We used Arm's Law for a while in a game I used to DM. Probably a
matter of taste, but I never liked it much.
"Your opponent is decapitated. The rolls 3d6 feet."
If something odd is going to happen I prefer to be in control of
it myself. I'm quite happy (as DM) to send heads rolling when
the conditions warrant it, but I hate it when a table tells me
that I have to.
--
The following is a transcript of an actual gaming session I DM'd
about two years ago. Probably the closest I've ever come to killing
an entire party. (The details are pretty well stuck in my mind
even two years later, so the basic flow of the combat is exactly
as it was, but I can't swear that all of the die rolls are correct.)
DM: "Your last run broke the hinges on the front barn door (the
bolt is still intact on the other side though) and you are finally
in the barn. You see your cleric (who entered with the thief
through the back door) facing down the Werewolf. The thief is
bleeding in the hay at the back of the barn, seemingly dead."
Paladin: "I rush to the attack."
DM: "Wait. The Werewolf still has initiative. The Werewolf
strikes at the cleric. Critical hit. Triple damage, claws tear
through your shield and deep into your right side. 28 points of
damage."
Cleric: "I'm at -3."
DM: "The cleric unconcious and bleeding profusely. He'll be
dead in six rounds."
DM: "The Werewolf leans down to maul the cleric."
Paladin: "I shoot a fire arrow at the Werewolf. I rolled 17."
DM: "You've hit, roll damage."
Paladin: "1 + 7 fire damage."
DM: "The Werewolf looks up surprised at the sudden puff of
smoke, and smell of burning hair, and notices you. The werewolf
leaps at the Paladin."
Paladin: "I roll and dodge."
DM: "Where are you rolling."
Paladin: "I roll towards it."
DM: "The werewolf overleapt you. You are now next to the cleric.
The werewolf is on the other side of the barn. The cleric is currently
at -5 hits."
Paladin: "I bind the wounds."
DM: "Quickly binding the wounds you heal one hit point. The cleric
is at -4, and the Werewolf is upon you."
Paladin: "I'll lay on hands."
DM: "If you do that now you'll be considered prone for the next attack.
You'll have a 4 penalty to your AC."
Paladin: "After the orcs outside I can't take on the werewolf
alone. I'll have to take the chance."
DM: "Roll for healing."
Paladin: "I healed 7 points."
DM: "The cleric is awake. The Werewolf attacks. He hit.
6 points damage."
Paladin: "I'm at zero."
DM: "You are stunned. You can't attack next round at all, and the
round after if you try anything energetic you'll lose -1 hit and go
unconcious."
Cleric: "I attack. I rolled a 20. Finally!"
DM: "Roll a d12."
Cleric: "10... double damage?"
DM: "Double damage, roll for damage."
Cleric: "I rolled an 8, plus two for my sword, plus 2 strength
bonus is 12 hits. Doubled that's 24."
DM: "The werewolf snarls, then turns to attack you. Miss."
Cleric: "I press the attack. I got an 18."
DM: "You hit. Roll for damage.
Cleric: "Just 10 this time. Is he even hurt?"
DM: "The werewolf is getting winded, but other than a bit of
scorched fur, you really haven't touched him yet."
DM: "The werewolf attacks. He hits. Damage is 6. You are
again unconcious."
Paladin: "I attack."
DM: "You could attack now, but even if you don't succeed you'll
lose a hit point for the effort."
Paladin: "To hell with that, give me the dice. I rolled 15."
DM: "What are your modifiers?"
Paladin: "+1 for the sword. Oh and I still have that protection
from evil spell going, I think."
DM: "You hit... just barely. Roll damage."
Paladin: "10 + 1"
DM: "With your last mighty thrust you took the beast through the
throat. It lies dead at your feet as you collapse over its carcass.
Roll percentile."
Paladin: "98"
DM: "You are stable at -1 hits. You groggily regain conciousness.
Cleric, and thief, roll percentile dice."
[...]
On Fri, Jan 26, 2001 at 09:01:32PM -0600, Aaron Smalley wrote:
> Check out ICE's "Arm's Law" or "10 million Ways to Die" (if you can
> still find them). This is exaclty what you are looking for, and are
> damned good products.
>
> They have an excellent system for this, complete with "ctriticals" and I
> don't mean, "X2 damage" I am talking about such things as:
>
> "Hard blow stuns foe for 3 rounds. Foe is unalbe to parry next round.
> +22 hits. Add 10% to your next swing" (Large Creature/Magic Weapon crit
> roll of 83 (d%))
>
> or...
> "Medium forearm wound, +4 hits. Foe takes 3 hits per round, is at -10%,
> and is stunned next 2 rounds" (Slash "D" crit roll of 64 (d%))
>
> or more dramatic...
> "Strike through foe's eye. Foe dies instantly. Add +25% to yoru next
> attack. Carry on." (Puncture "E" crit roll of 00 (d%))
>
> and hundreds more...
> They use a higher number of "hits" than the "hit points" that D20 uses,
> and adds a LOT to the excitement and dramatics of the game. They also
> use a cumulative penalty based on the amount of damage that a PC/NPC has
> taken.
>
> Guillaume PERREAL wrote:
> > I find that D&d lacks the "huh, what a strike!"-feeling. I mean that until
> > the character hit points drops to 0, it is still standing up and acting as
> > he were never wounded, and then... it's off.
> >
> > So I'm looking for a way to make this "shutdown" more progressive. Many
> > other RPGs handle this, by applying maluses linked to health status.
>
> --
> Aaron Smalley
>
> ICQ#: 2080100
>
> Home: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> Work: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
--
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