Author Topic: Idea for a house rule PEACH  (Read 1969 times)

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Doctor Monocle

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Idea for a house rule PEACH
« on: July 06, 2008, 03:24:27 PM »
I'm toying with the idea for a house rule for handguns (and some SMGs) only .
I call it the "Manstopper Rule" and it would go something like this:

Because some rounds of ammunition (for handguns) inflict more trauma that other similar rounds due to their propellent load, shape, composition etc., they will have a greater chance to inflict critical damage on a target and knock it down.

In game terms this would mean that the round would inflict a Critical Hit on a roll of 19-20 rather than just 20.
Increasing the chance of a higher damage hit (and of probably forcing a massive damage check).

For example, this would highlight a difference between a 9mm para round and .45ACP (which would have the Manstopper rule applied to it).
It also elminates the need to redefine (or tweak) the damage for those weapons just to make them worth using (both 9mm and .45 ACP do 2D6 damage in the D20 modern rules).

A few of the rounds that would qualify for the rule are: .357magnum,.44 magnum, .45ACP, any of the "AE" rounds and others.

Please PEACH.

What rounds do you think should be on the list for the Manstopper Rule?

Do you think it should be done differently?
---Doctor Monocle

Orion

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Re: Idea for a house rule PEACH
« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2008, 03:40:38 PM »
So you'd like to make 'special' rounds that increase the critical range? That's really easy. Just make them more expensive by the box and you're done, say +1 to the PDC. And you're done.

Tema69

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Re: Idea for a house rule PEACH
« Reply #2 on: July 06, 2008, 04:06:46 PM »
That's not what he said. He wants to give .45 ACP, .357, etc... a 19-20 crit range to differentiate the 9mm from the .45ACP. Separating the men from the boys, if you will.

@ Type2: Well, that seems like a good idea if you're going for strictly RAW weapon damage. In our game, we simply adjust the Penetration and Recoil of the weapon, increasing it's damage (M1911 .45 ACP deals 3d8, having Penetration -1 and Recoil 5 - Browning HiPower 9mm Parabellum deals 3d6, Penetration 0, Recoil 4).

The Recoil rules are from CyberDave, and the Penetration rules are based on various stuff.
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Orion

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Re: Idea for a house rule PEACH
« Reply #3 on: July 06, 2008, 06:40:08 PM »
Oh, I see. This is one of those attempts at "realism" in an RPG.

Okay. Have fun.

Doctor Monocle

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Re: Idea for a house rule PEACH
« Reply #4 on: July 06, 2008, 08:13:06 PM »
Actually, I'm trying to find a middle ground between realism and game balance.

The 9mm vs. .45ACP is a good example.
In the RAW, they both do 2D6 damage, but the 1911 only holds 6 round while some 9mm hold up to 15 rounds.
Based on this, the 1911 appears (in RAW) to be inferior and not worth carrying.

In reality, the 1911 packs a major wallop with those .45ACP rounds..often knocking a target down with one center mass shot.

The 9mm does not always knock down a target and sometimes requires multiple rounds to down a target. So having more ammo in it is a good idea.

The RAW makes almost all handguns the same..while in reality, they are made to approach the problem of dropping a target from different points of view. Some (ammo) uses sheer impact to deliver damage while others rely on penetration or high velocity to inflict damage.

Tema69,
I can see a penetration system being useful if you convert to a system where armor soaks damage rather than makes you harder to hit. Then you can use the Pen# to ignore the Damage resistance of the armor.

I'm trying to avoid having to rewrite every weapon in the RAW just to make the system work (though now that you have me thinking about penetration of armor, I might just have to set aside some time to play around with the armor mechanics.  :))

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Tema69

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Re: Idea for a house rule PEACH
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2008, 07:55:05 AM »
Well, using Armour as Damage Reduction, adding rules for Inserts, having various ammo types, and penetration + recoil rules have so far worked out pretty well. A fit/moderately strong guy might think twice before grabbing a M1911 due to the heavy recoil and low penetration, perhaps taking a 9mm instead, with more manageable recoil and better penetration. A really weak guy might just grab a .22 instead of the .50AE Desert Eagle.
I can understand that you don't wanna write the whole system up again, but that's pretty much what I've been doing for the last couple of months, and so far, my group has liked the changes.
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Johannixx

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Re: Idea for a house rule PEACH
« Reply #6 on: July 10, 2008, 03:14:14 AM »
Upping the crit range is probably too drastic of a measure.  I think upping the save DC for Massive Damage saves by +1 is a better option.  While the .45 ACP is definitely more lethal than the standard SAAMI-pressure 9x19mm with equivalent bullet construction, in the grand scheme of things, it's not that big a difference compared to the lethality you gain by going to a mid-power assault rifle round, much less the lethality you gain by going to a shotgun or full-power rifle.  Adding +1 to the save DC keeps the damage roughly the same, but makes it harder to survive a solid hit.

Of course, this works a lot better if you have a sliding DC scale for different power levels of ammo.  Off the top of my head, you can probably get by with DCs starting at 14 for 2d4 rounds, up to 16 for 2d6, 18 for 2d8, 20 for 2d10 and 22 for 2d12.  That way, adding +1 for a 'manstopper' .45 ACP round is still less powerful than just shooting someone with a 5.56mm carbine.