Edit edit: Perhaps that 5d6 damage is a bit too much. I'm open to suggestions.
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Legends of Gath #7; The Junk Man
Edit edit: Perhaps that 5d6 damage is a bit too much. I'm open to suggestions.
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I like how you have repurposed some of your older work to fit in with Gath!
ReplyDeleteTotally! I had some odds and ends and I'm always trying to see if I can get them to fit a bit better here and there. :)
DeleteThat's a pretty beefy grenade.
ReplyDeleteThe damage does seem a bit intense now that I look at it. Suggestions?
DeleteWell, since you ask...
DeleteWith this sort of game (B/X design specs, skirmish level action) I've got in the habit of examining things in terms of "ogre scale." That is to say, I like to ask myself "How would this scale against (what I consider to be) the equivalent of an ogre?" 5D6 at a 20' range has an excellent chance of killing an ogre (average damage 17.5 versus average HPs 19, considering 4+1 HD) even at the outskirts of the blast...which isn't really the way I picture the bruiser. This is a creature that can take four deep (i.e. man killing) sword wounds and still...barely...keep coming. It's a grizzly bear.
In my own "modern-ish" designs (B/X cyberpunk stuff), I usually use a D4 scale for fragmentation grenades, just as I do for shotgun shot. I'm not really a "gun nut" - most of my name brand knowledge of small arms comes from RPGs like WoD and Palladium. But I've done a bit of research on explosives and handguns in order to get an abstract model I can live with (i.e. that works in a game). For my own game I go with:
Frag grenade: 5D4 damage; 15m range, save versus blast for half
Concussion grenade: 4D10 (2D10 in the outdoors); 10m range, save vs. blast for half
Neither one of these are going to take out an ogre (singly) unless you get an excellent die roll...and then only against an "average" size ogre. Well, unless you're using a standard concussion grenade in an enclosed space (like a freight elevator). Damage and enrage the beast? Sure...but probably not kill it. And the same should be true for your average "hero" protagonist (i.e. 4th level fighter)...at least not if she can make her saving throw.
Anyway, that's just me and my weirdness. At 5D6, two grenades could damn near take down a 12' hill giant. That might be perfect for your setting. For me, it does feel "a bit intense."
That's an outstanding suggestion. Great analysis to support 5d4. I appreciate you taking the time to write this out.
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