Limb damage (no ontology)

From Mazeworld

Limb damage is the term used to refer to general injuries sustained, outside of wounds, fractures and of course limb loss. The limb damage system attributes a certain amount of health (or HP) to every limb group that can sustain damage. Every attack and weapon in the game possesses a Limb Damage Value (LDV) which indicates how damaging it can potentially be.

The chart on the left indicates all of the possible areas that can suffer damage on a human, as well as their default maximum amount of HP:

  • Red: Head
  • Light blue: Chest (Upper body)
  • Blue: Arms
  • Orange: Hands
  • Light green: Hips (Lower body)
  • Green: Legs
  • Yellow: Feet

Limb Damage Value (LDV)

The LDV is a numerical value, expressed as +x where x is the amount; the + would be a - if the value is negative. When an attack is rolled and it connects successfully, the calculation of limb damage is a new step of damage calculation during combat.

Calculating limb damage in combat

NOTE: Limb damage and limb health are stats that are not known to the player. Only four states can be identified without aid: Healthy, Damaged, Disabled and SEVERED, which respectively correspond to 50% and above, under 50%, 0% health, and negative 50% health. The mechanics described below are purely for informational purposes - in an actual session, there is no way to know exactly how much damage has been done unless with a Vital HUD, or with indirect information. All of the rolls below are done out of the player's sight.

Several factors may influence the total amount of damage suffered. The following applies per hit, not per attack - for multiple hits, such as in the case of automatic fire, for example, multiple such rolls may be done.
EXAMPLE: A shooter uses a Colt M4A1, a firearm chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO, to attack a target. He fires three rounds at said target, and for the purpose of this example, all three rounds hit.

  • First, a 1d8 is rolled for every hit.
    • Example: Having fired three rounds, our shooter rolls 1, 3, and 5.
  • Add the LDV of the attack, to the result of this 1d6.
    • Example: 5.56x45mm NATO has LDV +3. So far, this means 4, 6 and 8 dmg.
  • Check the Armor Class of the target - AC provides LDV reduction on its own.
AC C1 C2 C3 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5
LDV -0 -0 -0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5
  • Example: Let's say our shooter's target was hit in the chest, and that chest is protected with a Light K armor vest, which offers A2 AC. As such, it provides LDV-2 to the calculation. So far, our values are 2, 4, and 6 dmg. Assuming no other factors, the target will suffer 12 damage to the chest on top of the other results of damage calculation.

Other factors may influence LDV calculation:

  • For firearms, various projectile types may affect limb damage either positively or negatively, often depending on target AC.
  • Attacks noted as "LDV N" means they do not cause limb damage at all, as such it is simply not calculated.
  • For explosives, see Explosives rules.

Each weapon and each attack has its own LDV, it would be impossible to list them all here; check the relevant weapon, ammunition and encounter articles to know about their particular LDV.

Effects

As seen in the chart, every limb has a health counter, written "<limb> HP". The numbers shown represent the maximum amount of HP that each limb has, without modifications.
Limbs may be in either of three statuses:

Healthy limbs are in good condition; of course, no ailments or special effects occur. The other two effects are detailed below:

Damaged limbs

When a limb is under half of its maximum, it is damaged and the victim begins suffering adverse effects. Note that is a limb is at exactly half the maximum health, it is still considered "undamaged".

Denomination: "Damaged <limb>"

  • Head: FT+1, Pain sensitivity +10%
  • Chest: Pain sensitivity +10%
  • Hips: Limping
  • One arm: FT+1, Strength -10%.
  • Both arms: FT+2, Strength -20%.
  • One hand: FT+1
  • Both hands: FT+2
  • One leg: Limping, Strength -10%.
  • Both legs: Limping, Strength -20%.
  • One foot: Limping.
  • Both feet: FT+1, Limping.
  • One hand + Opposite arm: Add the effects together as normal.
  • One foot + Opposite leg: Add the effects together as normal.

Non-human limbs:

  • Creatures with more than 2 legs get "Limping" plus one instance of "Strength -10%" per leg damaged.
  • Tails (any): Pain sensitivity +10%.
  • Wings (any): If the owner has the Flight ability, damaged wings prevent the use of that ability.
  • Horns (any): No special effect.

Disabled limbs

When a limb falls to 0 HP or less, it is disabled, and the victim loses the use of said limb.

Denomination: "Disabled <limb>"

  • Head: Immediate death. Cause of death: "Traumatic brain injury".
  • Torso: Immediate death. Cause of death: "Traumatic cardiac arrest".
  • Hips: Pain sensitivity +10%, Crippled.
  • One arm: Strength -20%, FT+1, Cannot use two-handed weapons, Cannot use Underbarrel accessories, Can't dual-wield.
  • Both arms: Strength -40%, FT+2, Cannot use any weapon, Crippled.
  • One hand: Strength -10%, FT+1, Cannot use two-handed weapons, Cannot use Underbarrel accessories, Can't dual-wield.
  • Both hands: Strength -20%, FT+2, Cannot use any weapon, Crippled.
  • One leg: Strength -20%, Crippled.
  • Both legs: Strength -40%, Crippled.
  • One foot: Strength -10%, Crippled.
  • Both feet: Strength -20%, Crippled.
  • One hand + Opposite arm: Strength -30%, FT+2, Cannot use any weapon, Crippled.
  • One foot + Opposite leg: Strength -30%, Crippled.

Non-human limbs:

  • Creatures with more than 2 legs get "Crippled" plus one instance of "Strength -20%" per leg disabled.
  • Tails (any): FT+1, Pain sensitivity +10%.
  • Wings (any): If the owner has the Flight ability, disabled wings prevent the use of that ability.
  • Horns (any): If the owner has a Horn Ramming attack or equivalent, disabled horns prevent the use of that attack.

Severed limbs

Limb health can fall into negative numbers. Sufficient damage can bring limb health to a bottom threshold which will result in that limb being torn away from the body of its owner.

A limb will be severed if it falls to a value equal to negative half maximum HP (rounded up if necessary). This value is also notable in that limb health cannot fall any lower than this value.

Typical values at which point a limb may be considered severed:

  • Head: -5 HP
  • Torso: -20 HP
  • Hips: -15 HP
  • Arms, legs: -10 HP
  • Hands, feet: -8 HP (Negative half of 15 is 7.5, rounded to 8.)

Long-term effects of a severed limb are the same as disabled ones, the only difference is that the limb is simply not on its owner's body anymore instead of simply being disabled, and that upon losing a limb, instant effects may occur:

Instant effects

The following is one-time effects that occur at the moment of limb loss:

  • All limbs in general: All wounds on a disabled limb are removed - because that limb is no longer wounded, it's not there anymore.
  • Head, torso, hips: Reaching disabled limb status on either one of those already causes immediate death. If such limbs were to receive so much damage they would reach severed status, it is difficult to be any deader than "dead", so the difference is cosmetic: a bloodier, gorier death with chunky salsa.
  • Per hand lost: One-time loss of 2.0 units of blood, Missing limb effect causing blood loss of 0.5 unit per turn
  • Per arm lost: One-time loss of 4.0 units of blood, Missing limb effect causing blood loss of 1.0 unit per turn
  • Per foot lost: One-time loss of 2.0 units of blood, Missing limb effect causing blood loss of 0.5 unit per turn, Crippled status
  • Per leg lost: One-time loss of 4.0 units of blood, Missing limb effect causing blood loss of 1.0 unit per turn, Crippled status

Non-human limbs:

  • Creatures with more than 2 legs: Same as losing one arm or leg, per leg severed.
  • Tails (any): Same as losing one hand or foot, per tail severed.
  • Wings (any): Same as losing one hand or foot, per wing severed. If the owner has the Flight ability, disabled wings prevent the use of that ability.
  • Horns (any): Same as losing one hand or foot, per horn severed. If the owner has a Horn Ramming attack or equivalent, disabled horns prevent the use of that attack.

In all cases, the health of a limb that no longer technically exists matters little ; it's hard to heal chunky salsa.

Cures

Medical aids exist to treat limb damage: First aid kits (FAK) and Field Surgery Kits (FSK). Of course, visiting a medic for treatment is also possible.

  • First Aid Kits can only treat limbs in Healthy or Damaged condition.
  • Field Surgery Kits can also treat Disabled limbs.
  • Naturally, if a limb takes so much damage it becomes Severed, things become more complicated.
    • An Emergency tourniquet can stop the constant bleeding caused by the missing limb - Gauze rolls, IBs and HAPs are unable to do so because the bleeding comes from an effect, not Wounds.
    • If a limb loss victim manages to survive, augmented limbs can replace their lost natural limbs, restoring ability and health.

See also

Retrieved from "http://old.mazeworld.net/wiki/Limb_damage"