A System for Walloping (And Generally Adding Movement To Combat)

[Voytek]

So one thing I kind of dislike about RAW, at least when it comes to supernaturals, is that combat can be very very static. I get that for some, it tonally (and realistically) makes sense that big attacks would go through someone rather than actually launching them bodily. And that's cool and good!

However, sometimes you want that Vigor-Punch to deck someone across the room! You want a Claimed to stomp that Werewolf through a floor! And you want that Forces Mage to slap a guy into the next state!

So I was wondering if anyone has ever thought to gussy up combat with more weight and momentum behind blunt-force attacks. There's two ways I can think of that generally make sense to me.

1. Quantify it 100% in the rules with something like an amount of successes or raw damage translating into meters/yards/etc.

or

2. ST-discretion it and generally go abstract. "Oh you're knocked across the room but you can get up and get back in one turn." and stuff like that.

I'd be interested in hearing different players and ST viewpoints on this, as while I probably am an abnormality in "I want big punch man go crunch through wall", I think everyone at some point has dealt with supernatural tackles, force-pushes, or what have you that have sent people flying.

I'd also be interested in hearing how to include more general movement into combat scenarios, including terrain and the environment to make things less static!

[ManBearPig]

I asked a question in Promethean in regards to damage caused by being tossed. My character, a Frankenstein who was on the path of Iron, had disgusting amounts of dice and successes when it came to throwing a person. To the degree of football fields distance. Devs told me to treat the damage from that distance the same as falling that far. You could go with, instead of throwing, equate the damage dice done via a smash to the distance travelled...or exchange some damage for "knockback" to use a City of Heroes term. Instead of a 10 damage punch, drop 5 from the damage, and see how far one would fall to take 5 damage...that's how far they get launched by the impact...could work?

[Voytek]

I asked a question in Promethean in regards to damage caused by being tossed. My character, a Frankenstein who was on the path of Iron, had disgusting amounts of dice and successes when it came to throwing a person. To the degree of football fields distance. Devs told me to treat the damage from that distance the same as falling that far. You could go with, instead of throwing, equate the damage dice done via a smash to the distance travelled...or exchange some damage for "knockback" to use a City of Heroes term. Instead of a 10 damage punch, drop 5 from the damage, and see how far one would fall to take 5 damage...that's how far they get launched by the impact...could work?

Oh I really like that! It trading "how hard you hit them" with "how much they get hurt" seems like a fun thing to keep in mind. Even a few successes and you could try and knock someone off a ledge or into something dangerous. That seems like a fun way to do it, though 1-to-1 might be a bit much. Maybe 2 to 1?

[ManBearPig]

Meh, ratio could be adjusted for tone. Heroic jaw socking action: 1 to 1. Down and dirty: 2 to 1. Tricky life and death: even a meter can be deadly when fighting on a highrise. I'd say play it by ear as the GM, let the scene decide what fits best (is coolest)

[The MG]

The 1e book Armory Reloaded offered the following optional rule:

Knockback
A weapon or power not only knocks the target off his feet, it sends him flying. When a character is hit by an attack with the Knockback property, roll Stamina + Athletics as a reflexive action, and compare the successes to the successes on the attack roll. For every additional success earned on the attack roll, the target is thrown backwards one yard and knocked prone. If the Stamina + Athletics roll earns more successes, the target is not thrown backwards and does not fall prone.

[Voytek]

The 1e book Armory Reloaded offered the following optional rule:

Oh, actually love this rule! Is there any example for things that might have this rule, just to get a general threshold of how hard something has to hit to make it work?

[The MG]

Since it's part of an optional rule for less realistic/more cinematic guns, the threshold given is "firearms with a damage rating of 4 or higher." Being 1e, this means a +4 dice bonus rather than automatic levels of damage on a hit.

[Tessie]

Weapons in second edition generally has one less damage rating, so it would be applicable on weapons that deal +3L or more.