Temporary/ permanent health loss/ damage to Characters

[steveb6]

Hola, I hope all the THWers are well?

I have a substantial collection of rules (I bet everyone here does), and 99% of the time I use THW, BUT I like some of the ingenious scenarios which are included in other rulesets. 

Some scenarios translate well into the THW universe, however, many don't and this is usually because of the same/ similar issue which I'm hoping that you guys can suggest some imaginative solutions to (you are a lot cleverer and imaginative than I). Please note, I've typed this a dozen times in an attempt to explain what I mean, I hope it's clear, but if not please shout.

The issue I struggle with is the 'limitation'/ devastating impact of damage, in THW I will hopefully explain/ clarify with an example....

In the scenario I'm currently trying to 'translate' into a 5150 scenario, the floor of a room of an abandoned spaceship is covered with live/ sparking/ arching elecrtical wires. Everytime a character moves they have to take a test to see if they are electrocuted/ shocked, (If they are then they take damage). They can also (after moving) attemot to 'isolate/ make safe' the wire so that next turn they can move safely without being shocked.

So far so good, I can take a challenge vs. REP to move successfuly, Pass 2D6 = no electrocultion, Pass 1D6 re-roll with Pass 2D6 = No electrocution Pass 1D6 = ZAP.

Then I can take another challenge (vs. what? REP SAV?) to see if I can 'isolate/ make-safe' the wires around me so that I can move safely next turn. 

All good so far, except I'm having an internal argument with myself as to what stat I should be making the challenge rolls against (it's a physical challenge so should it be SAV rather than REP?) comments/ suggestions please....

Now comes my issue ,which as I say, crops up in various 'scenario translations' from other gaming rules to THW.

Damage in most other systems from the elctrocution results in a small reduction in Health/ HP, but the character survives and can continue to get across the floor to fight the robots in melee at the far side of the room, (albeit weakened slightly). In the 'donor' ruleset a character typically has between 15-25 HP so the effect of the electrocution is slight at worse, maybe losing 1 or 2 HP per electrocution (unless the Dice Gods are angry of course). 

My issue is how to translate this 'minor' damage into THW World, even a 'temporary' reduction in REP seems harsher than a few point reduction in HP, and when does the REP return? Before the melee with the waiting robots (otherwise it still seems harsh), but if it does return before the melee, then the damage is negated and what was the point?

Alternatively, do I use REP SAV etc in the 'normal' THW way and have a new Health or HP stat, perhaps where a % reduction in HP results in a reduction of REP (i.e. REP 4 each 25% reduction from origional HP total results in a loss of -1 to REP)? But then how does the THW combat result of OOF translate into HP loss? Or does it?

Any suggested solutions/ comments etc more than welcome... (I just know Ed's gonna pont out that the solution is already built into THW mechanics, I just haven't spotted it/ worked out the 'tweak' necessary and I'm going to feel foolish). 

Thanks in advance
Steve

[atomicfloozy]

Without much thought, the first thing that springs to mind is take away a Star Power die each time the character is shocked and once the character has made it through the hazardous terrain, give the character the Runt attribute, which is a -1d6 in melee, if she has lost any star power dice. If the character had the Rage attribute, that attribute is lost. Entering melee with the Runt attribute & fewer star power dice may be enough to simulate a loss of health.

Again, this is just off of the top of my head without any play testing or deep dive into the rules.

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Here goes. Your mileage may vary.



In the scenario I'm currently trying to 'translate' into a 5150 scenario, the floor of a room of an abandoned spaceship is covered with live/ sparking/ arching elecrtical wires. Everytime a character moves I’d limit it to when you enter the room, like a Trap. They have to take a test to see if they are electrocuted/ shocked, (If they are then they take damage). They can also (after moving) attemot to 'isolate/ make safe' the wire so that next turn they can move safely without being shocked.



So far so good, I can take a challenge vs. REP to move successfuly, Pass 2D6 = no electrocultion, Pass 1D6 re-roll with Pass 2D6 = No electrocution Pass 1D6 = ZAP. Physical Challenge.



Then I can take another challenge (vs. what? REP SAV?) to see if I can 'isolate/ make-safe' the wires around me so that I can move safely next turn. Yep.



Now comes my issue ,which as I say, crops up in various 'scenario translations' from other gaming rules to THW.



Damage in most other systems from the elctrocution results in a small reduction in Health/ HP, but the character survives and can continue to get across the floor to fight the robots in melee at the far side of the room, (albeit weakened slightly). In the 'donor' ruleset a character typically has between 15-25 HP so the effect of the electrocution is slight at worse, maybe losing 1 or 2 HP per electrocution (unless the Dice Gods are angry of course). I hated HP tracking in other rules. No real effect on ability. All or nothing. Rep loss reflects weakness or losing an advantage. Haven’t played any other rules in 20 years so might have changed. You could make new rules to track but I tweak rules to fit.


My issue is how to translate this 'minor' damage into THW World, even a 'temporary' reduction in REP seems harsher than a few point reduction in HP, and when does the REP return? Before the melee with the waiting robots (otherwise it still seems harsh), but if it does return before the melee, then the damage is negated and what was the point? Drop 1 point of Rep when get zapped. When Combat starts, adrenaline kicks in and back to normal. BUT keep the -1 to Rep on the Action Table.

Example _ Billy Pink (Rep 5) enters the room Trap! Physical Challenge versus Rep, fail, count -1 to Rep. Two Robots confront him. He counts as Rep 4, they win on the Action Table and go first. Adrenalin and fear kick in, Billy is back up to Rep 5.





Any suggested solutions/ comments etc more than welcome... (I just know Ed's gonna pont out that the solution is already built into THW mechanics, I just haven't spotted it/ worked out the 'tweak' necessary and I'm going to feel foolish).

I never have all the answers because gamers always have new questions! Been doing this for 24 years and I realized that early on. Helps me adjust and update rules to fit the updated gamers. 😊 Hope this helps.


Thanks in advance

Steve

[stryderg]

Rather than one die roll per inch moved, just make it 1 die roll, like Ed said. Moves the story along without bogging it down in repetitious dice rolls. Unless you like that sort of thing.

As for 'minor' damage: roll 2d6 vs rep
pass 2 = Tis but a scratch, not enough damage occurred to matter
pass 1 = Ouch, Suffer -1Rep on next activation (he's feeling it, until the action starts and the adrenaline kicks in)
pass 0 = That's gonna leave a mark, Suffer -1rep until next combat is resolved (more harsh, but you did take damage)

That's just based on the Challenge Test, the most versatile and under used test in the books.

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Oct 7, 2022 21:07:46 GMT stryderg said:

That's just based on the Challenge Test, the most versatile and under used test in the books.

So true, so true.