So, one thing I've been doing during the pandemic is working on my very own tabletop RPG. Without going too much into the setting or overall mechanics, one thing I am doing is having a freeform combat/damage system that functions on keywords rather than having a linear damage track or quantifiable totals (like HP). This is going to be in a system that's non-lethal by default, and focused on subduing/chasing off enemies rather than killing them. I thought I'd ask here and see if I can get some feedback on what I might do with this, or do better.
The basic combat mechanic is Star Wars D6/CoD based roll-off. Attack roll versus defense roll, weapons modify the attack roll and armor modifies the defense roll. No secondary damage/soak roll, the simple threshold between attack and defense determines the damage dealt with higher thresholds indicating more severe wounds. I'm doing it this way because dodges, parries, blocks, bracing, and rolling with hits are created equal: nimble characters roll their "agility/dexterity" stat to not be hit, tough characters roll their "constitution" stat to brace against attack or roll with hits, using the same defense skill.
The way I'm planning this, is the threshold determines the severity of the wound, and the severity of the wound applies progressive defense penalties that accumulate. Then, the wound keyword determines a secondary penalty that comes in the form of losing rounds/skill check penalties/attribute penalties/etc. There are no limit to the number of wounds that can be suffered, but NPC's will have a morale score that determines how wounded they will get before attempting to flee or surrender, and with enough lesser wounds defense penalties stack to the point characters simply can no longer defend themselves and will die unless they flee or surrender.
The way I have this set up so far, is there are four wound categories: trivial, minor, serious, and critical. Trivial wounds have minor penalties to defense, and have tiny effects lose "you're stunned, lose a round"; minor wounds have more severe defense penalties, and have effects like "you're concussed and have a penalty to intelligence- and charisma-related tasks"; serious wounds have crippling defense penalties, and have effects like "your arm is broken and you can no longer use it or two handed items in combat"; and critical wounds have life-threatening and encounter-ending effects like "you're knocked out" in non-lethal, or "you're mortally wounded" in lethal.
Penalties last until the wound is healed, and since this is a no-magic game setting the only way to heal wounds is with medicine checks and rest: trivial wounds don't require rest, minor wounds require a day's rest, serious wounds take a week, and critical wounds take a month. So, major wounds are a huge deal in this game.
Anyone have thoughts on this?
The basic combat mechanic is Star Wars D6/CoD based roll-off. Attack roll versus defense roll, weapons modify the attack roll and armor modifies the defense roll. No secondary damage/soak roll, the simple threshold between attack and defense determines the damage dealt with higher thresholds indicating more severe wounds. I'm doing it this way because dodges, parries, blocks, bracing, and rolling with hits are created equal: nimble characters roll their "agility/dexterity" stat to not be hit, tough characters roll their "constitution" stat to brace against attack or roll with hits, using the same defense skill.
The way I'm planning this, is the threshold determines the severity of the wound, and the severity of the wound applies progressive defense penalties that accumulate. Then, the wound keyword determines a secondary penalty that comes in the form of losing rounds/skill check penalties/attribute penalties/etc. There are no limit to the number of wounds that can be suffered, but NPC's will have a morale score that determines how wounded they will get before attempting to flee or surrender, and with enough lesser wounds defense penalties stack to the point characters simply can no longer defend themselves and will die unless they flee or surrender.
The way I have this set up so far, is there are four wound categories: trivial, minor, serious, and critical. Trivial wounds have minor penalties to defense, and have tiny effects lose "you're stunned, lose a round"; minor wounds have more severe defense penalties, and have effects like "you're concussed and have a penalty to intelligence- and charisma-related tasks"; serious wounds have crippling defense penalties, and have effects like "your arm is broken and you can no longer use it or two handed items in combat"; and critical wounds have life-threatening and encounter-ending effects like "you're knocked out" in non-lethal, or "you're mortally wounded" in lethal.
Penalties last until the wound is healed, and since this is a no-magic game setting the only way to heal wounds is with medicine checks and rest: trivial wounds don't require rest, minor wounds require a day's rest, serious wounds take a week, and critical wounds take a month. So, major wounds are a huge deal in this game.
Anyone have thoughts on this?