Some comments on another thread got me thinking. Take a look at where that got me and let me know what you think:
Endurance / Hits
This system replaces Endurance with Hits and is intended to inject a little more ?realism? into the HARP RPG. The basic premise is that each and every being, be it a person, monster, construct, or whatever, has a more-or-less set number of hits it can take before being killed or destroyed. Another way to say it is that everything has a damage capacity, which is tied explicitly to it?s size and mass. So, two human, men will have very similar Hit totals ? even if they are of different sizes and physical fitness levels.
As this is a more direct method of determining how much damage something can take, another method for reflecting how more skilled opponents ?lessen? the blows they do suffer has to be done another way. No more increasing hits by training. Instead, the more experienced individual will generally have trained in combat movement which makes them harder to hit in the first place. With the HARP system, a higher DB means a lower crit result overall, so consequently weaker hits and less damage. This seems to be a more accurate method for showing the more experienced combatants skill than an abstract increasing hits method.
Now, because the system already has in place the sacrifice rule, where the combatant sacrifices some or all of it?s OB to augment it?s DB, this increasing DB can?t be too much. This is so that each combatant will still se the need for lessening their OB to increase their DB, to reflect their active attempt to defend themselves against attacks.
Hits Calculation:
Hits Base* + Str Mod + Con Mod = Total Hits
*Each race has a base number of hits that is determined by their size & mass. So, generally, a larger creature will have more hits than a smaller one.
Base Hits Table
Race: Base Hits:
Dwarf 50
Elf 40
Gnome 30
Gryx 60
Halfling 30
Human 50
As a general rule of thumb, each race can have a maximum number of hits equal to twice their base hits ? barring supernatural means. That way, even with excellent attributes, their hit totals can never get too high, though it will rarely be a problem.
Combat Maneuvering
It seemed as if the warrior was dancing across the chamber, his sword weaving delicate, deceptively slow arcs ? but that was a dangerous assumption. For, it just appeared slow. Each and every movement was fluid lightning, and somehow met every spear thrust from the clumsy seeming orc warriors. His feet glided, miraculously missing the various detritus on the floor ? including the warrior?s first 2 orc victims. No matter how they attacked, the orcs just couldn?t touch him. But, to the orc?s rising consternation, the reverse was not true?.
Combat maneuvering is the primary defense skill for melee combat and everyone needs to take at least a few ranks ? those individuals who will be in the thick of battle most often need to take as many as they can. Basically, it is a DB modifier to be used against all melee combat attacks, but it doesn?t protect against missile attacks, including spells with range (like Elemental Bolt). It is unaffected by armor quickness penalties, but encumbrance modifiers are applied to combat maneuvering.
Unlike other skills, it never gets a +5 or +2 bonus, it is always a +1/rank bonus. Every rank in this skill applied directly to the character?s DB.
(Combat ? DB ? Bonus)
