[Torg] Characteristic damage

[Phil Dack]

--- Kansas Jim <ksjim at sdc.org> wrote:
> One problem I see with treating poisons as causing 
> attribute damage is that a rattlesnake bite (as from 
> your example) will never kill anyone unless you give 
> it a ridiculously high DV or run it as straight
> RPs taken off rather than through a push (assuming 
> a rule similar to d20 where reducing an attribute to 
> zero kills.) While we don't want our PCs dying off 
> from random spider and snake bites, if you can't kill
> Ords with something approaching the frequency of "real 
> life" then it's IMO too unrealistic of a game mechanic.

I dont think this in insurmountable. You could always give
poisons both a Drain and a Damage effect. I also don't think a
ridiculously high DV is necessary. Under the system proposed
(tho I suspect it's over-complex) making either the Virulence or
the Duration high would make it potentially dangerous even for
tough characters, as they will fail a roll or two eventually. Or
expend possibilities. The lingering effect also has the
opportunity to add some drama to the situation.

I guess it should vary on how the poison fits into the story. An
extended rule has the potential to put a poisoning at the very
heart of things, but a random snakebite in the desert or the
poison from an Aylish beastie's attack is most easily dealt with
as a one-off damage (or attribute reduction). 

Phil


      __________________________________________________________
Sent from Yahoo! Mail - a smarter inbox http://uk.mail.yahoo.com