out of the fight either rendering a leg useless, if it hits their main hand and they are a pistol user they are fighting at -4 (plus shock), if it hits the off arm and they are using a rifle they can't use their weapon anymore.

The limb damage got me to think of the game like Kenshi though where toughness is the most important stat. It prevents you from bleeding out, it's how you wake up before the dogs eat you ect. That's HT in Gurps. Kenshi's health system is one of my favorites. The problem with gurps is that it's structurally designed that if a player gets hit ONCE the negatives start stacking to knock them out of fight. Reeling (lose 1/2 of your defenses), shock (up to -4 on attack actions), instantly crippled limbs from just one hit even from a pistol. Ect. I'm not sure how to even begin to cope with it. As soon as a character gets hit the rules are stacked so as to try to ensure that they lose.

In my setting the limbs getting blown off can be interesting flavor. It gives humans a reason to visit the ripper doc and at the very least buy a five finger discount (hur hur) arm that works... mostly till they get more cash. Vampires well they just use 5 blood points and they can regrow a completely obliterated limb.

It would pose a problem for players who want to be human mages in setting as I wanted it to be that if you delve into cybernetics too much magery is beyond you but instead you become a "technomancer" able to hack better than anyone with a deck.

added: (at present I'm planning on pushing reflex jackets on players... with them at least having tailored armor clothing. It doesn't strike a great balance as it renders pistols useless but.. What can you do?)

08-03-2023, 09:01 AM	#27
Colonel__Klink Join Date: Aug 2022	Re: How to avoid killing your player characters as GM Someone mentioned keeping limbs in and always rolling randomized limb damage (maybe keeping the head off the list? ) It was a really interesting idea considering the kind of campaign I'm doing. The only thing that makes it work is that it would require per game rules two hits regardless of the weapon to blast the limb off. With the damage profile of a rifle on the lower end of the power spectrum (5.56, 5 dice) without the damage limiter to limbs it would blow an unprotected limb OFF* every single time! As it is the limb hit would knock most players out of the fight either rendering a leg useless, if it hits their main hand and they are a pistol user they are fighting at -4 (plus shock), if it hits the off arm and they are using a rifle they can't use their weapon anymore. The limb damage got me to think of the game like Kenshi though where toughness is the most important stat. It prevents you from bleeding out, it's how you wake up before the dogs eat you ect. That's HT in Gurps. Kenshi's health system is one of my favorites. The problem with gurps is that it's structurally designed that if a player gets hit ONCE the negatives start stacking to knock them out of fight. Reeling (lose 1/2 of your defenses), shock (up to -4 on attack actions), instantly crippled limbs from just one hit even from a pistol. Ect. I'm not sure how to even begin to cope with it. As soon as a character gets hit the rules are stacked so as to try to ensure that they lose. In my setting the limbs getting blown off can be interesting flavor. It gives humans a reason to visit the ripper doc and at the very least buy a five finger discount (hur hur) arm that works... mostly till they get more cash. Vampires well they just use 5 blood points and they can regrow a completely obliterated limb. It would pose a problem for players who want to be human mages in setting as I wanted it to be that if you delve into cybernetics too much magery is beyond you but instead you become a "technomancer" able to hack better than anyone with a deck. added: (at present I'm planning on pushing reflex jackets on players... with them at least having tailored armor clothing. It doesn't strike a great balance as it renders pistols useless but.. What can you do?) Last edited by Colonel__Klink; 08-03-2023 at 09:32 AM.