Almost-Lethal Weapons: Difference between revisions

== [[Film]] ==

* Codified by John Woo's ''A Better Tomorrow 2.'' In the final scene, approximately 80 mooks are killed with every weapon imaginable. The heroes also suffer injuries, but appear to suffer no ill effects. At the end, they calmly sit in their blood-soaked clothes and wait for the cops to arrive. Interestingly, the only John Woo movies where the heroes suffer the same injuries as the villains are ''A Better Tomorrow (1)'' and, perhaps, ''The Killer.''

** Partially justified by the possibility of different kinds of pumpkin bombs - the vaporization in the first film was ''definitely'' not a regular explosion.

* In [[Star Wars]], when Han shoots Greedo with a blaster, there is a small explosion, turning Greedo into a blackened, smoking corpse. In [[Return of the Jedi]], Leia takes a blaster hit in the shoulder with only a minor injury.

** Range could be a factor; [[Han Shot First]] at point blank range, while Leia was basically sniped by a Stormtrooper.

*** If one applies the gun mechanics from the games to the films, this is justified. Many blasters have different power levels, and heavy blaster pistols like Han's, in particular, can charge up to five charges into a single shot; this is, more often than not, enough for a single-hit-kill. In the movie, one would think Han had plenty of time to charge the shot while talking to Greedo - or maybe he holds a shot pre-charged.

*** Careful observation of where the blaster bolt hits shows it strikes the wall beside Leia. She was hit by the splash damage from the blaster bolt's impact and shrapnel from the wall.

 

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

** However, this could be justified by the fact that the Jaffa rarely do any healing (as in, clean a wound, bandage it, bedrest etc.). Bullets are repeatedly shown to be much more deadly than the staff weapons. When someone in the SGC is hit, they are given first aid and are transported to the infirmary as soon as possible. Apparently even though Jaffa are tougher, they can be killed by a few bullets just as easily as an ordinary human - most of their "toughness" is more about strength (useless in ranged fight) and resistance to illness (would help recovery but is pretty much useless if you bleed out in just a few minutes).

* Supernatural: While the Winchester boys's various weapons work pretty reliably on the bad guys, Sam and Dean themselves have managed to survive car crashes, bullet wounds, head trauma and strangulation (among many, many other mishaps) with, at worst, a broken bone.

** Quite a few episodes have main characters taking a phaser (or whatever energy weapons) hit at center of mass in the chest, point blank range only to be barely inconvenienced (at most they'll be knocked out for a bit or have to limp).

*** One of the best examples was in a Voyager episode. A nameless Gold-shirt was hit in the shoulder by a small pistol and instantly died, proving the weapons weren't on stun. Chakotay took a blast from a large rifle directly to his center mass... and woke up with a headache. It ''did'' do some nerve damage however that unless treated ''could'' eventually kill him, but the fact it didn't kill him outright is rather ridiculous.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* Invoked in the D&D 3rd edition player's handbook as an explanation for why characters gain additional hit points as they grow in level, as well as for why they recover them faster. A 1d8 longsword will usually fatally injure a peasant, but the same attack results in an entirely superficial injury if used against a high-level fighter.

* D&D 4th Edition has "minions", enemies with a single HP. In nearly all other regards, they are normal foes.

* Pick a [[First-Person Shooter]]. Any [[First-Person Shooter]]. Arguably this is for gameplay reasons, though.

** However, higher difficulties in these games avoid the use of this trope, allowing the player character to be killed by single (or very few) shots. Also, more 'realistic' tactical shooters such as ''[[Rainbow Six]]'' and their ilk feature very fragile (by FPS standards) player characters, with injuries commonly sidelining characters for succeeding missions.

* Justified in the ''[[Halo]]'' games. The best-equipped soldiers, both human and Covenant, have plasma shields. These prevent instant death most of the time, but a handful of weapons are still one-hit kills if properly aimed. In other cases -- especially with the plasma pistol -- your shields may be downed in a single shot, at which point you can be killed with realistic ease, like any [[Mook]].

** Or if you play on Heroic (the way the games are meant to be played) or Legendary (which is what the books assume), in which case it's completely averted.

** Indecisively used on sniper rifles, which will [[One-Hit Kill]] you on a [[Boom! Headshot!|head shot]] but just take out your shield if aimed anywhere else. Either sniper rifles magically do more damage when aimed at a head, or your [[Force Field]] shield is weakest in the place it should be strongest.

* Brutally averted in ''[[First Encounter Assault Recon]]'' - unless your armor and health are maxed out, if the enemy shoots you with a weapon that instagibs them, you will die instantly in turn.

 

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