From: lmollett@lunatix.uucp (Laura Mollett)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Permenant damage in HERO
Date: 4 Sep 92 17:45:36 GMT
Organization: Lexington Public Access Unix. -KY- (606) 253-1481

In article <1992Sep3.155507.277@nmsu.edu> dleland@dante.nmsu.edu (LELAND) writes:
>
>All the talk in this group on hit locations reminded me of something the 
>HERO system, much as I like it, often has trouble with. In theory there is
>no way in the rules to simulate permenantly disfiguring or crippling a 
>character. Now granted, you wouldn't want to do this very often, but you must
>admit that the strict game mechanics of shooting someone's leg off are hard
>to figure. Why? Because in HERO you eventually get back all your BODY if you
>can recover or get care. There is no mention of permenant damage like scarring
>or limb removal or anything like that. You can define some complex trans attack
>or something, to "turn somebody into a cripple" I guess, but that's awful
>complex. Plus, I have seen arguments in HERO games where some characters should 
>eventually grow back a lost limb due to character definition (they're a lizard
>or alien or something). But isn't that regeneration? Somebody said, "well it
>depends on character conception, it isn't important to the game." Well, oh
>yes it is because crippling and maining would be a very real part of the
>superhero scene, and "real" heros, whatever they are, would have to deal with it
>a LOT.
>
>It seems to me there should be some kind of effect table on a wound chart
>that checks to see how "bad" the wound is. If you roll an 18, you could have 
>permemant damage. Yes? No? Too nasty?

Hello,
	Well as I'm also the person who posted with the beginning Hero GM 
questions, I probably shouldn't try to answer this, but it came up in our
Fantasy Hero game.  It was a trapped treasure trove (basically) with a blade
that came down and sliced off the hand of the PC when he was reaching for the
goodies.  The PC (who understandably wasn't too happy) claimed the total damage
done was more than enough to kill him and figured he was dead.  My one PC who
really knows the HERO rules kindly aided by telling us that if one loses all
BODY from a single area, the limb is lost, and providing the bleeding is
stopped quickly, no further BODY can be lost (i.e. you can't damage something
that doesn't exist anymore).  When you recover your BODY through normal healing
the wound heals (the stump grows over, the scarring diminishes etc...you don't
get gangrene (:)), but you don't regrow the part.
	However....
The old Fantasy Hero had a spell/power called RESTORE that says in part -
	"This Effect will return Characteristics lost through Destroy, 
	or cure impairing or disabling wounds (see Hit Location Effects)
	...Restore allows a severed limb to be reattached, though it still
	takes time to heal.  This Effect won't help with severely fried,
	eaten or vaporized body parts, nor if the limb has been severed for
	more than an hour..."
We haven't quite switched all the way over to the newer versions yet, but I
can't really find anything similar in the HERO rulebook.  (I don't have
Fantasy Hero, but I thought they didn't put in any new powers).  In any case,
I'm sure you can make the same thing with AID or something like that, and
just special effects/limitations.
	We did say that regenerate would regenerate a lost body part, but that
we needed to figure out some more reasonable time period.  I don't think a 
hand should come back as quickly as a slashed wound would heal etc.  The
characters have some Amber-based in them anyway, so regenerating lost body
parts makes good sense :).
	In summary, we say (using the hit location table) rolling the same
body part and doing damage there over and over until the person/monster attacked
is out of body removes the limb (assuming an appropriate part - hand/arm/leg
whatever) and you have to hit somewhere else to kill.  You can do this on
purpose (take off his sword arm) by targeting the hit.  The person will die of
blood loss if not treated, but otherwise will survive even if all his/her body
is gone.  Aid with a special effect (or restore) (magic healing in my game)
will allow reattachment of the lost limb if done quickly and regeneration at
a special slow rate will regrow the limb if appropriate to character conception.
	Hope this makes sense :),
				Laura Mollett