is that it teaches you to shut off the left brain and let the right brain run free. That is what imaginative brainstorming is. It is only after you have done all the imaginative brainstorming that it makes sense to turn on the left brain that will judge the work you spit out on paper.What needs to be imagined now is every type of damage in a fantasy role-playing setting. Sure, many of much I am about to list could be condensed, simplified, and cut down. However, that's what you do after you list all the brainstorming. In fact, if you have any more suggestions, go ahead and mention them. If you think anything on this list should be collapsed, eliminated, or simplified, you can mention that too.
Here goes:
Damage from weapons can be divided into piercing, slashing, and bludgeoning.
Damage can also be divided up by four elements, such as Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water.
Magical Damage can be divided up into Arcane, Shadow, Necromantic, Electric, and Frost
Other types of damage could be Biological, Acidic, Poison, or the broad Nature
Finally, there is always Holy damage.
Now, I already think that many of these can be collapsed. Some can be gotten rid of. However, every conceivable type of damage should be covered and then people can turn on the left brains and cut things out.
Please, tell me what you think of the list and add, remove, adjust etc as you see fit because that is an important step before listing off abilities of characters.
Magical damage and physical damage could be two categories.
ReplyDeleteYou could also divide into environmental damage (falling, eating a poisionous mushroom on accident, etc) and opponent damage.
I had not considered how traps would work.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that something like a fireball and a lightening bolt should be just generic "magic" damage?
Do you plan on having any kind of targeting - head/limbs/torso? Cutting damage to the head or torso would be much more serious than to a limb, for example.
ReplyDeleteOne thing you could do is classify the "depth" of the damage. Acid, fire, and light magic spells might burn/char the skin superficially, whereas being struck by lightning (magic or otherwise) might do deep tissue damage. Same with cutting damage (knicks/scrapes vs puncture wounds/deep cuts, and blunt/bludgeon type damage - welts and bruises vs broken bones.
I don't have as much RPG experience so I don't totally understand conventional RPG damage types, but it seems to me that I would be more interested in the level and location of damage than what caused it. E.g., "Your left arm has deep tissue damage (3/5) and your right arm has been torn limb from bone (5/5)."
Having location targeting would break with the RPG canon a bit, thought that is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, such a thing would be a interesting paradigm for RPG players.
ReplyDeleteDividing up damage types helps fulfill the RPG mantra of "Easy to Learn, difficult to master." Fire damage, for instance, might be extra effective against some tree-creature but completely ineffective against a stone golem. Electrical damage might be extra damage against metal armor, but is less effective against leather. Players then would face the challenge of balancing their armor and offense based on what they are fighting or defending against.