Re: [HoE] Massive Damage and other random thoughts

[Darrin Bright <darrin@neobright.net>]

Draxus@aol.com wrote:

> But
> then when I look at the Fallin' and Fire sections, it just gives a total
> damage
> number. How do I figure out how many total wounds a victim takes?
> For example, Lester falls 10 yards. That means he takes 2d6+10 damage.
> Fair enough, but isn't that all one wound? If not, how do I break it up?

Just like any other kind of damage, divide the total by the target's size (usually
6). In the example above, you roll a total of 17 falling damage. The poor cowpoke
is Scrawny (Size 5) so he takes 3 wound levels. Determine damage location
randomly... that means with massive damage the target could wind up with a serious
gut wound, or a light arm wound, light leg wound, and a light head wound, or a
heavy leg wound and a light gut wound, etc.

If you roll head or gizzards as a location, I believe you roll more dice and add
this to the total. I don't have the rules in front of me, however.

> Second, as someone coming from level-based game systems, is there any
> good rule of thumb for figuring out how to appropriately gauge the strength
> of the party's opposition so as to avoid slaughtering them like dogs?

The closest thing to roughly guage the strength of a character is how much Grit
he/she has. This isn't a very exact measure, however... especially since the
current rules cap Grit at 5 max. Harrowed automatically get a point of grit for
being dead, and there are other wacky things like colored grit... but in general,
here's a rough guide:

0 Grit - Newbies, greenies, tenderfoots, tinhorns. Go easy on these guys, give 'em
lots of hints, and be ready to pull your punches.
1 Grit - They're catching on. They've seen some weird stuff and have an idea about
whats really going on, but don't get too rough with them.
2 Grit - Seasoned. They've probably got one or two servitors/fearmongers under
their belts, and are ready for more.
3 Grit - Experienced. Time to take the kid gloves off and play for keeps. Don't be
afraid to get rough with them.
4 Grit - This is the Big League, the heavyweights. By now they're probably a thorn
in the Reckoners' sides. Time for "No More Mr. Niceguy."
5 Grit - Veterans. Two words: No Mercy. These are generally the best of the best.
They should be ready for anything you could possibly throw at them.

I won't go into what happens at Grit 5, since I'm sure we still get new players on
here. If they can survive it, though, then you know you're dealing with a pretty
bad-ass character.

I would highly recommend that you DON'T think of DL/HOE in terms of AD&D levels,
though. A party of green players can take down a nasty servitor/fearmonger if they
figure out its weakness, and even veteran players can be brained with a lucky
headshot from the lowliest bandit/trog. But you're going to want to steer your
players away from the mindset that they're sitting down at the table to rack up
XP, gold, Grit, or whatever. They ought to be there to have fun, not gain levels.
But I shouldn't be going around telling you how to play your game.

> Finally, is it just me or does the gray background on the Radiation Screen
> make it just about impossible to read the information on it?

Ugh. I thought PEG had learned their lesson with the DL Marshall's Screen. Let's
hope they don't do this AGAIN with Lost Colony or BNW.