Difference between revisions of "Damage (Action)"

Latest revision as of 13:46, 4 March 2023

Damage in Action is cinematic; heroes can take vast amounts of damage while others collapse from a single punch. The size of the weapon matters much less than the hand that wields it.

Damage

An attack has an Outcome and a damage value. Add the outcome to the damage value, this is the final damage inflicted. Compare this to the target's soak attribute, most commonly Toughness, but different Damage Types use different soak attributes, and some powers use special rules.

Soak Attribute: If final damage is equal to or greater than the soak attribute, the target takes a Hit.

Damage Setback: If final damage is ten greater that the soak attribute, the target also suffers a Damage Setback.

Hits

Damage is measured in hits. Each attack that does any damage inflicts one hit. The number of hits you can take before serious injury is determined by your Role. Only when you have taken this much damage do you actually suffer any actual injury.

This table lists the number of hits and fortune points by role.

Role	Hits	Fortune
Hero/Villain	Body*	Mind*
Henchman	3	3
Victim/Minion	1	0

A Hero/Villain always has at least 3 Hits and 3 Fortune points.

Hits disappear once the scene is over. You brush yourself off, wipe your brow, and examine yourself for damage, finding that what looked like serious injury was only superficial bruises. Sometimes, a scene will be a series of fights in sequence, but a break or rest of 5 minutes or more generally means there is a new scene.

In most campaigns the player characters are heroes, with hits equal to their full Body, but if a grittier game is required they can be extras or even victims.

Damage Setback Threshold

Some attacks are severe enough to cause additional effects. If the attack roll was a critical success (Boxcars followed by a hit) or the attack inflicted enough damage there is a damage setback in addition to the Hit. If the damage of the attack matches the sum of the targets Toughness, Mind, and Reflexes the attack inflicts a damage setback. This is called the Damage Setback Threshold.

A damage setback works much like a normal Setback, but the creature taking the setback has more of a say in what it is; it is more dramatically appropriate that the player describes the effects of injuries than that the game master does so, tough the GM must approve all suggested damage setbacks.

If you cannot come up with a good setback that fits the situation, the easiest solution is to inflict an additional Hit. To make the story exciting PCs will often suffer interesting handicaps as damage setbacks, while opponents often take the two Hits to resolve the scene faster. Only in fights where the PCs stand a real chance of losing is inflicting two Hits on player characters really interesting.

Toughness and thus armor is not a factor in the Damage Setback Threshold. Armor decreases the risk of Hits but not of deadly damage. This is decidedly un-simulationist.

Zero Hits

A character that takes their last hit is knocked out of the action. Depending on the situation and the GMs whim, they might run away, be knocked out, lie screaming on the ground holding their guts, or otherwise make a scene of it. They no longer have the will to fight or oppose their opponents in any way. They might rally and return later, usually hours or days later.

Recovering from zero hits occurs at the end of the scene. Named characters bind their wounds, grit their teeth, and get back into the action, possibly with a scar or bandage but otherwise unhurt. Unnamed characters generally need someone to rally them, as described in schticks like Minion Gang.

Mortal Wound

A creature that takes a Damage Setback on the attack that took them to zero hits is more severely injured. Unnamed NPCs generally die horribly in this situation, a reminder that combat really is lethal. Depending on the campaign named characters either die or get away with severe damage, similar to a Damage Setback but more lasting, generally comparable to a Curse. This is a good time to think up new Limitations or perhaps a cybernetic prosthetic. Any permanent changes wrought this way still has its normal point cost or rebate - this is just a cool way of getting them, a memento of your moment of peril.

Healing

Most damage is very temporary. Hits disappear at the end of the fight or action scene, when scene powers end. This generally involves a 5 minute break in the action.

Serious Damage Setbacks might require recuperation, which takes a few days and generally happens between adventures. The GM might make a short montage in a hospital or the character might just lie low for a while depending on the needs of the story. This can also be a good time for characters to make changes to their characters, changing attributes to reflect injuries or adding mental scars, prosthetics, or other Limitations.

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 '''Soak Attribute''': If final damage is equal to or greater than the soak attribute, the target takes a [[#Hits|Hit]].
-'''Critical Damage Threshold''':  If final damage is equal to or greater than the sum of [[Body (Action)|Body]], [[Mind (Action)|Mind]], and [[Reflexes (Action)|Reflexes]] the target also suffers a [[#Damage Setbacks|Damage Setback]].
+'''Damage Setback''':  If final damage is ten greater that the soak attribute, the target also suffers a [[#Damage Setbacks|Damage Setback]].
-In special cases the soak attribute might be greater than the targets critical damage threshold, but this should be very rare. In these cases, setbacks should not generally involve hits or wounds but indirect effects such as losing your balance.
 ===Hits===
 Damage is measured in hits. Each attack that does any damage inflicts one hit. The number of hits you can take before serious injury is determined by your [[Creature_Rules_(Action)#Role|Role]]. Only when you have taken this much damage do you actually suffer any actual injury.
+This table lists the number of hits and fortune points by role.
 {{ : Role Table (Action)}}
-Hits disappear once the scene is over. You brush yourself off, wipe your brow, and examine yourself for damage, finding that what looked like serious injury was only superficial bruises. Sometimes, a scene will be a series of fights in sequence, if a rule is needed for how long a scene is it should generally not be more than 15 minutes. More permanent damage is taken as [[#Wounds|Wounds]]; more on those below.
+Hits disappear once the scene is over. You brush yourself off, wipe your brow, and examine yourself for damage, finding that what looked like serious injury was only superficial bruises. Sometimes, a scene will be a series of fights in sequence, but a break or rest of 5 minutes or more generally means there is a new scene.
 In most campaigns the player characters are heroes, with hits equal to their full [[Body (Action)|Body]], but if a grittier game is required they can be extras or even victims.
-==== Unnamed Characters ====
+=== Damage Setback Threshold ===
-Victims and Minions are considered unnamed characters; their role is generally limited to bit parts, tough a victim might occasionally take on great importance in a story. A Minion that assumes any kind of importance should probably be upgraded. Unnamed characters cannot use [[Fortune (Action)|Fortune]] points and do not have individual shot counters; when they take a trigger action they instead miss their basic action when their shot comes up next. An unnamed character can take an unlimited number of trigger actions this way.
+Some attacks are severe enough to cause additional effects. If the attack roll was a critical success (Boxcars followed by a hit) or the attack inflicted enough damage there is a damage setback in addition to the [[#Hits|Hit]].
+If the damage of the attack matches the sum of the targets [[Toughness (Action)|Toughness]], [[Mind (Action)|Mind]], and [[Reflexes (Action)|Reflexes]] the attack inflicts a damage setback. This is called the Damage Setback Threshold.
-===Damage Setbacks===
+A damage setback works much like a normal [[Stunt_(Action)#Setback|Setback]], but the creature taking the setback has more of a say in what it is; it is more dramatically appropriate that the player describes the effects of injuries than that the game master does so, tough the GM must approve all suggested damage setbacks.
-Some attacks are severe enough to cause additional effects. If the attack roll was a critical success or the attack inflicted enough damage there is a damage setback in addition to the [[#Hits|Hit]]. A damage setback works much like a normal [[Stunt_(Action)#Setback|Setback]], but the creature taking the setback has more of a say in what it is; it is more dramatically appropriate that the player describes the effects of injuries than that the game master does so, tough the GM must approve all suggested damage setbacks.
-===Wounds===
+If you cannot come up with a good setback that fits the situation, the easiest solution is to inflict an additional [[Hit (Action)|Hit]].
-A character who falls to zero hits is generally out of the action and starts taking wounds. 'The attack that knocks you out inflicts '''one wound for every five points of damage beyond your soak attribute'''. If you take less than five excess damage, there is no wound. Wounds are similar to hits but have additional effects.
+To make the story exciting PCs will often suffer interesting handicaps as damage setbacks, while opponents often take the two [[Hit (Action)|Hits]] to resolve the scene faster. Only in fights where the PCs stand a real chance of losing is inflicting two [[Hit (Action)|Hits]] on player characters really interesting.
-* Wounds are combined with hits to see if you can stay in the action; in effect, each wound is also a Hit.
+''[[Toughness (Action)|Toughness]] and thus armor is not a factor in the Damage Setback Threshold. Armor decreases the risk of [[Hit (Action)|Hits]] but not of deadly damage. This is decidedly un-simulationist.
-* Wounds last; you need proper rest to recover from wounds, generally at the end of an adventure.
-* You suffer Impairment equal to the number of wounds you have taken until you receive medical attention. Anyone can bind wounds in a minute or so; doing it in the heat of the action requires [[Know (Action)#First_Aid|First Aid]].
-* Depending on how many wounds you have taken, you suffer various degrees of injury. These specific injuries only apply at the end of a fight; during the fight only impairments apply.
-When a character loses their last hit, check the Injury Table to see how bad it is. Depending on the number of wounds taken, this might be a simple knock-out or more serious injury.
+=== Zero Hits ===
+A character that takes their last hit is knocked out of the action. Depending on the situation and the GMs whim, they might run away, be knocked out, lie screaming on the ground holding their guts, or otherwise make a scene of it. They no longer have the will to fight or oppose their opponents in any way. They might rally and return later, usually hours or days later.
-Many [[Action (Action)#Trigger_Action_(Finisher)|finishing moves]] prevent wounds, inflicting some other effect instead.
+Recovering from zero hits occurs at the end of the scene. Named characters bind their wounds, grit their teeth, and get back into the action, possibly with a scar or bandage but otherwise unhurt. Unnamed characters generally need someone to rally them, as described in schticks like [[Impress_Schticks_(Action)#Minion_Gang|Minion Gang]].
-{| class="wikitable"
+=== Mortal Wound ===
-||'''Wounds''' ||| '''Injury'''
+A creature that takes a Damage Setback on the attack that took them to zero hits is more severely injured.
-|-
+Unnamed NPCs generally die horribly in this situation, a reminder that combat really is lethal. Depending on the campaign named characters either die or get away with severe damage, similar to a [[#Damage_Setbacks|Damage Setback]] but more lasting, generally comparable to a [[Curse (Action)|Curse]]. This is a good time to think up new [[Limitations_(Action)|Limitations]] or perhaps a [[Technology_(Action_Powers_Form)#Maneuver_Technology|cybernetic prosthetic]]. Any permanent changes wrought this way still has its normal point cost or rebate - this is just a cool way of getting them, a memento of your moment of peril.
-|| 0 ||| '''Knockout'''; You are out of action for 10 minutes, unable to do more than quietly lie still or slowly crawl about and cry pitifully. This only happens if you are out of hits; a character that is wounded but still has hits remaining is not knocked out.
-|-
-|| 1 ||| '''Knockout + Bleeding'''; you need medical attention. Every minute make a Body roll difficulty 10; on a failure, you take an additional wound from bleeding. Once you make this roll you have stabilized. Another character can use first aid and substitute their [[Know (Action)|Know]] skill for your body attribute, this is a full-time task once begun and until the patient stabilizes. Bleeding can cause death and impairment, but not other injuries.
-|-
-|| 2 ||| '''Knockout + Dis-armed'''; an arm is mauled and useless. You cannot use both hands at once or '''Knockout + Hobbled'''; You cannot move when you take a basic action. If you take the [[Actions (Action)#Full Move|Full Move]] action, you move at normal speed instead of double speed.
-|-
-|| 3 ||| '''Knockout + Crippled'''; This is a permanent injury. Even if you survive, you will be crippled in some way; a good reason to use prosthesis, cybernetics, or that rare-to-find healing magic or special surgeon. Perhaps you have a lingering injury that will cause death in a year unless treated. Permanent effects of maiming can be used as an adventure hook or to motivate new schticks and flaws, which give points normally. Use this as a hook for adventures and character development, not as a way to destroy a character. Alternatively, you end up in a '''Coma''' and are out of the action for an extended period (like a [[Curse (Action)|Curse]], but you will eventually recover fully.
-|-
-|| 4 or more ||| '''Dead'''. There is a point of no return in every heroic career, and this is it.
-|}
 ===Healing===
-Except for Crippled, all damage is temporary. Hits disappear at the end of the fight or action scene. Wounds only give impairments in the fight when you receive them or until you get medical attention. Other injury effects require recuperation, which takes at least a few days and generally happens between adventures. The GM might make a short montage in a hospital or the character might just lie low for a while depending on the needs of the story. As noted under crippled, the permanent effects are to be used more as plot devices than character punishments.
+Most damage is very temporary. Hits disappear at the end of the fight or action scene, when scene powers end. This generally involves a 5 minute break in the action.
+Serious [[#Damage_Setbacks|Damage Setbacks]] might require recuperation, which takes a few days and generally happens between adventures. The GM might make a short montage in a hospital or the character might just lie low for a while depending on the needs of the story. This can also be a good time for characters to make changes to their characters, changing attributes to reflect injuries or adding mental scars, prosthetics, or other [[Limitations_(Action)|Limitations]].