Author Topic: How do hit Locations Work?  (Read 1463 times)

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Offline Jakob

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How do hit Locations Work?
« on: February 07, 2018, 05:28:40 AM »
I don't own Martial Law yet, and reading the core rules, I'm wondering whether I should get it - can someone give me a short breakdown of how hit location combat works? I think I've read something about the "ones die" determining hit Location - so do I get tables that basically give me a different crit for each number from 0-9, with 0, e.g., being the left leg, 9 being the head ... or does it work differently?

Also, does the system allow for called shots to a hit Location?

Offline pyrotech

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Re: How do hit Locations Work?
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2018, 11:52:36 AM »
Hello,

In Harp ML it does include rules for called shots and hit locations.  A character can choose to take a penalty to their OB in order to adjust the hit location by a number (by taking the max penalty they can choose any hit location) and the base hit location is determined by the ones position of their attack roll.  There is a set of crit charts that break down my hit location.  So your basic understanding is pretty much correct.

I like these rules but they do add a bit more complexity to the hit resolution and slightly slow things down - but it does mean there are more crit results depending on what location you hit.  But I am left fundamentally torn by them as I typically subscribe to the "More Charts does not equal More Better" school of HARP.  If I wanted more charts I would be playing Rolemaster/Spacemaster. 

Regards,

-Pyrotech

Offline Jakob

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Re: How do hit Locations Work?
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2018, 05:10:30 AM »

I like these rules but they do add a bit more complexity to the hit resolution and slightly slow things down - but it does mean there are more crit results depending on what location you hit.  But I am left fundamentally torn by them as I typically subscribe to the "More Charts does not equal More Better" school of HARP.  If I wanted more charts I would be playing Rolemaster/Spacemaster. 


I see your point ... however, it sounds like ML finds a good compromise between RM's two-pages charts for every single weapon with additional Crit charts and the HARP core book, which, at least on first impression, looks as if crit results might become repetitive once characters reach higher levels and tend to hit the damage cap roof.
I guess I'll start playing with the core rules, and then I can decide whether I feel like getting a book with bigger crit tables. It's still all one-roll-resolution, even with the hit locations, isn't it? Just a bigger chart?

Offline Zhaleskra

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Re: How do hit Locations Work?
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2018, 08:12:36 AM »
I have all currently available HARP books, and I only use hit by location when it actually makes sense. When it makes sense to have a general crit vs. by location and when it doesn't to me may be very different from your ideas. The core book also includes rules for hit locations just without the expanded charts. Remember, the mechanics of the criticals don't change, but your description can (and should) vary so the same critical isn't necessarily described the same way every time.
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Offline Jakob

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Re: How do hit Locations Work?
« Reply #4 on: February 10, 2018, 10:21:34 AM »
Remember, the mechanics of the criticals don't change, but your description can (and should) vary so the same critical isn't necessarily described the same way every time.

The problem with that is that I actually tend to let my players handle a lot of description with regards to their own action themselves, so for me, it would make sense to just hand them their crit tables and ask them to tell me what happens when they hit ...
On the other hand, I could just tell them not to stick to the letter of how exactly they hit, but to give me varied descriptions and just keep the numbers the same.

I'll just see how it works with the core rules, and then I can still upgrade if I feel the need.