Nuclear Beasts

Weapon Damage

Okay, bearing in mind that the typical damage bonus is +2...

Blades (crit is x2 damage)

• Dagger: 1d4, crit on 17-20
• Short sword: 1d6, crit on 18-20
• Long sword: 1d8, crit on 19-20
• Two-handed sword: 1d12, crit on 19-20

Clubs & Maces (crit is x1.5 damage)

• Cudgel: 2d3, crit on 18-20
• Mace: 2d4, crit on 19-20
• Two-handed Mace: 2d6, crit on 19-20

Hm. Maybe the crit should be phrased as "bump up the number of dice rolled by +1"? Then a 2H sword would do 2d12 on a crit, while a two-handed mace would have a slightly higher average damage (7 vs 6.5) but would only do 1.5x damage on a crit. That would leave strength off, of course.

Or one die could automatically roll maximum damage.

Axes

• Light Axe: 1d6+1, crit on 19-20
• Battleaxe: 1d8+1, crit on 20
• Two-handed battle-axe 1d10+2, crit on 20

As D20 showed, you can get a nice selection by allowing tradeoffs between:

• Base damage
• Chance of a critical hit
• How much extra a crit does

Should crits do a flat +X damage? Add more dice? Add exactly the same die size in again? Just double it?

More crits == more easily controlled weapon. More flexible in combat.
More damage == heavier, more powerful weapon.
More effective crits == pointier, more precise weapon.

So, then... maces and clubs get the fewest crits (although really high skill can still score 'em left and right). Base damage is largely determined by its size... say small, medium, large and two-handed for most weapons. Spears get the best crit bonus, followed by swords, then axes, then maces.

Hm. Perhaps "more crits" should involve the number of pointy/spikey bits instead. Or a rough approximation of how many different ways you can use the weapon (e.g. - stabbing & slashing is better than just stabbing or just slashing).

Spear: +7 damage on crit
Sword: +5 damage on crit
Axe: +4 damage on crit
Ugh. Not sure I like that. Double or triple damage dice sounds better.

Big categories: spears, swords, axes, maces.
Most crits... swords, followed by axes and spears, then maces
Most damage... maces, followed by axes, then swords and spears.
Pointiest... spears, followed by swords, then axes, then maces.

shortsword: 1d6, crit 18-20, x2
spear: 1d6, crit 19-20, x3
axe: 1d6+1, crit 19-20, x2
mace: 2d3, crit 20, x2

How does D20 do it?

axe 1d8 (20, x3).
mace 1d8 (20, x2) [simple weapon]
sword 1d8 (19-20, x2).
scimitar 1d6 (18-20, x2).

bigger weapons tend to keep the same crit and multiplier, only their base damage increases.

Spear... better multiplier, rarer crits
Sword... good multiplier, good crits
Mace... better base damage, lousy multiplier, lousy crits
Axe...

Sword: 1d8, 17-20, x2
Axe: 1d8+1, 18-20, x2
Mace: 1d8+2, 19-20, x2
Spear: 1d8, 18-20, x3

Hm. Problem. Base damage should be based on weight. A two-pound sword hits just as hard as a two-pound mace... well, maybe not... the balance is a little different.

Let's keep it simple at first...

Sword: 1d8, 18-20, x2
Axe: 1d8, 19-20, x3
Spear: 1d8, 20, x4
Mace: 2d4, 19-20, x2

Hmph. I don't quite want D20's interchangable weapons... what about impales as a rule for damage bonus?

Sword: 1d8, x2
Axe: 2d4, x1.5
Spear: 1d8, fewer crits, x3

Eh, x3 just sounds like a bad idea. CoC kept to x2 and x1.5, I think. Actually, it looks like Elfquest used Maximum Damage and Double Roll, with the possibility of getting both. Double damage was the impale, and it left your weapon stuck in the foe.

Posted by Kiz at February 15, 2005 09:52 PM