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+ The Impossible Dream
+
+
+ #7: Assessing Damage
+
+*by Hunter Logan*
+Jun 19,2003
+
+
+Last installment, I claimed this installment would be about play
+samples. I changed my mind. I think people who read this column know
+that play samples are scripts of a play session and that play samples
+are good for demonstrating how a game works. Going on about that for a
+whole installment seems like overkill, so let me sum up: Use play
+samples because they're good and helpful. Now, on to something
+infinitely more interesting: Assessing damage in game terms.
+
+Practical Considerations
+A designer has at least four practical considerations that should
+underlie decisions about damage in a game system.
+
+ * *Complexity:* The number of steps and the difficulty of completing
+ those steps, elements that Brian Gleichman calls /Complexity of
+ Implementation/. As a designer, you can make the means for
+ handling damage as simple or complex as you like.
+
+ * *Lethality:* The amount of punishment a character can take before
+ falling out of action. In a very lethal implementation, players
+ might actually avoid combat because of the real threat to a
+ character's life. In a less lethal implementation, players might
+ want to fight a lot, especially if fighting is rewarded.
+
+ * *Realism:* The true-to-life aspects of damage in the game. A
+ realistic implementation will bring results that approximate what
+ would happen in the real world. In that respect, greater realism
+ brings increased lethality. Yet, I maintain that producing truly
+ realistic results is extremely difficult. The best a designer can
+ do is to produce consistent, believable results.
+
+ * *Satisfaction:* The player's satisfaction with the methods and
+ results for handling damage. Satisfaction is an intangible result
+ and not strictly limited to issues of damage assessment.
+
+Damage and Play Flow
+Like any other aspect of an rpg, the rules and mechanical processes for
+handling damage can be expressed through play flow. A lot of this
+overlaps with rules for combat, but I've decided not to approach combat
+as a subset of game rules for two reasons. First, I think most people
+have their own ideas about how combat should run. I don't really know
+what I could add to that. Second, combat is not the only time characters
+give or receive damage. So, I want to concentrate on the ways and means
+for assessing damage. Here is an example:
+
+ * *Event:* A character is faced with an otherworldly horror, a
+ creature so bizarre and disgusting that no words could express the
+ reality of seeing it.
+
+ * *Decision:* The player doesn't want his character looking at any
+ horrific monstrosities. He declares, "I try to get the hell out of
+ there as fast as I can, and without looking at that /thing/!"
+
+ * *Resolution:*
+ o *Device (unopposed):* The GM has the player roll dice to see
+ whether or not the character looked directly at the monster
+ while the GM rolls dice to see if the monster looked
+ directly at the character.
+ o *Evaluation:* The player rolls poorly while the GM rolls
+ pretty well. The monster and the character look at each other.
+ o *Device (opposed):* Looking into the face of such a monster
+ can cause a person to go insane. Thus, the player must roll
+ against the monster's effect to avoid psychological damage.
+ This is an opposed die roll.
+ o *Evaluation:* The player rolls against the GM and the
+ monster wins. The GM determines that the character takes 9
+ points of /Horror/ against his /Stability/ attribute. The
+ character runs off in a panic, screaming the whole way.
+
+Two Specific Issues
+I want to address two specific issues related to damage: Armor and the
+death spiral.
+
+*Armor:* Designers decide how armor will protect a character. I have
+seen three common methods for treating armor. The methods can be
+combined as desired.
+
+ * *Makes the target harder to hit:* This idea causes consternation
+ for some people, because good armor is heavy and wearing heavy
+ armor should make a person easier to hit. Yet, good armor should
+ make it harder for opponents to injure the person wearing it. So,
+ making the character harder to hit as a result of wearing armor is
+ one way to abstract the entire relationship. The trouble is, a
+ miss might not really mean an opponent missed. It might just mean
+ an opponent's blow bounced off the character's armor.
+
+ * *Reduces the damage inflicted:* This idea seems to make people
+ happy. This way, good armor can be heavy. It can even make the
+ person wearing the armor an easy target, but the armor will absorb
+ some (if not all) incoming damage.
+
+ * *Absorbs damage until destroyed:* This idea always struck me as
+ being very strange. Armor should be destructible. It's just that
+ most designers who treat armor this way fix it so that the armor
+ takes /all/ the damage until it's /completely destroyed/. Then,
+ its value as protection is completely gone. I think it's better to
+ treat the armor as a means for reducing damage; but after so many
+ hits, the armor becomes less effective. Eventually, the armor will
+ need repair or it will wear away to nothing.
+
+*The Death Spiral:* Each time a character takes damage, the character
+becomes weaker and easier to kill. Death spirals are often enforced with
+loss of character ability and penalties to the die roll. As a designer,
+you have to decide for yourself whether or not a death spiral is
+appropriate for your game.
+
+The Deal with Damage
+Damage is a universal phenomenon in rpgs. Most every game has rules for
+hurting PCs, smashing monsters, and destroying stuff. The means for
+doing that are part of the game's rules. The best way to figure things
+out is to answer questions.
+
+ * What sort of damage will the players have to track?
+ * How is damage inflicted?
+ * How is damage quantified?
+ * What effect does damage have on the recipient?
+ * How is damage avoided or reduced?
+ * How is damage repaired?
+
+Damage Types
+Not all damage is the same. The sword slash that hurts the body is
+different from the bad news that damages the psyche or the blast of
+ghostly energy that pierces the character's very soul. In the end, I
+think designers choose from four types of damage:
+
+ * *Physical harm* is simply damage to the character's body. This
+ happens when a character is shot, stabbed, smashed with heavy
+ objects. This may result in bruises, contusions, broken bones,
+ assorted internal injuries and a whole lot of pain. Physical harm
+ is by far the most common sort of damage in rpgs. It may affect
+ the character's ability to do things.
+
+ * *Psychological harm* is damage to the character's psyche. This is
+ practically guaranteed to any character in a /Call of Cthulhu/
+ game. This may cause the character to lose his grip on reality or
+ just go insane. Psychological harm is less common than physical
+ harm, but it shows up in a surprising number of rpgs.
+
+ * *Spiritual harm* is damage to the character's very essence,
+ spirit, soul, or whatever. This most often happens to characters
+ that leave their bodies behind and project themselves into other
+ dimensions; but certain monsters in various games are capable of
+ bypassing the body to inflict direct spiritual harm.
+
+ * *Material loss* is damage to or loss of a character's stuff. This
+ happens whenever a weapon breaks, a crash trashes a vehicle, or a
+ character loses the use of any piece of equipment. Players like to
+ give their characters toys, and sometimes those toys get broken.
+
+Means of Inflicting Damage
+There are plenty of ways to inflict damage, but most of them fit in four
+categories.
+
+ * *Weapons* include fists, feet, and any sort of tool or device
+ intended to kill people and blow stuff up. These are a primary
+ means of inflicting damage in many games.
+
+ * *Character Ability* includes cast spells, psionics, or any other
+ means a character can use to project or trigger an effect without
+ a weapon.
+
+ * *Unknown forces* include all the creatures of dream and nightmare
+ that may or may not exist in the game world. Even seeing one of
+ these things might be enough to harm a character, though it might
+ be enough for the unknown forces to see the character.
+
+ * *Player decision* includes all the things a player decides to have
+ the character do in the game. Certain decisions may damage the
+ character, but the player will have the character do these things
+ anyway. This is a causal relationship that usually has more to do
+ with psychological or spiritual damage than physical damage; but
+ anything is possible. A character that uses performance-enhancing
+ drugs may develop a dependency; a character with too much
+ cyberware may edge toward psychosis; and a character who delves
+ too deeply into the Necronomicon will surely go insane.
+
+Quantifying Damage
+Once the means for inflicting damage are decided, a designer needs means
+for quantifying damage. Here are some possibilities.
+
+ * *Hit points* express damage as an abstract unit. No one really
+ knows how much damage a hit point represents. For a small creature
+ with a few hit points, a single hit point of damage is a serious
+ wound. For a powerful monster with dozens of hit points, a single
+ hit point of damage is a scratch. It doesn't even really matter
+ how much damage a hit point represents. All that matters is one
+ simple relationship: The more hit points a character has, the more
+ punishment he can endure.
+
+ * *Attribute reductions* express damage as a direct reduction in the
+ recipient's attributes. A light wound might reduce a single
+ attribute by a point or two. Serious wounds may cause several
+ attributes to drop simultaneously. Of course, this is really just
+ a variation on hit points. Instead of subtracting the damage from
+ a pool of points, the player subtracts the damage from his
+ character's attributes. The big difference here is that an effect
+ is immediate. Lowering an attribute reduces the character's
+ capabilities.
+
+ * *Damage monitors* express damage in levels with descriptors. They
+ are represented as a table on the character sheet. A light wound
+ might count as a bruise or scratch. Mortal wounds put the
+ character near death.
+
+ * *Descriptions* express damage verbally. This might well be the
+ most explicit way to express damage. It is often used to support
+ other methods of damage measurement.
+
+ * *Combinations* allow the designer to use more than one method to
+ produce a more complex, more complete method of quantifying
+ damage. A designer might combine hit points with verbal
+ descriptions or damage monitors with attribute reductions, and so on.
+
+Damage Effects
+Once the damage is measured, it usually has some mechanical effect. Here
+are some possibilities.
+
+ * *Reduced Resource:* Many games include some sort of
+ damage-absorbing resource, such as hit points. Damage causes a
+ reduction in the resource. When the resource is completely spent,
+ the character falls out of play.
+
+ * *Special effect:* The damage produces a specific effect with
+ undesirable consequences. Special effects may make a character
+ extremely vulnerable using results such as stunning, holding,
+ petrification, or loss of limbs. They might also radically affect
+ a character's behavior, inspiring fear, confusion, or changes in
+ allegiance.
+
+ * *Reduced abilities:* As the character takes damage, the character
+ suffers a reduction or loss of abilities. This is a real problem.
+ As the character's abilities are reduced, his likelihood of
+ suffering further damage increases. This results in a death spiral.
+
+ * *Increased abilities:* As the character takes damage, the
+ character's abilities actually increase. I haven't seen this in
+ too many games, but it seems the idea is to make characters more
+ determined to succeed, more motivated, and more dangerous as they
+ approach the end.
+
+ * *Altered player decision:* As the character takes damage, the
+ player may have to alter his plans or make decisions about the
+ plight of the character. A player has many motivations and the
+ situation certainly plays a part, but adding damage to the
+ equation may make the player more cautious, more daring, or more
+ willing to sacrifice the character.
+
+Avoiding and Reducing Damage
+In game terms, damage is usually best avoided. If a character can't
+avoid taking damage, the player can at least take steps to reduce the
+amount of damage. Of course, a lot of this is up to you as the designer.
+You can provide the means for reducing or avoiding damage as part of
+your game design. Here are some possibilities.
+
+ * *Character Ability:* The designer provides abilities that allow
+ characters to reduce or avoid damage. A very stealthy or invisible
+ character may be able to vanish from enemy view. A very fast
+ character may be able to dodge attacks. A heavy, thick-skinned
+ character may be able to ignore or absorb attacks. A very skilled
+ character may be able to outmaneuver enemies, never giving them
+ the opportunity to do any harm.
+
+ * *Expendable resources:* The designer provides hero points or other
+ expendable resources that allow characters to avoid or reduce the
+ damage taken in a situation.
+
+ * *Equipment:* The character employs a startling array of equipment
+ for reducing damage including personal armor, energy shields,
+ magical rings, potions, spells, or advanced technology that allows
+ a character to avoid taking damage. All this stuff has the net
+ effect of increasing character ability.
+
+ * *Player Decisions:* The best way to avoid damage is to stay out of
+ situations that result in damage. That includes combat and the
+ dark, terrible places in many game worlds. Of course, the GM might
+ have something to say about that. If the situation is unavoidable,
+ some characters may still choose not to participate. Players can
+ always have characters hide, run away, or surrender in order to
+ avoid the situation. The designer can't really control player
+ decisions, but the decisions a designer makes about damage will
+ influence player decisions. If characters can take a lot of damage
+ without much trouble, the player might make different decisions
+ than he would if character performance really starts to suffer
+ after just one or two hits.
+
+Repairing Damage
+Once characters take damage, players will want some way to make repairs.
+This might also extend to pets, vehicles and other important equipment,
+because a player may consider a character's pet, vehicle, or equipment
+as an important aspect of the character. Thus, when any of these take
+damage, the player will want to repair them, as well.
+
+ * *Time:* Given time, most wounds heal. Depending on the wound or
+ circumstances in the game world, the character may suffer some
+ sort of permanent effect as a result of the injury.
+
+ * *Expendable Resources:* The player may be able to spend points or
+ use disposable items such as healing potions or stim packs to heal
+ the character's wounds.
+
+ * *Character Ability:* Just as a character may have the ability to
+ inflict damage, a character might also have the ability to repair
+ damage. Doing this may or may not require parts and equipment.
+
+ * *Extraordinary Means:* When the inflicted damage is beyond normal
+ means for repair, the player may still have options. The GM may
+ thoughtfully provide more extensive healing and/or repair
+ facilities for rebuilding characters or vehicles, such as
+ hospitals and dry docks.
+
+End Note
+Designers can really tweak game play by choosing appropriate methods of
+assessing damage. This is an important part of an rpg design; and good
+design is a matter of conscious thought, logical choices, and deliberate
+decisions. I can't tell you how you should design your games; that's up
+to you. All I can do is offer a way of thinking about design. I'm
+interested in your opinions about this article; so don't be shy about
+posting. Next time, I'll go one step further and talk about designing
+death into a game. Thanks for reading.
+
+
+ What do you think? <http://trio.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=110>
+
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+ Topics Author Date Latest Reply
+ cooldog cotangent
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=98&t=98> (1) new
+cranial_index 01-31-2006 20:46 01-31-2006 20:46 new
+ CORONA <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=97&t=97> (1) new
+corn_chamomile 01-31-2006 20:25 01-31-2006 20:25 new
+ Fendi Spy Bags WHOLESALE@WizardReplica.com
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=95&t=95> (1) new 514
+12-02-2005 10:55 12-02-2005 10:55 new
+ Designer Handbags Wholesale@WWW.WIZARDREPLICA.COM
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=94&t=94> (1) new 868
+11-14-2005 19:41 11-14-2005 19:41 new
+ REPLICA HANDBAGS LOUIS VUITTON REPLICA WHOLESALE@
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=93&t=93> (1) new 794
+10-20-2005 21:37 10-20-2005 21:37 new
+ Death/playing style
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=92&t=92> (1) new Searcher
+09-22-2003 11:35 09-22-2003 11:35 new
+ Death and actual immortality
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=89&t=89> (3) new Cpl Ferro
+07-19-2003 08:53 01-13-2006 15:22 new
+ Non-death death
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=85&t=85> (5) new Sérgio
+Mascarenhas 07-18-2003 03:07 07-23-2003 02:38 new
+ Thanks, Hunter
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=80&t=80> (4) new Allan
+Sugarbaker 07-16-2003 00:18 07-17-2003 19:34 new
+ Realism <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=74&t=74> (3) new
+Robin 06-20-2003 01:23 06-25-2003 02:34 new
+ Something you might have mentioned.
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=65&t=65> (3) new Yamo
+06-19-2003 16:13 06-19-2003 18:11 new
+ BTW, excellent column, Hunter!
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=63&t=63> (2) new flyingmice
+06-19-2003 13:11 06-19-2003 18:13 new
+ Armor and Damage Thereto
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=56&t=56> (2) new The Student
+06-19-2003 08:45 06-19-2003 11:44 new
+ Armor <http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=54&t=54> (9) new
+flyingmice 06-19-2003 08:29 06-20-2003 06:12 new
+ Death spiral and unconsciousness
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=53&t=53> (7) new Torben
+Mogensen 06-19-2003 07:31 06-20-2003 06:52 new
+ lucky or skilled
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=51&t=51> (2) new rhyme
+05-12-2003 18:49 05-13-2003 09:25 new
+ Absolute, unopposed and opposed
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=48&t=48> (2) new Torben
+Mogensen 04-16-2003 02:19 04-16-2003 09:26 new
+ 0-9 open ended = brilliant!
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=31&t=31> (8) new Vibropod
+03-12-2003 10:41 07-18-2003 01:28 new
+ Smooth rerolls
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=27&t=27> (10) new Torben
+Mogensen 03-12-2003 00:47 03-16-2003 23:57 new
+ Resolution Mechanics
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/read.php?f=110&i=25&t=25> (8) new Kyle
+Schuant 03-11-2003 22:14 03-29-2003 21:28 new
+
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+
+ Newer Messages
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=110&t=98&a=1&> | Older Messages
+<http://www.rpg.net/pf/list.php?f=110&t=25&a=2&>
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+ Previous columns
+
+ * #8: True Death </news+reviews/columns/dream17jul03.html> by Hunter
+ Logan, 17jul03
+ * #7: Assessing Damage </news+reviews/columns/dream19jun03.html> by
+ Hunter Logan, 19jun03
+ * #6: Putting Theory to the Test
+ </news+reviews/columns/dream12may03.html> by Hunter Logan, 12may03
+ * #5: Resolution Mechanics II
+ </news+reviews/columns/dream14apr03.html> by Hunter Logan, 14apr03
+ * Resolution Mechanics I </news+reviews/columns/dream11mar03.html>
+ by Hunter Logan, 11mar03
+ * Player Goals </news+reviews/columns/dream10feb03.html> by Hunter
+ Logan, 10feb03
+ * Balance of Power </news+reviews/columns/dream20jan03.html> by
+ Hunter Logan, 20jan03
+ * Play Flow First </news+reviews/columns/dream01jan03.html> by
+ Hunter Logan, 01jan03
+
+
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