Quote from: CRKrueger;593111Christ in a sidecar.  Ok, thank you my brother, I can always count on you saving me money.

I am astonished that it was even on your radar given your strict views on metagame mechanics. Happy to help.

BTW your second paragraph made zero sense to me.

Quote from: Skywalker;593116BTW your second paragraph made zero sense to me.

In the fudging debate, one of the reasons people were talking about fudging is to avoid character death.  This system eliminates that as a concern. if I can't die unless I specifically elect to risk death, then there is no clash of expectations.  We all get exactly what we signed up for, and we all know it clearly.

I've read some interviews with the author where he stresses the concept of harmony at the game table.  From his descriptions it sounds very Japanese in the group dynamic vs. individual dynamic sense.  Anyway, my point was, his game structures seem to match very clearly his design goals.

Quote from: Skywalker;593104No. It must be ticked.

SPOON!!!!!!


Good enough?

I'd say a basic HP system, but if there was one that both made states other than fine and dead matter and that were not subjected to the standard wound penalty system flaws I'd go with that as superior. There are games that do this, just not on tabletop, because it requires game mechanics that do not translate well into tabletop.

Quote from: CRKrueger;593106I'm not a big fan of using the term elegant with regards to game mechanics, but this is damn good design.

I don't know about "elegant" but it works well in play -- probably because it has been refined a lot over the years. I created the first version of this system shortly after I got a copy of C&S in 1977. I liked the BP/FP idea C&S used but not their implementation of it.

The system I use for my Phaserip game is that players have a certain number of points of Defense (Hit Points, essentially), that essentially respresent the character's ability to mitigate damage via bracing the body for a blow, a last minute turn or twist, etc, and are esentially a character's "energy". When these run out, any subsequent attacks reduce a character's Durability (Endurance). This can be mitigated by losing levels in other attributes as appropriate to the wound (a blow to the leg might reduce Agility, while one to the head might reduce Wits). While Defense points recover quickly, Attribute levels take a day (with medical care) or week (w/o medical care) to recover each, and there is a slim chance of permanent impairment, if any Attributes are reduced to Puny or below.

HP+Conditions/Injuries

or

HP+"stamina" ponts+conditions/injuries.

I'm not too impressed with many variants I have seen, like SW shaken/wounds, true20/mutants & masterminds "damage saves", nor most damage tracks.

I like the idea of a dwindling HP reserve that adds tension as the fight goes on but does not impair you immediately. But at the same time, if you get into a real knock-down drag-out fight, I want you to feel it later.

FATE works a bit like this (though is a bit too forgiving at times). When running D&D/Pathfinder, I add an injury system in that kicks in when at low HP.

Quote from: CRKrueger;593128In the fudging debate, one of the reasons people were talking about fudging is to avoid character death.  This system eliminates that as a concern. if I can't die unless I specifically elect to risk death, then there is no clash of expectations.  We all get exactly what we signed up for, and we all know it clearly.

Yep. That's what I liked about it. As a GM, the player has elected to risk death so there is no issue if they die. I am quite looking forward to seeing what will compel the player to tick the Dead Box. I can see it being a good creator of tension too, sort of a mechanical "this shit just got real"

The other part of the system that interests me is the reverse death spiral. Its great genre emulation to have the fights power up over time, rather than the usual RPG approach. I like how the player chooses between long term injury and bleeding out and immediate defeat.

Quote from: CRKrueger;593128I've read some interviews with the author where he stresses the concept of harmony at the game table.  From his descriptions it sounds very Japanese in the group dynamic vs. individual dynamic sense.  Anyway, my point was, his game structures seem to match very clearly his design goals.

It is a shame that Junichi Inoue is no longer designing games. He seems like a smart designer.

I like Savage Worlds for its simplicity: Shaken / Wounded / Incapacitated / Dead.

Blue Planet v2 had a similar "feel" although the mechanics were different: Wounded / Unconscious / Dead.

Really, if any RPG's damage system can tell me a character's "status" in those terms quickly and easily, I'll be happy with it. When a character takes a hit, I just need to know what happens next.

Quote from: Bill;593055For sheer awesome; Rolemaster

Winnah!

Quote from: estar;593065Harnmaster
You accumulate injury which reduces the chance of success for skill rolls and ability check.

Individual injuries generate various saving throws depending on much is inflicted in that blow. The least of which is that you fall unconscious. If you suffered a lot of injury your negative modifiers pile up until even a scratch will cause you to pass out. Other results include fumbling, falling down, amputation, and death.

It is simple and elegant.

I don't know if simple is the right word, but it's certainly reasonable.

"You're bleeding from several wounds and having trouble holding on to your sword.  Do you really want to press your attack?"

Hit points, all the way.

RPGPundit

Quote from: Bill;593055For sheer awesome; Rolemaster

Yes, hard to beat the "smashed flat, use a spatula" result.

Fudge.  It handles both jumping to a particular wound level and the accumulation of smaller amounts of damage into larger wounds after many hits.  It's also fairly easy to tune for different levels of lethality.  You can find the Fudge wound system described here.

Rolemaster was always awesome with those crits, but never my favourite, due to the complexity.

ACKS is my new light favourite with its add-ons to HP in D&D (roll for consequences/injury at 0HP).

Silhouette (used in Heavy Gear, Tribe 8, Jovian Chronicles, etc.) is probably my favourite damage system overall. The description will seem complicated, but in practice it's dead simple: you have a value for either general hardiness or armour you're wearing. Attacks have a damage value that is multiplied by how successful the attack is, typically based on an opposed roll. If it beats your wounding score (toughness or armour) you take a Light Wound, if it's more than double that value, you take a Deep Wound, and if it's way over, you are instantly killed. Two Light Wounds are a Deep Wound, two Deep Wounds are Death. Light Wounds apply a -1 penalty to all actions, Deep Wounds apply a -2 penalty to all actions.

Admittedly this ends up making combat potentially very lethal; damage accumulates, making things more and more difficult for you. On the other hand, this tends to make combatants very wary, and encourages seriously tactical thinking, as well as less ridiculous risk taking. Both I and my various groups have liked the effect this has had on gameplay.