headshots

[jedi078]

My 261 cents...

i know the table is optional. but does being shot in the head do more damage?

Well if you got shot in the head you probably wouldn't be feeling very good, you would most likely be dead.

Ok sarcasm aside, I think the Zombies as written are a little munchkinized when it comes to head shots since in just about every zombie move/game out there a head shot will put the zombie down for good. Also I would toss AR out the window for an SDC Zombie. That AR of 14 is what makes Zombies hard to kill despite the fact the book says Zombie are easy to kill.

I go with a x3 damage factor for any ‘called death blow’ in my games, which would apply to head shots, slicing/chomping off a head, or stabbing a person in a vital area such as the heart, or kidney. I also have every gunshot or stab would do half damage to SDC and half damage to hit points. Yes this makes it easy to kill people, but the books even state ‘guns kill.’ I’m merely adjusting the rules to better reflect this.

That said just like with human beings, a head shot should do direct damage to a Zombies hit points. Face it if your aiming for the head you are making a ‘called death blow’ because you are intending to kill whatever it is you’re attacking. The strike penalty should be nothing more then a ‘called shot’ (no strike bonus, page 180 of Dead Reign), not that natural 18-20 crap because the human (or Zombie) head is simply a body part, and thus a separate hit location.

[jedi078]

what about an aimed called shot?

Same as what the book says on page 180 right under a called shot. I suppose you can also use an "Aimed Shot" to target a zombies head as well.

Of course my WP rules are slightly different then the books because the WP rules leave a lot open for player/GM speculation, which can lead to issues during the game. So I have blended the new with the old. For example, I have a "Called Single Shot (specific target)" which only costs one action but is -3 to strike.

I also treat firearms more life like then depicted in Dead Reign, but that is for another topic.

[Agent_gir]

My 261 cents...

i know the table is optional. but does being shot in the head do more damage?

Well if you got shot in the head you probably wouldn't be feeling very good, you would most likely be dead.

Ok sarcasm aside, I think the Zombies as written are a little munchkinized when it comes to head shots since in just about every zombie move/game out there a head shot will put the zombie down for good. Also I would toss AR out the window for an SDC Zombie. That AR of 14 is what makes Zombies hard to kill despite the fact the book says Zombie are easy to kill.

I go with a x3 damage factor for any ‘called death blow’ in my games, which would apply to head shots, slicing/chomping off a head, or stabbing a person in a vital area such as the heart, or kidney. I also have every gunshot or stab would do half damage to SDC and half damage to hit points. Yes this makes it easy to kill people, but the books even state ‘guns kill.’ I’m merely adjusting the rules to better reflect this.

That said just like with human beings, a head shot should do direct damage to a Zombies hit points. Face it if your aiming for the head you are making a ‘called death blow’ because you are intending to kill whatever it is you’re attacking. The strike penalty should be nothing more then a ‘called shot’ (no strike bonus, page 180 of Dead Reign), not that natural 18-20 crap because the human (or Zombie) head is simply a body part, and thus a separate hit location.

I agree I've totally gotten rid of the AR and the natural roll of 17 or better to hit the head. I use the gun rules from the heroes book. I've seen too many times long bursts hit but do no damage, I understand zombies don't feel pain but seriously after getting shot like a hundred times and taking no damage is insane.

[azazel1024]

Full damage, but half of the damage is applied to SDC and half the hitpoints.

It generally makes characters with a lot of SDC and not a lot of HP more vulnerable.

Example a character with 25SDC and 15HP takes 20 damage, half from both. So they would be left with 15SDC and 5HP. Another 10 damage and they are in a coma with 10SDC and 0 HP.
-Matt

[jedi078]

Full damage, but half of the damage is applied to SDC and half the hitpoints.

It generally makes characters with a lot of SDC and not a lot of HP more vulnerable.

Example a character with 25SDC and 15HP takes 20 damage, half from both. So they would be left with 15SDC and 5HP. Another 10 damage and they are in a coma with 10SDC and 0 HP.
-Matt

Been doing this in my games since the late '90's.

[azazel1024]

Full damage, but half of the damage is applied to SDC and half the hitpoints.

It generally makes characters with a lot of SDC and not a lot of HP more vulnerable.

Example a character with 25SDC and 15HP takes 20 damage, half from both. So they would be left with 15SDC and 5HP. Another 10 damage and they are in a coma with 10SDC and 0 HP.
-Matt

Been doing this in my games since the late '90's.

Frankly I think any piercing and slicing weapon should do half to SDC and half the HP. Blunt weapons are a bit more appropriate to do all their damage to SDC first. I mean if you think about it something like say, an ice pick really does relatively little damage to your body, but it it pierces an artery or your heart it does massive damage (basically direct to hit points damage).

Same thing with a slice from a sword. A baseball bat certainly can do a lot of damage, but it might take 3 or 4 hits to do the same kind of damage that a sword does, and sword wound is still pretty 'limited' in area of damage, even if it can be very severe.
-Matt