From: sl9b4@cc.usu.edu (Deep Six)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Let's talk REAL sci-Fi systems
Date: 11 Sep 92 23:30:06 MDT
Organization: Utah State University

In article <1992Sep11.210208.1262@news.columbia.edu>, 
 jhk6@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (John H Kim) writes:

> 	Just for the record, I know of lots of people who have survived 
> gun wounds to the head (among other things, my mother is a doctor who 
> worked in a head injury clinic for a while). 
> 	Does anyone have an *informed* opinion of the deadliness of 
> head wounds of this sort? Anyone who says that it is an assured kill is 
> outright wrong (although I wouldn't want to play a brain damaged character, 
> certainly).

Note: this is NOT an informed opinion, just some of my brand of common sense.

Although gunshots to the head are not to be trifled with, they're not the 
end of the world. I have to agree with John. I have heard lots of stories
about people who have survived bullet wounds to the head. 

Think about how much stuff there is to hit in the head. There's all that 
nasal and oral area that a bullet could pass throught without even reaching 
the brain. There are also many cases of bullets entering the brain cavity 
without damaging the brain. Apparently, sometimes a bullet will pierce the 
victim's skull, losing much of its energy in the process, and then travel 
along the fluid-filled space between the brain and the skull. Sometimes 
the bullet will just blow off a portion of the skull, leaving the brain 
exposed but undamaged. Helmets could reduce these effects considrably 
I think. I saw a picture of a Kevlar helmet from the Panama ``war'' which
protected a guy from a straight on, short-distance head shot. It had a
chunk gone about the size of a golf divot, but I guess the wearer just
took the helmet off and drove on.

And even when a bullet does enter the brain, sometimes it has no effect 
on the victim's functions. And to go one step further, even when the bullet
enters the brain AND has some effect on the victim's functions, sometimes
the victim's brain can use some other undamaged cell mass to take over the
inhibited functions.

Trouble is, you probably would never know how a head wound would turn out,
eh? In reality, if a guy got shot in the head, you wouldn't know what affect
it would have on him. Could be that he's back up in 15 minutes, could be 
that he'll be eating Jell-o and playing with blocks for the rest of his life.

Don't get me wrong. I think that every rpg I've ever seen handles headshots
very badly. In my games, I would rule that any headshot (except maybe those
doing 1 or 2 points), would take the character out of action until he could
get some decent care. Think about what happens to you when your brain-box
gets hit like that. I once got hit in the temple/ear area with a Frisbee
travelling at a moderate speed, and I was OUT of it for a long time. Ears 
ringing, dizziness, sore from the neck up, etc. A bullet hit to the head
would probably screw you up big time, even if it wasn't that serious.

Alright enough from me. 

Okay,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chadd  VanZanten  SL9B4@CC.USU.EDU  +  ``The  hardest part about fishing is 
that all the fish are underwater.'' -- 3m Sportsman Bassmaster how-to video