Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Hey all, I posted this over at Gold Rush Games' UY board, but it doesn't seem like it gets much traffic--so I thought I'd re-print some of the ideas I'm fiddling around with for feedback. . .
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WEAPON DAMAGE

Weapon damage is now based on the size of the weapon and the Physical of the wielder:
Stun weapons increase the above values by 1.
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RECORDING DAMAGE

This is a slight tweak on the method of recording damage. It's similar to that found in the Action! system (I came up with it before that system was available though), but has a few minor differences.

Lethal and Stun damage are recorded on the same line.

As usual, "/" is for Stun, and "X" is for lethal.

If the track is completely filled with X's, the character is dead.

If the track is completely filled up, but at least one of the boxes has a "/", then the character is knocked out/incapacitated.

Overflow Stun damage converts a "/" to a "X" on a 1 for 1 basis.

Here is where the difference comes. . .

Each point of overflow Lethal damage converts 2 slashes to 2 X's.

So, it is easier to finish off an unconscious character with a lethal weapon than it is with a stun weapon. It also means that a character that has already been battered a bit (i.e. taken some stun) is more likely to die from a thrust than he would be otherwise.

Here is an example for a character with 10Hits. . .

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Takes 3S

/ / / _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Takes 2L

/ / / X X _ _ _ _ _

Takes 1S

/ / / X X / _ _ _ _

Takes 6L

Using the standard Action! rules, this would leave the following. . .

X X / X / X X X X

. . .and the character would be unconscious.

However, using the proposed system, after filling in the last 3 slots with X's, the remaining 2 points of Lethal damage convert 4 points of Stun to Lethal. . .

X X X X X X X X X X

. . .killing the character.


Here's a simple example.

The same character has taken 4 Stun. . .

/ / / / _ _ _ _ _ _

Normally, it would take 10 points of Lethal damage to kill him--the same as if he were uninjured.

However, using the new system, it would only take 8 points of lethal to kill him. This seems reasonable to me, as he is already weakened a bit.

In both cases, it still would only take only 6 additional points of Lethal or Stun damage to render him unconscious. It's just that any lethal damage beyond that point is going to be more likely to kill him than would a corresponding amount of Stun damage. again, this seems right to me.
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KNOCKDOWN

A character who suffers damage equal to or greater than his Knockdown value (before armour or Defense is subtracted) is knocked to the ground.

Knockdown = P x 4

Note: This also means, if using the damage option I posted above, that Stun weapons will have a greater chance of staggering the foe than will lethal weapons of the same size--even though the latter will generally be scoring more actual damage.
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MAJOR WOUND

A character who suffers damage equal to or greater than his Major Wound value (after armour or Defense is subtracted) suffers a -2 to all skill rolls until such time as the damage that caused the wound is healed:

• At the end of the adventure for a major wound caused by lethal damage
• At the end of the encounter for a major wound caused by stun damage

Major Wound = P x 3
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If you read this far--Thanks!

Thoughts?

It's not a system I've tried, but it seems sensible enough. Are you going to include some kind of permanent incapacitation guidelines, or leave it up to the GM whether someone who takes enough of a wallop with a sharp thing ends up minus a part (like Gen's horn, or the one-armed guy Usage fought beside at Adachigahara whose name eludes me)? I don't necessarily encourage such a thing (who wants a much loved character to end up legless?), but in a combat system involving really efficient cutting weapons, it would be entirely realistic.

Of course, I play Call of Cthulhu a lot, so I'm pretty used to the idea of sudden, ugly character demise (what's in this room?.... A whole lotta tentalces!).

I'll probably leave that as the GM's call for NPCs and the players' call for PCs. If a PC takes a major wound, then I'd be inclined to let the player decide if he wants his character to have some permanent reminder of it (cool scar, slight limp, etc.). These would be purely cosmetic though, and wouldn't have any effect on game mechanics. Perhaps if a PC is killed by lethal damage, I might allow the player the choice of continuing on with the PC, but with some major handicap (missing arm, missing eye, etc), rather than having the PC die outright. Have to give it some thought, but I don't want to make things too complicated or gritty.

As for called shots, I don't think I'd want to get any more complicated than simply allowing an extra die of damage per -2 skill (not sure about the exact penalty yet), or maybe being able to ignore 1pt of armour or Defense per -1 Skill.