Deka Damage Rating House Rule

[asajosh]

Or, missed shots with lasers (or rail guns, or any beam or projectile weapon) can be said to be "strafes". The shooter swept his weapon over the target rather then point and shoot. Thus the MD laser beam maybe sliced off a chunk of the SDC building.
A little story telling embelishment during combat goes a long way.

[DocS]

Try it out,

In practice you will see a zillion flaws that no one would expect

[SkyeFyre]

It's funny how people think up the same things. I made a middle tier a while back as well but called it Heavy Damage Capacity (HDC). However I kept everything as it is, I just made up new equipment to fit the middle tier so there wouldn't be such a jump from SDC to MDC.

It's a neat idea in theory but I assure you that it won't work very nicely in practice.

[ghost2020]

I was trying out a rule where MDC was more of a "type" of damage rather than a damage level.

So MDC materials could only be affected by MDC weapons. A 4d6 MDC blast to an SDC structure still only did 4d6. But that same blast would affect an mdc structure as well.
Make sense?

It works because people don't just die from MDC blasts, it still only does 4d6.

It breaks down when vehicles are involved, SDC tank attacks, and it's just weird, because there is no damage scale.

There's some promise there, but I haven't had time to play-test it and work out the kinks.

[Mouser13]

Personally, I have allows had laser weapons go though the house not kill the house, a bullet and a piece of paper. The bullet does destory the paper it just goes though it.

[Daikuma]

I have been trying to add some scalability to Rifts for years. I've tried the Deka replacing Mega damage method, but it left a lot to be desired. I adapted a bit of WEG Star Wars styled scale and it works a bit better (note to moderators, this is NOT a conversion, I only bring it up as an example).

SDC is unaffected.

MDC is now split based on the type of weapon involved:

LMDC (Light MDC) is equal to 10 SDC per LMDC, and is common for Mega Damage sidearms and man portable weapons, man sized power armor, as well as vibroweapons and natural mega damage attacks. All LMDC attacks can affect any MDC structure, on a 1 for 1 basis: 1 LMDC = 1 MDC upscale.

MDC (Mega Damage Capacity) remains unchanged (1 MDC = 100 SDC) but is completely impervious to SDC attacks, no matter how powerful. MDC applies to damage done by Vehicles, Robot Vehicles, Space Fighters, fighter jets, and light ocean going vehicles. The difference that occurs when scaling up is that the bore on these weapons are larger, so even if the numbers are the same as far as damage level, there is more of that energy or a larger projectile involved, so greater amounts of damage are done then the LMDC equivalent. As such, the chance to have a critical hit increases by 1 if firing on a target downscale: MDC weapon does a critical hit on a natural 19-20 when firing on LMDC targets with double damage. All gods and adult dragons also maintain this as their standard damage.

HMDC (Heavy Mega Damage Capacity): These are the truly big weapons, like those found as the "main guns" on massive ocean going craft and space cruisers. Damage is also on a scale of 1 MDC = 100 SDC, but the chances of a critical hit (or total devastation) increase by one for each level downscale that the shot is going. So if the cruiser manages to fire on a downscale target (penalties apply) the critical range increases by one: if firing on a starfighter, then the critical range increases by 1 (natural 19-20 and double damage), if firing on a body armored soldier in space, then the critical range increases by 2 (natural 18-20 and triple damage). Note this is the damage structure of creatures such as the great old ones, should they ever return.

Note that weapons of HMDC cannot fire on targets smaller than a power armor, and only hit those targets if used in planetary bombardment. When facing against SDC creatures or structures, penetration rules apply, so if you fire a plasma cannon with a 2 inch bore (think Naruni) into a normal SDC building, then you have a 2 inch hole in a straight line cutting through the building and any other SDC structures or people in that straight line out to the maximum range of the weapon or till it strikes a MDC object. Similarly if the weapon is a tank mounted plasma cannon with a six inch bore, then the hole is six inches. Mega damage explosives, on the other hand, apply their damage to the totality of the structure, so their little pink houses can be swept away like paper in fire (to paraphrase a well known midwest rocker)

Armor and supernatural mega damage is also scaled accordingly. Whatever damage that object can do, that object has, so Body and power armor has LMDC, starfigthers and giant robots have MDC as written, and Star cruisers and giant ocean vehicles have HMDC. Keep in mind that all MDC categories still trade damage on a 1 for 1 basis. Firing upscale is identical, it is downscale that you can get really hosed on the upper end.

Now maybe my players will stop attacking the Kreeghor Space Cruisers with laser rifles!

Feedback, let me know!

D.

[sHaka]

I don't have any problem with the MDC system as is - this is sci-fi after all. I haven't come across an in-game situation that a bit of judicious GMing and common sense can't circumvent.

I do like reading these alternate systems though, but I'm not sure if I've the time to convert everything over.