Maximum damage values for melee weapons

[Fallon Kell]

[Azai]

Also there is a lot of angles you could come do with a sword onto armor, that you really couldn't against a door.

Even if things don't match up all the time my players enjoy the no maximum damage when fighting baddies, and respect it when I say "No you can't cut the Speeder in half"

[Kaloth Varsk]

Ok, lets look at it this way with weapons. Once I cleave through you, does more strength matter? Most of these max damages are pretty high.

[garhkal]

[Esoomian]

[ZzaphodD]

[garhkal]

[atgxtg]

I think the real reason for the damage caps was to prevent melee weapons from outclassing missile weapons. Melee weapons are much better in D6 Star Wars, relative to misile weapons than they are in most RPGs or in real life. A strong guy (3D) with a knife in the RPG can do as much damage as a typical rifle (4D) in the game. The cap prevents everyone from focusing on melee weapons.

I just wish WEG had set up some sort of standard rule for the cap that we could apply to all melee weapons, rather than the haphphazard method they used and often failed to apply. And I still do accept that a strong Wookie would do less damage with a knife than with a punch.

Melee weaponsd also got a bit of a "power up" in 2E, with the revised damage table. in 1E weapons need to do a lot of damage to get any result better than wounded. Lightsabers needed that fistful of dice to get the 3xSTR results. But since the revsioin in damage melee weapons and lightsabers have become much more dangerous. Each die of damage is amlost a shift up on the damage table.

I'd be all for a revision along the lines of capping melee weapons at twice thier damage bonus +3D, OR the STR or the wielders STR+1 or some such, and applying it to all melee weapons.

[Bren]

I wonder if redoing melee weapon damage so it was less STR based and more weapon based might work better, i.e. similar to the D6 Space rules.

A 2 handed axe or sword does 3D+1 damage, a rapier does 2D, and a knife or dagger does 1D. To that you add the STR bonus which is half of the D score rounded up.

STR............Bonus
1D-2D+2.....+1D
3D-4D+2.....+2D
5D-6D+2.....+3D

So a Wookiee with a dagger would do 4D damage while a normal human with a 2 handed axe would do 4D+1 damage. The Wookiee with a 2-handed axe would do 6D+1. Overall this seems more reasonable, aligns better with a blaster rifle doing 5D damage, and would avoid the need for a damage cap.

[Esoomian]

So how does that system work for fighting without weapons, is the bonus the damage rating for bare-handed strikes?
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[Bren]

I think that is correct.

Also, there are special melee and brawling maneuvers that can increase or decrease the difficulty and the damage or provide special effects.

[Kaloth Varsk]

[Esoomian]

[Bren]

[Esoomian]

So if you could get your lift skill up to 9D you'd get a hefty 5D bonus to melee damage or do a respectable 5D damage when unarmed.

I suppose then you'd get people trying to game the system and taking specialities in lifting: (s) Doing damage.
_________________
Don't waste money on expensive binoculars.

Simply stand closer to the object you wish to view.