Unarmed damage in MRQII?

[daddystabz]

I thought I read somewhere in the MRQII book that unarmed damage does 1d3 dmg and I don't remember if you get your damage modifier or not. Can anyone please point me where in the book it says how much damage you do unarmed? I am having trouble locating it again.

Thanks in advance!

 

[danskmacabre]

1d3 is right, Core Rules , page 41.
I would rule that you can add your damage bonus (as with any melee weapon), it makes sense really since you're putting your body force and strength behind the blow.

An example where your damage bonus ISN'T added is a crossbow, as it's propelled under it's own steam (I.E. Winched back).
Whereas a Longbow, since it's pulled and released at once, using the full strength of the user DOES allow a Damage bonus.

 

[daddystabz]

It looks like you don't get your damage modifier to any melee weapons at all. It seems to only apply to certain ranged weapons.

 

[taxboy]

It looks like you don't get your damage modifier to any melee weapons at all. It seems to only apply to certain ranged weapons.

errr, no melee weapons and certain missile weapons.

I do miss the stun / body rules from HERO sometimes, esp with unarmed...

 

[Mikko Leho]

It looks like you don't get your damage modifier to any melee weapons at all. It seems to only apply to certain ranged weapons.

By default you add your Damage Modifier, see page 94. Certain missile weapons however work differently so missile weapons have a column for applying Damage Modifier. For melee weapons the same column would always read Y.

 

[Jujitsudave]

My only gripe with MRQ2 combat rules are that unarmed strikes are incredibly lethal. Just think, and average adult male getting punched an average of 4 times in the face would DIE! It's not a major problem in most games as unarmed combat is rare, but it really should be adressed during the development of RQmodern.

 

[PhilHibbs]

My only gripe with MRQ2 combat rules are that unarmed strikes are incredibly lethal. Just think, and average adult male getting punched an average of 4 times in the face would DIE!

5HP is average in the head, 1d3 unarmed damage average is 2, so that's 5 hits to take the head to -5 where you start to make Resilience rolls or die. Opposed resilience vs an already successful attack is dangerous though.

 

[Jujitsudave]

Exactly. One full force strike to the dome can result easily in a KO, but killing someone with unarmed strikes is a lot harder than it seems. If this was the case, the UFC would be illegal with deaths at every event. The thing that kills boxers is not one massive blow but repeated head trauma that results in brain swelling after the bout is over.

 

[PhilHibbs]

Exactly. One full force strike to the dome can result easily in a KO, but killing someone with unarmed strikes is a lot harder than it seems. If this was the case, the UFC would be illegal with deaths at every event. The thing that kills boxers is not one massive blow but repeated head trauma that results in brain swelling after the bout is over.

Long term damage is difficult in RPGs. The non-lethality of boxing can be addressed by the fact that you are taking lots of low-damage hits so you are much more likely to go down between 0 and -6 HP than you are to reach the danger-of-death zone.

 

[Jujitsudave]

That's true, but its perfectly resonable to assume that one could take roughly 10 punches to the head in the course of say, 30 seconds and remain conscious. Even with minimal damage, this is not possible under RQ rules.

 

[Mongoose Pete]

My only gripe with MRQ2 combat rules are that unarmed strikes are incredibly lethal. Just think, and average adult male getting punched an average of 4 times in the face would DIE! It's not a major problem in most games as unarmed combat is rare, but it really should be adressed during the development of RQmodern.

True from a statistical analysis, but you need to think about what is really going on in a fist fight.

First off, in an all out fight not all the blows are going to be to the head/face, it is not a boxing match. Secondly some of those punches would be soaked by the defender guarding his face. So getting 4 clean punches to the face is in reality rather difficult.

Then you need to think about what happens if you do render the victim unconscious from a head blow. Normally the fight ends there, most people will cease fighting once their foe has been rendered incapacitated. A psychopath, or vengeance seeker, or individual overborne by some drink or narcotic may continue, but that is not normal.

Lastly even if the victim is being kicked to death, then the injuries may still not be fatal if they gain medical attention in time. Save for failing the opposed Resilience test at a major wound, death is not instantaneous.

In real life my take on it goes along these lines...

It is perfectly possible to render a fully grown man unconscious with a single punch, for example many boxing or K1 matches end with the first clean, unimpeded blow.

For those with proper training and inclination it is also possible to cripple or kill with a single blow if you strike the head in the right way - resulting in subarachnoid haemorrhage, temporal fracture, dislocation of the spinal vertebrae, crushing the trachea, etc. These are types of blows nobody normally throws unless they are deliberately seeking the death of the opponent.

The ten blows to the head and remain conscious situation is only probable if either the hitter merely wishes to hurt his opponent not kill them; or that the victim is actively defending, reducing those punches to superficial cuts/bruising by blocking or twisting their head (i.e. in RQ terms not worth measuring in HP). Even in the first case there are many accidental deaths each year from 'minor' punches given in bar fights and similar.