(More) Combat Basics

[esmale]

Short version: Chimera will no longer use hit points. I believe I've
found a better way.

Long version: Combat mechanics have been harder to nail down than I
anticipated. The "problem," if you will, is that I wanted two things
that didn't work well together:

1. Simple combat rules that didn't bog down play
2. Semi-realistic results that imposed penalties for being wounded

Hit points--in the classic sense--are a great timesaver. They're easy
to track, easy to accumulate, and easy to heal. But I have problems
with them, chiefly that they're unrealistic in every sense and do
little, if anything, to promote exciting combat. I understand that D&D
combat is not meant to be a "simulation," and that hit points are just
a convention to facilitate the application of physical damage. But I
want more from Chimera combat.

So...in my grand tradition of tinkering, here it is:

ATTACK RESOLUTION
Attacks are resolved with an action roll. For hand-to hand or mêlée
attacks, use your Fight skill; for ranged or missile attacks, use your
Shoot skill. As with other action rolls, the target number is based on
the skill's corresponding attribute.

If an attack roll fails, the attack misses completely. If the roll
succeeds, you strike true and may roll for damage.

DAMAGE RESOLUTION
When an attack hits, roll your weapon's damage die, (plus one
additional die per boost on the attack roll). If the resulting damage
is greater than the defender's damage resistance (based on CON and
armour worn), the defender is wounded.

The strike's intensity is indicated by wound severity (WS), equal to
the damage roll result divided by the defender's DR (round fractions
down). The result is applied as a penalty to the defender's action
rolls, damage resistance, and movement rate.

Record each wound and its severity separately on your character sheet.
Wound severity is cumulative, so a damaged character suffers the total
penalty of all wounds sustained.

If the number of wounds, or the WS of any single wound, exceeds the
defender's wound limit (WL), the defender is knocked out.

Results of a knock out are based on a CON save

HEALING
Damage is restored by reducing a wound's severity. A successful
application of the Heal skill reduces WS by 1 (2 with a boost). When a
wound's WS is reduced to zero (0), it is healed. Note, however, that
Heal skill rolls are penalised by the patient's current wound severity
penalty.

Alternately, damage heals naturally at a rate of 1 WS point per week
of complete rest (i.e., no activity beyond eating, sleeping, and
moaning in pain).

EXAMPLE
Colin's dwarf fighter has a damage resistance (DR) of 5 and a wound
limit (WL) of 6.

Let's say a goblin attacks successfully and does 10 points of damage.
This is enough to wound the dwarf (because 10 damage is greater than
DR 5). The wound's severity (WS) is 2 (10 / 5 = 2).

This means that Colin's dwarf suffers a -2 penalty to his action
rolls, his DR, and his movement rate. He can take 5 more wounds before
he gets knocked-out (or, if a single wound's severity is 6 or more, he
gets knocked-out).

I'll have more info when I release the updated Quick-Start Guide
(later this week). For now, though, I wanted to give you an idea of
how Chimera 2.0 will handle damage and healing. I think this method is
fast and passably realistic. It also puts more emphasis on:

* How much your attack roll exceeds the target number for success
* How much extra damage you can inflict
* How much armour defenders wear
* How good a defender's CON save is
* The quality vs. quantity of wounds required to take someone down

The system is also highly modular. In the Core System, expect to see
hit locations, armour coverage for those hit locations, attack types,
descriptive wounds, special healing methods, and hazards like
infection. Some or all of these can be added seamlessly to the basic
system described above, so you can make combat, damage, and healing as
simple or realistic as suits your campaign.

More to come, but for now, comments welcome. Cheers,

-Erin