Re: mechanics of surprise

In article <5t2su21nkccgbufj20i8ui8bf2jg5pguna@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
Erol K. Bayburt  <ErolB1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>Yes, this is the problem with inflationary hit points mechanics. One
>handwave is to claim that the hammer-wielding giant only gets a
>slight, glancing hit when he "hits" a high-hit-point foe, vs a solid,
>lethal hit vs a low-hit-point one. This works tolerably well for melee
>attacks against heavily armored targets, but is a lot harder to
>swallow for missile attacks or attacks vs lightly armored targets. 

If you want this handwave to have any versimilitude at all, healing
should be made to work as a percentage of your HP, not a fixed
number.  It is really hard for me to understand why a barely
scratched hero requires much more healing magic than a mortally
wounded peasant.

>>I find that the PoD in our current system, where blows and missiles
>>miss rather often and armor prevents some damage, tends to be quicker
>>than in First Edition but not as quick as the PoD in some modern
>>systems.

>Such systems have two problems of their own, IME. First, they have a
>high variance - an attacker with a low chance of success might still
>hit and put a target down with his first swing or shot, even if he
>might need a dozen shots on average. 

And as a result, there is not much chance for a PC to realize that
she is in trouble (unless blows that miss are treated as informative--
the GM could share the numbers with the player, arguing that the PC
could judge the opponent's strength).

I had a lot of trouble with this in the (small amount of) GURPS
I played.  There was a blow out there that would kill my PC.  It
might come early or late, and I had no way to know; nothing modelled
"I'm getting into trouble here."  A fight the PC could easily handle and
one that would kill her looked just the same--up until the one blow.
(I'm quite prepared to accept that this was a badly designed GURPS
game.)

Will has said that he doesn't care for PCs running or changing
tactics after combat has actually started, so this may not be
a concern for him.

Mary Kuhner mkkuhner@[EMAIL PROTECTED]