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Post by Fenway5 on Feb 24, 2013 22:58:02 GMT -5
Bubbling in the back of my mind is a massive barrow mound adventure setting. A nearby town on the edges of civilization and ancient barrow mounds littering the wilds.
I like barrow mound concept as it allows for some hexploration and mini adventures in barrows. Maybe a few larger or mulit-level barrows would be included as well.
Part of this is also going to be the creation of the Barrow dead. Kind of like zombies more in the lines of The Walking Dead where it takes a head shot to kill them, all other damage just hampers movement or grappling ability.
There are a couple of ways to approach this:
For Barrow dead a couple of options:
Give them EN to show resilience
Let them have a fixed ST minimum until a head shot kills them
For players targeting the head:
Add+1 die to target the head in combat.
Any thoughts? Feel free to share them.
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Post by ewookie on Feb 25, 2013 0:49:42 GMT -5
you must have just finished watching walking dead too  here's my thoughts: option1 assign whatever penalty you prefer for aiming at the head. and extra die seems ok. give them zombie ST, DX, and IQ but double the EN...and give their head a separate but drastically lower EN. when body EN = 0, they are immobilized and the head-shot becomes as easy as hitting an immobilized character. adventures can try to shortcut things by attacking the head before they are immobilized. option2 don't model them after zombies. model them after ghosts or spirits. damage against them is halved. if killed by a Barrow dead, chance you become a barrow dead. option3 see option2 but continue with the zombie appearance etc. damage on the head-shot is NOT halved. ranking those in order of what i like the most to least: option3, option2, option1 (actually, kinda want to delete option1 now ) |
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Post by geordieracer on Feb 25, 2013 1:40:47 GMT -5
I agree with the extra die for a headshot. Maybe if you score a lucky critical hit too.
Maybe damage affects both ST and DX (down to zero), but both regenerate. That way you can slow them or knock them down but they'll get back up unless you make that headshot.
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Post by Fenway5 on Feb 25, 2013 8:39:09 GMT -5
Great ideas both ewookie and geordieracer! I think a combination is in order:
Damage suffered by a Barrow Walker is removed from ST and/or DX...a Head shot is applied at full damage and is applied only to ST. Calling your shot, for a head attack adds +1 die to the combat test.
I will have to play with letting them regenerate...perhaps that is another type of Barrow Walker...
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Post by ewookie on Feb 25, 2013 9:56:31 GMT -5
would the damage to DX affect their DX-based attacks? if so, that makes them kinda weak, doesn't it? maybe i don't understand how damage is being applied to ST and/or DX...
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Post by geordieracer on Feb 25, 2013 11:25:47 GMT -5
would the damage to DX affect their DX-based attacks? if so, that makes them kinda weak, doesn't it? Zombies grab you - so their main attack is a ST attack (Grapple). Remember that there's usully more than one of them after you, so it only takes one to pin you down long enough for the rest to try biting you. The actual bite could be a DX attack or automatic if one pins you for 2 rounds. maybe i don't understand how damage is being applied to ST and/or DX... You fire at zombie - you roll 1 damage - take 1 from both ST and DX - so you've not slowed or injured it much. You fire at zombie - you roll 6 damage - take 6 from both ST and DX - you've probably shot it's leg off (weakening any ST attack) and it will have to crawl after you. So you're basically keeping it abstract (no rolemaster hit tables) while attempting genre emulation. You can slow them but it's hard to stop them. My take on Zombies is pretty much like Simon Pegg's: Slow and steady in their approach, weak, clumsy, often absurd, the zombie relentlessly closes in, unstoppable, intractableChris - I suppose if they all regenerated they would be too relentless and the referee would have too much to track. A solution could be that a regenerating Barrow Walkers was a wizard in their former life (and therefore much less common than 'normal' Walkers) and being still imbued with the stuff of magic they regenerate unless you headshot/decapitate them. |
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Post by ewookie on Feb 25, 2013 13:51:08 GMT -5
i see now. thanks for explaining.
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Post by Fenway5 on Feb 25, 2013 20:19:23 GMT -5
Thanks for breaking down Geordie, you got it exactly! As to regeneration, maybe that will be a special ability for a Barrow Lord?  |
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Post by ewookie on Feb 25, 2013 20:43:33 GMT -5
Thanks for breaking down Geordie, you got it exactly! As to regeneration, maybe that will be a special ability for a Barrow Lord? this is what i was thinking too for regen. |
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Post by Fenway5 on Feb 25, 2013 21:04:23 GMT -5
Great minds ewookie, great minds think alike!
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Post by geordieracer on Feb 26, 2013 12:15:20 GMT -5
What about Magic Fist and Magic Strike - do they always hit the head if the wizard desires ?
I would rule yes, after all the wizard is expending EN to cast ..and casting means he's unable to move much (unlike an archer), so he does pay a price to slap a zombie round the heed.
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Post by ewookie on Feb 26, 2013 13:28:30 GMT -5
What about Magic Fist and Magic Strike - do they always hit the head if the wizard desires ? I would rule yes, after all the wizard is expending EN to cast ..and casting means he's unable to move much (unlike an archer), so he does pay a price to slap a zombie round the heed. i would rule NO! mwuhahahaha! 4/IQ to hit head with spell! mwuahahahaha! sorry, i'm hyped-up on sugar right now  |
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Post by ewookie on Feb 26, 2013 17:44:06 GMT -5
I'd be interested in hearing Chris' take on that. Magic Fist benefits by those EN spent by being added to the damage inflicted and Magic Strike can inflict d6 on up to 3 adjacent targets (3 head shots?). I'd be inclined to use the "called shot" rule- is that in the rulebook? What's to stop a wizard from throwing a fireball at someones head or discharging a lightning bolt on someones head?  To me that sounds like a critical hit. that's funny. the last sentence of my last post was almost: "sorry, i guess i've been hangin' with derv too much! " because i thought it was making things hard requiring that 4/IQ to cast spell to the head. i see now that its not. seems to me the only sane thing to do that would NOT give magic awesome power over the barrow dead would be to 'just say no'. no, you can't aim. therefore, all damage from magic would be halved (if that is the intention for damage not aimed at the head). EDITED: left out some important connecting words because i was in a hurry. barrow dead were chasing me in real life! |
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Post by ewookie on Feb 26, 2013 18:02:43 GMT -5
I'm up in the air on this, but I'd be ok with 4/IQ for a head shot. you're gettin' soft in your old age |
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Post by ewookie on Feb 26, 2013 19:06:46 GMT -5
hey! my IQ is much greater than that! [end joke] would you let a wizard aim a magic missile at an orc's head? |
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To me that sounds like a critical hit.