I decided to start a new thread, rather than necromancing the old one (no new posts since September)

Here's the old thread: http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=23720

I've done a couple tests with my newer system, including one play test, and things seem to be working as predicted.

Endurance begins at a base 30 points + Vitality score (minimum of 2 in most calculations, maximum possible 15)

Armor adds the same increase to both Protection and Endurance (No Armor=0, heaviest Armor=5)

30+15+5=50 Endurance possible.

Now for something i came to on my own, mostly as a stark contrast to weapon bloat found in games like MMORPGs, Diablo, etc...

All weapons have the same likelihood of lethality, differentiated only by their quality and special effects inflicted on automatic hits.

Quote from: MGuy;57328820) I'd like (and I realize this doesn't actually happen in most games) different weapons to have different "feels". The list "feels" barren like there could be more. It may just be my imagination but that's the feeling I walked away with.

I'm hoping that the weapon effects will help lend a more diverse feel to the weapons.

Swords and Daggers inflict bleeds for 1d4 turns.
Maces and Hammers inflict stuns for 1d4 turns.
Axes inflict max damage.
Lances, Spears, and Arrrows ignore armor.

Quality comes in three kinds: Poor, Normal, Fine.

Poor does 1d8 dmg.
Normal does 1d10 dmg.
Fine does 1d12 dmg.

Damage formula is Attribute score (Strength or Perception)+Weapon. Maximum score for any attribute is 15. Maximum damage possible on a normal hit is 15+12=27 Dmg.

Critical damage is based not on natural 20s (those are the auto hits), but rather on the natural 8s, 10s, and 12s of the damage rolls. If you roll the max, you keep the roll and roll again, add the second roll to the first. If you roll the max the second time, keep it and roll again (basic exploding crit).

I'm also contemplating an imploding crit for natural 1s. Roll a 1 on a damage roll, keep it, but then roll again and subtract the second roll from your first. The effect is that, even though you may have hit your target, the hit was so weak it did no harm.

I think this method allows for some character progression and development of power without running into health bloat or imbalanced damage gain, while also lending the illusion of semi-realism.

Thoughts?

EDIT: one observation i've made is the possible lack of a Tank build, but that may just be a matter of extremes. I certainly wouldn't want to play a 32 End character being hit by a 27 Dmg character, especially if he crits.

Perhaps Fine weapons could use 2d6 instead of 1d12: the increased central tendency would make them more predictable which can be beneficial in its own right!

I like the idea of having weapon type give an effect rather than fiddling with damage die sizes/critical ranges.  The preponderance of kukris in the D&D world has been... an experience. ;-)

Excellent suggestion, i'd forgotten about 2d6. Only problem is that it uses a bell curve and therefore lacks an even probability for rolling that 12, which is key to exploding dice.

D&D Online: Bastard Sword Proficiency-> +3 Holy Burst Bastard Sword  

Sooooooooo much crit damage.