New Feat idea: Brutally Accurate

[Sutek]

pre-reqs: Power Attack, +?

Basically, there's a number of skills and other things that, if you roll greater than 5 above the DC you get bonus effects. I though that applying this in combat would be cool, and reasonable.

What I'm thinking is +1d6 damage for each 5pts over the target DC when rolling to hit.

Would this be too much? I mean, damage is already brutal enough as it is...

 

[Belkregos]

This is a good idea, although I think applying something like this across the board would be better,
Not make it a feat but a regular part of combat,
Maybe +1 to damage if the to hit is above 5 then another +1 for every 2 points over the first 5
I’ve been thinking of a way to reflect how higher skilled warriors are deadlier, a high to hit would reflect a better, deadly hit,
As it is the damage is divorced from the accuracy of the hit (with the exception of the critical hit rules)
I tried adding the rule of accuracy (I think that how it’s called?) from the d20modern, where for every point over the minimum needed to hit there’s an extra point of damage, in the d20 game this is supposed to recreate the deadliness of firearms and mark the difference when a hit is barely made it grazes the target and a better hit causes more damage
That rule combined with Conan’s massive damage rule proved much too deadly for the game, :lol:
Might suggest something like this as a house rule the next time we meet, (not sure how well received it will be by the players :roll: )

 

[Sutek]

What if it were +1d based on the normal damage die if the to hit roll was >5 above the target DC?

I think that works better.

In other words, if the damage profile for a weapon uses 1d10 for damage, and the wielder rolls DC+5, he then gets +1d10 extra.

Another idea could be that such a rule could add bonus to the weapon AP, making it more variable. Right now, with damage random and AP static, combat feels a little too predictable at some level. Maybe, like Finesse to a certain degree, if the wielder rolls DC+ target's armor DR, they get +1d6 to thier AP.

Just thinking...damage in Conan doesn't necessarily have to fall under actual "damage". Increasing AP would be almost more brutal in some ways.

Hmmm... :?

 

[geordiekimbo]

How about if you cause a critical hit if you roll 10 points higher than your opponents defense..just a thought

 

[Trodax]

I think the mechanics for degrees of success you're proposing do basically the same thing as what critical hits do in the game now; they make a skilled warrior deal, on average, more damage per successful hit (cause the better you are, the more critical threats you will confirm, and also there is the Improved Critical feat that further boosts this). Also, they give more unskilled warriors the slight chance of rolling well and scoring a high-damage hit. Basically, I think the Brutally Accurate feat you've suggested accomplishes the same thing as Improved Critical.

Granted, criticals and degrees of success aren't exactly the same and depending on what numbers you use (you could calculate the statistics of damage output) you could definitely fine-tune it so that the skill of the warrior plays a much bigger role on damage than it does now (criticals don't happen all that often, after all). But because they essentially do the same thing, I think using both criticals and calculating degrees of success would be a bit superfluous. Degrees of success are, however, something that could replace the rules for critical hits; many games do this. For example, in the White Wolf games (Exalted, World of Darkness) every success on the attack roll (its a dice pool system) adds directly to damage.

What makes calculation of degrees of success messier and more time-consuming than criticals in d20 is of course that you'd have to do a little math on every roll. As it is now, you just roll and know exactly how much damage you do if the GM tells you that you've beaten your opponents defense. If degrees of success were a factor, you'd also have to throw in a little subtraction. It will add at least a little time to your combats.

What if it were +1d based on the normal damage die if the to hit roll was >5 above the target DC?

I think that works better.

In other words, if the damage profile for a weapon uses 1d10 for damage, and the wielder rolls DC+5, he then gets +1d10 extra.

If I were to use this, I think I'd actually prefer if the extra damage was independent of the weapon used (for example +1d6 per 5 above defense). This would really make the skill what mattered - a highly skilled warrior with a dagger could be as deadly as a lesser skilled warrior with a bardiche. This is actually something I could like for regular criticals too; perhaps if a successful critical gave +2d6 damage instead of what it does now. Hmmm....

Another idea could be that such a rule could add bonus to the weapon AP, making it more variable. Right now, with damage random and AP static, combat feels a little too predictable at some level. Maybe, like Finesse to a certain degree, if the wielder rolls DC+ target's armor DR, they get +1d6 to thier AP.

Just thinking...damage in Conan doesn't necessarily have to fall under actual "damage". Increasing AP would be almost more brutal in some ways.

The problem with this would be that rolling high would be an advantage against armoured, but not unarmoured, opponents. Also, a finesse fighter wouldn't get any advantage from it.

How about if you cause a critical hit if you roll 10 points higher than your opponents defense..just a thought

Pretty nice... This would actually be a very easy way to make the skill of the warrior have a larger impact on damage. I wouldn't use this together with the regular critical rules, though, but instead of them.

 

[Sutek]

Well, I'm trying for a feat that's a low level feat which rewards for rolling high for characters without Sneak Attack capability.

Adding +1d6 for rolling 5+ above target DV is how I'll do it.

What about pre-reqs? I can't think of any off hand other than Power Attack, and I don't have my books here at work.

 

[Trodax]

What about pre-reqs? I can't think of any off hand other than Power Attack, and I don't have my books here at work.

Hmmm, that sort of depends on which type of fighting style you want to give this ability to. Personally, I don't think the "Power-attack-type-fighter" really needs a boost in Conan (cause two-handed weapon+Power Attack+Cleave already kicks da ass!).

Another variant could be to make Weapon Specialization a prereq (if you want to give Soldiers more weight) or perhaps Dex 15+ (if you want to give a boost to high Dex, finesse fighters).

 

[Sutek]

That makes sense. Since STR is only excluded from AP calculation with doing a finesse attack, it might work as a Power Attack alternative for those players taking a more "DEX" route.

Good idea Trodax.

 

[Tim]

There are so many ways to boost your damage in conan that we really don't need yet another feat for that. at least one that adds to hand weapon damage. Now a version of the feat that lets you add to your ranged attack might be better.

Maby a point blank range shot that adds +1 to damage for every -1 you take to you base defense. Although another way to do the damage would be a improved crit range at the cost of your base defense, like increase crit range by 1 for every -3 you take to your base defense.

 

[Sutek]

Well, this Brutally Accurate feat would work for ranged as well as melee. It's intended to be a bonus reward for being able to roll really high relative to low DC opponents.

 

[Voltumna]

There are so many ways to boost your damage in conan that we really don't need yet another feat for that. at least one that adds to hand weapon damage. Now a version of the feat that lets you add to your ranged attack might be better.

Maby a point blank range shot that adds +1 to damage for every -1 you take to you base defense. Although another way to do the damage would be a improved crit range at the cost of your base defense, like increase crit range by 1 for every -3 you take to your base defense.

Maybe Power attack could be used with thrown weapons at point blank range without an aditional feat. I know I would like that.

 

[Tegman]

I have a house rule that increases the chance of higher damage for skillful (or lucky) fighters.
It allows an attacker to reroll one damage die for each 10 points that he beats the DC with and gets to pick which one(s) to use.

Example
Fighter A uses a greatsword and attacks B, A rolls good, beating B's DV with 12 and thats >= 10, so A gets to reroll one die and therefore rolls 3d10 and chose the two highest.

This only applyes one time for a damage roll, so if, in the example, the attack would have been a critical, then A would roll 5d10 and pick the four highest (but that's up to the GM to decide).

Hope I have explained it good enough, feel free to ask if I'm unclear in my description.

Anyway, that's a little extra that I have put in my game, I hope someone finds it useful.

Cheers.

 

[Sutek]

I kinda like that, but how d oyou feel about adding the STR bonus to AP for each 10 ? DV?

I guess what I'm going for is that the attack is so "spot on" that it makes armor less effective, like pulling off a Successful Sneak attack. It's jsut that AP will easily be surpassed with Warswords and Bardiches, but not - for example - chairs, broken bottles or even a warrior's bare fist.

See, I keep trying to rationalize that stuff like unarmed damage, saps, improvised weapons, etc. do a low, fized amount of damage that rarely, if ever (never if the opponent is high level/HP) damage someone enough to hurt them. This is like someone jsut getting that lucky punch that jabs his opponent right in the eye, ya know? Those weapon types have crappy AP, but if the weilder's STR bonus to AP were added, for instance, 3 times for rolling ?20 over the DV (!), then there should be a great pay off.

I'm not sure AP is what I want, but I don't want it (at this point anyways) to deal simply more damage.

Is there some other solution I'm missing?

 

[Tegman]

Well, since I want even a dagger or fist to be lethal, I also have a house rule that lets the target of a critical hit automatically roll a save vs massive damage, even if he was hit by a fist, if the target is unlucky, he'll roll a '1', though luck...

The massive damage save works a little different, the DC is 5 + half damage, so unarmed and light weapons damage will have a low DC, but they can still fail. I think it adds a little flavor to my game.

Hope I gave you and idea.

Good hits and AP
I think I'll try and up the AP with +1 for each 5 (or 3 or 4) points the attacker beats the defenders DV. I'll have to try it out, but I'll start with 5 points and see what happens.

 

[Trodax]

Damnit Tegmannen, you seem to have a lot of houserules!

 

[Tegman]

Damnit Tegmannen, you seem to have a lot of houserules!

Guilty as charged

I always create a house rule document for a new game, and as I GM it, the document grows.
I love to read, create and revise rules, I can't help it, I'm addicted

One thing I do, before adding a house rule, is to discuss it with my players, so I can get input from them. Sometimes they see something that I have missed, so a house rule that I use is approved by both myself and my players and they know that the door swings both ways.

I enjoy talking and discussing rules and always try to improve my games. I have played (well, mostly refereed) RPGs for 20 years now, I sometimes wonder if I'm ever gonna quit
I don't see myself quiting, even my girlfriend plays, and that makes it so much easier

Hmm, I'll stop ranting now

 

[Sutek]

Thanks...

:wink:


Anyhoo, I just thought of this:

Brutally Accurate - allows a blow to pinpoint a vital area of the target, wounding them severly. The Brutal Attacker must announce that he is attempting such a strick and rolls to hit normally. If he succeeds by greater than DV + (opponent DR) + (opponent CON), and if his opponent takes any damage as a result (after DR deductions), that opponent must make a Mssive Damage save even if one was not dealt.

Could have another one called Brutally Debilitating where opponent DEX is factored in instead of CON and success means the opponent is knocked unconcious.

Perfect solution for saps, the Cptn. Kirk chop to the back of the neck, bottle/vase over the head, etc.