Rules for attacking veins and arteries in Martial Arts?

[Nikolai]

Can somebody knowledgeable about the upcoming Martial Arts give me a sneak preview if it contains rules for attacking veins and arteries?
If yes, are they similar to the ones for 3e on p. CII53?

[Icelander]

I believe it's not allowed to give sneak previews of playtest information. You will have to await the release of Martial Arts.

If you are interested, here is a system I came up with for attacking veins and arteries in 4e. It's not playtested by actual doctors, but I did the best I could with medical students.

[Nikolai]

Originally Posted by Icelander

I believe it's not allowed to give sneak previews of playtest information. You will have to await the release of Martial Arts.

Well, posting whole paragraphs of copy & pasted stuff is probably not allowed.
But these boards have already seen the statement "Martial Arts will have rules for this!" many times. Sometimes there were even statements like "The rules will look something like xyz." by Kromm or Toadkiller_Dog... ;-)

[HeroPenguin]

Yes, and I don't know.

Good enough for ya? ;)

[Kelly Pedersen]

Mentions from playtesters has, in fact, indicated that hit locations for veins and arteries will be in Martial Arts. Don't know how they compare to 3e, though.

[Nikolai]

Originally Posted by HeroPenguin

Yes, and I don't know.

Good enough for ya? ;)

Well, yes to which question? ;-)

[HeroPenguin]

They were answered in the order you asked them. But really, it only makes sense one way. Yes, there are rules, I don't know how they compare, though. I never used 3e MA, and even if I did, I no longer have the playtest notes, so.... there.

[Kromm]

If the target is alive and has blood, then veins and arteries will be harder to hit than the body parts they're in, offer a superior wounding modifier, and give a significant HT penalty for bleeding rolls. Major wounds there will have a chance of causing "crippling injuries" that can have nasty long-term effects, up to and including ". . . and then a clot breaks free, you have a stroke, and you're a vegetable."

[Nikolai]

Let's assume I go ahead and allow my PCs to attack jugular veins and/or carotid arteries in the neck with cutting attacks very much like in 3e on p. CII53:
1. -7 to hit (instead of -5 to hit the neck). Miss by 1 hits the neck instead (instead of hitting the torso with a blow to the neck which misses by 1).
2. Wounding modifier x3 (instead of x2 for the neck)
3. +1 DR for surrounding bone (in 3e it was +1 PD)
4. On a critical hit, the artery or vein is torn open. This automatically inclicts 1 HP of damage per turn.

I'm no expert at anatomy, hence the following question:
Would it be reasonable to also allow decapitation for hits to jugular veins or carotid arteries (using the otherwise RAW decapitation rules)?

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Nikolai

1. -7 to hit (instead of -5 to hit the neck). Miss by 1 hits the neck instead.

-9 wouldn't be unreasonable if you want to target either the carotid artery, but the jugular is a bit easier. Of course, it's easiest to just go for the general area, which would be fair at -7 and the effects you describe.

Originally Posted by Nikolai

3. +1 DR for surrounding bone (in 3e it was +1 PD)

For balance purposes, sure. If you want to be realistic, not so much. The neck is a pretty soft target.

Originally Posted by Nikolai

4. On a critical hit, the artery or vein is torn open. This automatically inclicts 1 HP of damage per turn.

The carotid artery should bleed a whole lot faster than the jugular.

Originally Posted by Nikolai

I'm no expert at anatomy, hence the following question:
Would it be reasonable to also allow decapitation for hits to jugular veins or carotid arteries (using the otherwise RAW decapitation rules)?

Sure.

First the strike cuts through the veins and arteries and then it cuts through the rest of the neck.