1d6 damage weapons

[Chameleon]

Hi there,

Personally, I really appreciate the 1d6 damage for all weapons. However, I also think that, in combat where there are a lot of place to fight (e.g. a field), the one who wield the dagger will probably has hard time against somebody who wield a two-handed sword. Conversely, in a dungeon where it is difficult to draw his sword, the dagger will probably be more suitable.

I was therefore searching for a combat system that allows taking into account these facts, will still remain simple. I don’t want to have rules to cover, for example, how a dagger can get to close range, etc.

Any ideas?

Thank you!

[vfults]

You could just house rule that when fighting in cramped spaces the dagger wielder has a +2 to hit situational bonus.

regards,

V

[Chameleon]

It is an option, effectively.

However, I thought more about an universal system that can account for most of the situations. For example, with a 1d6 for every weapons, a warrior with a long sword and a shield will do as damage as a warrior with a two-handed sword, while he’ll have more AC. This is one example, but there are others.

One the other hand, I do not want to change the 1d6 damage per say, since I don’t see why a guy with a dagger backstabbing a guy in a bar, for example, should do less damage that I guy with a long sword in the same situation. Nevertheless, in a round of combat (that is, an one minute round abstraction), I doubt that the dagger will be able to hit as mush as the long sword; that’s why I want a system, a really simple system, that can handle these facts.

[paulg]

The Old School Hack game does something like this. Some weapons work better than others in different types of "arenas". See this playtest report:

http://dreamsanddragons.blogspot.com/2012/01/old-school-hack-playtest-review.html

[Chameleon]

The Old School Hack game does something like this. Some weapons work better than other is different types of "arenas". See this playtest report:

http://dreamsanddragons.blogspot.com/2012/01/old-school-hack-playtest-review.html

Thank you.

I'll take a look!

[Chameleon]

Hi there,

For a long time I have not written on the forum; I have not had much time to devote to RPG.

However, I plan to run a game soon, and I want use S&W: WB, or the Core rules. In either case, I want to use (and that’s why I posted here) an 1d6 damage system for all weapons.

I just have a question that is still in my head since I discovered S&W: is it possible to play with only d6 damage, without any others modifiers? I’m quite a modern gamer (but prefer old-school) but, still, in my mind, if I stay with an 1d6 system only, every body will use daggers, since it is cheaper …

In other words, what I guess I’m trying to ask is what was the idea behind an 1d6 system? Are they planned that DM will adjusted for situations? Etc.

Thank

[Steve]

I just have a question that is still in my head since I discovered S&W: is it possible to play with only d6 damage, without any others modifiers? I’m quite a modern gamer (but prefer old-school) but, still, in my mind, if I stay with an 1d6 system only, every body will use daggers, since it is cheaper …

In other words, what I guess I’m trying to ask is what was the idea behind an 1d6 system? Are they planned that DM will adjusted for situations? Etc.

D&D evolved over a period of years - using different kinds of dice to represent variations in weapon damage came about later. I'm guessing the "all weapons do d6" came from wargaming with miniatures, where you're dealing with large numbers of troops and thus aren't concerned with such minutia.

I wouldn't worry about everyone using daggers. They aren't that much cheaper, PCs will quickly acquire enough gold to make price differences a moot point, and a lot of people have weapons they prefer for "iconic" reasons - swords, axes, spears, etc. And once they start finding magic weapons, they'll use whatever magic weapons they get their greedy lil' hands on.

For smaller weapons, you can either do a d6-1, or 2d6 take the lower of the two. Larger weapons do d6+1, or 2d6 take the higher of the two.

I think I've seen someone's houserules around here where the choice was between weapon and shield (d6 damage plus the AC bonus of a shield) vs. dual wielding two one-handed weapons (roll 2d6 and take the higher) vs. a two-handed weapon (d6+1).

[Ravenheart87]

One simple rule I would use is "whoever has the longer weapon, strikes first in melée".

[paulg]

One simple rule I would use is "whoever has the longer weapon, strikes first in melée".

Differentiating weapons through initiative is how I handled it for a long time in my game. The Judges Guild Ready Ref Sheets have a section called Weapons Priority on page 17 that includes weapons type, armor worn, base speed, and dexterity. I based my initiative on the Ready Weapon chart.

It works fine, but I ultimately decided that the Vegas-style thrill of per-side, per-turn d6 initiative was more fun because of its simplicity and uncertainty.

To differentiate weapons, I now do the 2d6-take-the-lowest method for short weapons and 2d6-take-the-highest for two-handed weapons. That leaves +N damage bonuses for certain magical swords.

Of course, once you start tinkering with weapons damage for PC's, that opens the can of worms for monster damage and hit die types.

In other words, what I guess I’m trying to ask is what was the idea behind an 1d6 system? Are they planned that DM will adjusted for situations? Etc.

The best explanation I've heard is that you would be just as dead whether someone slit your throat with a dagger or a long sword. I've played with by-the-book d6 damage for all weapons. It works as written, and you might want to try it for a few sessions.

As for situational modifiers, look at the damage done by giants. If the PC's contrive some device that might do as much damage as a giant, I'd give them a damage bonus or larger damage dice. With hand weapons of any size, however, I wouldn't give more than about d6+/-1.

[Chameleon]

Thank you all for your answers. I think I’ll use a ‘tinkered’ version of some of your ideas + some ideas of Philotomy’s house rules.
I think I’ll be OK with that …
I’ll just have to tinker a little bit more for the core rules, however, since the weapons have alternated damages.