Alternate Rules For Healer Fallout Dice

Started by David Artman, January 10, 2008, 10:47:25 AM

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David Artman

So, having heard that healer fallout is d4s (we ended a session in doubt), I have considered a few alternate fallout dice rules for healers, just for grins:

Take the Blow Dice
My initial notion was to have the dice used to Take a Blow be the same dice rolled for Fallout. I think this puts a bit of the power into the healer's hands to Take a Blow using more, smaller dice or fewer, larger dice--a strategic consideration.

Injury Escalation Chart
The idea I had this morning was to consider the nature of the injury's risk to the healer, to determine fallout dice. I hacked up a fast progression:

Only a flesh wound: d4 - Messy, but not going to traumatize or cause the healer physical harm--just sew 'em up and move on.
Holding in brains and guts: d6 - The sort of injuries that drive ER nurses to be heavy drinkers--try not to puke.
Virulent or infested: d8 - In this time period, a sawbones didn't exactly take pains to avoid fluid transfers--don't nick yourself with that scalpel!
Demonic or supernatural: d10 - The DitV version of removing unexploded rounds--don't blow your own hand off!

Thoughts? Better progression terms/categories/wording? Stupid, game-breaking idea?
David
Designer - GLASS, Icehouse Games
Editor - Perfect, Passages

lumpley

The rule isn't strictly that the healer takes d4 fallout, it's that the healer takes fallout appropriate to the blow (same as always). I wrote a funny example about this once. Um, here.

-Vincent

David Artman

Makes sense to me, and avoids another codification.

I just love the notion of giving d10 Fallout to healers--the Death Incarnate example in the linked post is a great example of "supernatural" that I tried to proscribe above. Likewise, a Sorcerer trying to (say) use Powers to kill the healer: "I raise with 19: You feel your soul being bound to the victim's soul--the pain is excruciating. You know you're going to die from the shock before the victim does."

Although I'd have also given d10--or at least d8--Fallout for the (d6) death pox sneeze example. The idea of not even being Injured by "death" pox is, well, wonky. But I get the point of the examples--the specific Blow you Take determines the Fallout dice, NOT the current escalation level (which, for healing conflicts at least, isn't even on the table; it's a special case in which specific Stat dice are always used... unless you add in the Psychological healing thing from a recent thread).

Thanks! You are an exemplar of post-sales support! ;)
David
Designer - GLASS, Icehouse Games
Editor - Perfect, Passages