From: ratinox@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu (Richard Pieri/Stainless Steel Rat)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp
Subject: Re: HERO: critical hits (was Re: CHAMP: 1/2d6 vs d6-1)
Date: 14 Apr 92 03:33:15 GMT
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In-reply-to: dicksion@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu's message of 14 Apr 92 01:41:59 GMT
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>>>>> On 14 Apr 92 01:41:59 GMT, dicksion@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Matthew W. Dicksion) said:

dicksion> Um... I can tell there are many more Champions players than
dicksion> Fantasy Hero players on the net.  First of all, the critical hit
dicksion> rules in 4th ed. Hero are way worse than most of you seem to
dicksion> think.  They work like this: if I roll less than half of what i
dicksion> need to hit you, you take max damage from the attack.  Thus, if I
dicksion> need a 12- to hit you, I score a crit on an 5-.  Furthermore,
dicksion> this rule is not only in Ninja Hero, it is also in Fantasy Hero
dicksion> and, in fact, in the Hero rulebook itself (somewhere around Hit
dicksion> Location).

It is lethal, depending on the power level of your game. I personally don't
like it used in 4-color comic style games. That's where I lost both Lynx
and Serpentine.

dicksion> Yes, it is optional.  Yes, it makes combat more lethal.  There
dicksion> are, in fact, players such as myself who *like* the added
dicksion> lethality, so don't go off screaming at people not to use crits.
dicksion> In fact, we play with hit location as well.  This is why xd6-1
dicksion> attacks become way more powerful than their 'equivalent' x+1/2d6
dicksion> attacks: max damage matters more.

I can see these critical hit rules being used in grim campaigns. HERO's
weapons are woefully underpowered if compared to real life. Using the
optional crit rules make combats much deadlier, which is appropriate for
some campaigns.

dicksion> Now, I feel obligated to explain why I like to use this more
dicksion> dangerous system in our Fantasy Hero games.  First, it tends to
dicksion> benefit the party more, since the typical party member has a
dicksion> better OCV than the typical NPC.


dicksion> Second, it's much more realistic, and tends to prevent really
dicksion> stupid things like what I do in AD&D: have my *unarmoured*
dicksion> character charge into combat, knowing I can't possibly die in
dicksion> less than four rounds.

Yes. I think that CyberHERO will possibly make critical hit rules the norm,
and leave the ``normal'' rules as an option for less-deadly games.

dicksion> Third, it's much less lethal than you think.  In order to kill
dicksion> you outright I would have to score a crit with a decent attack
dicksion> (say 2d6) on an unarmoured x2 body location.  Very, very rare.
dicksion> At best I could do 24 body with one whack, and even then, heal is
dicksion> only 5 points per die, and of course you've bought your BODY up
dicksion> to at least 13 or 14.

In an heroic scale game, yes. In a superheroic game, you get pulped martial
artists. 4d6 KA (on 60 active points) would do 24 BODY and 120 STUN, a
brick with a 75 Strength would do 30 BODY and 60 STUN. And don't forget the
resulting knockback. I use these two examples because they were used on my
two, late characters, both of which had DEXes of around 30, and around 15
PD/ED resistant defenses. In both cases, the attacks put them at around 0
BODY, and the resulting knockback damage sent them well on their way to
death point. Both were hit when the GM's villains rolled 3's for their
attack rolls.

dicksion> Note that it's very easy to get severely wounded and ko'ed using
dicksion> this system, but rather difficult to die.  I can understand if
dicksion> you don't want much chance of your character dying in combat, but
dicksion> I like to have our group a) think of some way to avoid fighting
dicksion> and b) pay attention when there is combat.  I just find it much
dicksion> more interesting when there is the off chance that you might die
dicksion> this turn.  If I didn't like the (small) sense of danger, I'd be
dicksion> playing Star Wars.

I may be sounding like a broken record, but I strongly recomend *against*
using the critical hit rules for superheroic games and higher powered
martial arts campaigns, as they leave many low defense characters open to
being instantly killed. This recomendation applies *ONLY* to superheroic
and martial arts campaigns--grim, realistic campaigns on the heroic level,
without martial arts, should use these optional rules (and save yourself
the trouble of re-working all the weapon lists).

--Rat
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