Topic: Brawling Critical Hit table? Anyone?

[Terry K. Amthor]

I just saw a recent post on FB from the D&D people about brawling, and while writing the new Tales from the Green Gryphon Inn book, I was thinking about how the RM rules about brawling were kind of inadequate (unless I missed them in a Companion?). They are either just punching, or refer to the martial arts tables, which I think is too much. Martial artists are highly trained and disciplined, where brawlers are just people in a fight, where there might be a lot of weapons of opportunity (chairs, tables, bottles, other patrons). I could see using the M/A strikes attacks, but a much more colorful (but mostly less effective, with a few exceptions) critical table. Hmm, I wrote a few crit tables in my time long ago...

[Defendi]

There's a brawling crit table in the 1999 arms law, at least.  I don't see chairs and stuff in the results.

[Terry K. Amthor]

There's a brawling crit table in the 1999 arms law, at least.  I don't see chairs and stuff in the results.

1999... is that RMSS or RMFRP? I am not familiar with those. I guess time to get to work.

[Defendi]

I believe that's the first RMFRP arms law. The RMSS was similar except for layout. 

[Malim]

Stock #5801
ISBN 1-55806-551-2
FRP Arms law page 94

[markc]

You really should start looking at the RMSS rule set as it is a vast improvement over RM2.
  The brawling rules in RMSS do talk abount using chairs, bottles, etc in combat.
MDC

[Spectre771]

RM2 (3 book box set/red border?  Just want to make sure I am referring to the correct series here) has a Brawling Attack table and an Armored Fist attack Table.  We would just resolve the crits on an appropriate table.  Chair, club, table leg, bottle...  Krush crit.  Broken bottle, fork, nail.... puncture, slash, or tiny crit.  Really strong Elven Ale to the face.... very weak minor acid attack, unless the target was a Dwarf.  Then it got ugly.

The Brawling attack table does show pictures of a broken bottle and a couple of other objects and the damage is considerably lower than that of a trained attack and it is much harder to land a high crit, however, it just resolves on one of the existing crit tables.  It would be interesting to see a crit table dedicated to Brawling attacks.  It would have to be extremely "generic" in it's descriptions though.

"39-43 A-Brawling Crit :  Strike foe with (insert item) to foe's face.  Foe is cut or bruised depending on item. If foe is cut, foe bleeds at +1/rnd.  If foe is bruised, foe is stunned 1 rnd.  If item was fragile, item is shattered and useless, if item was not fragile you get +5 to next attack with same item."

If you do make a Brawling Crit table... any chance of translating it into RM2 for us Old Folk too Set in Our Ways to Let Go of the Past?

[yammahoper]

There is also a Pummeling Crit Table, RM2 Arms Companion I think.  Even less lethal than the brawling table.

[Spectre771]

There is also a Pummeling Crit Table, RM2 Arms Companion I think.  Even less lethal than the brawling table.

LOLLLLLLLLLL   "...less lethal..."  Rolemaster.... LOL!!!!!  (Note.... STILL lethal nonetheless!  )

OK, yes, seriously, there is the pummeling table and it's fun.  I think it resolves all crits on Stun Crit table?  I would constantly dream up situations just to use the new Attack Tables and crit tables that were released in each new companion.   I seriously believe the most fun was finding out which crit was going to do in which character and how.  New crit table?  Hell yes!  Let's put it to use.  It was almost a game in itself to see which GM would be the first to kill a PC with the new attack/crit tables.

[intothatdarkness]

RM2 (3 book box set/red border?  Just want to make sure I am referring to the correct series here) has a Brawling Attack table and an Armored Fist attack Table.  We would just resolve the crits on an appropriate table.  Chair, club, table leg, bottle...  Krush crit.  Broken bottle, fork, nail.... puncture, slash, or tiny crit.  Really strong Elven Ale to the face.... very weak minor acid attack, unless the target was a Dwarf.  Then it got ugly.

The Brawling attack table does show pictures of a broken bottle and a couple of other objects and the damage is considerably lower than that of a trained attack and it is much harder to land a high crit, however, it just resolves on one of the existing crit tables.  It would be interesting to see a crit table dedicated to Brawling attacks.  It would have to be extremely "generic" in it's descriptions though.

"39-43 A-Brawling Crit :  Strike foe with (insert item) to foe's face.  Foe is cut or bruised depending on item. If foe is cut, foe bleeds at +1/rnd.  If foe is bruised, foe is stunned 1 rnd.  If item was fragile, item is shattered and useless, if item was not fragile you get +5 to next attack with same item."

If you do make a Brawling Crit table... any chance of translating it into RM2 for us Old Folk too Set in Our Ways to Let Go of the Past?

Or those of us who tried RMSS and didn't find it to be much of an improvement...

[markc]

Well you could always go back to Boot Hill.
MDC

[intothatdarkness]

Well you could always go back to Boot Hill.
MDC

I have, actually. A couple of times (after I redid the guns...). 

[markc]

  I remember you saying as much. I also remember you are a player of James Bond 007, which I also have the first edition on in a box around here somewhere, I loved Fame Points so much I adopted it to other games I played back then.
MDC

[intothatdarkness]

  I remember you saying as much. I also remember you are a player of James Bond 007, which I also have the first edition on in a box around here somewhere, I loved Fame Points so much I adopted it to other games I played back then.
MDC

Yep. Fame points were a really interesting mechanic, as are the Fame and Fortune points from original Top Secret. I also liked the Bond reputation system.

[Falka]

What about the Sparring/Practice critical strike table? It's not perfect, but I think is more suited for brawling than MA Strike

[markc]

My PC took a brutal blow to the head using the sparing practice table and was out for some months time, IIRC. Very brutal 
MDC

[Falka]

Like almost anything in Rolemaster, sparring is dangerous stuff

[Tommi]

Last week one of my players got MA sparring from two npc Dancers (RMC 2). We used normal MA-tablews but with sparring crits: First girl lost ear and hearing, got some minor muscle wounds other got just bruises.

Sparring crits have very few death results  - maybe too few if one considers bar fight with improvised weapons. Humans are surprisingly tough AND fragile. 

[Spectre771]

My PC took a brutal blow to the head using the sparing practice table and was out for some months time, IIRC. Very brutal 
MDC

I killed someone from that table.  Purely accidental. 



Then I sort of "accidentally" started to ear his fingers in front of his mother and a whole crowd of people.  I was subsequently banished from that town.

Damned crit tables!

[Falka]

You'll need to explain that accident