Damage Typing: Difference between revisions

In general, if there's healing magic or other [[Healing Factor]] options, all three types will heal about the same way (though supernatural damage is usually trickier.)

* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'': In addition to normal damage there's "subdual" in AD&D, or "non-lethal" from 3rd Edition. Taking nonlethal damage equal to your current [[Hit Points]] would knock you unconscious. In older version 1/4 of punching damage is normal, later one simplified this. Many jokes about how you can punch someone all day without killing them have resulted. (You can also choose to deal lethal damage with a punch, but unless you're a monk or mystic, it's at a penalty; said penalty is irrelevant to an incapacitated target.)

** ''[[City of Heroes]]'' is very similar to this with the damage types: Smashing, Lethal, Fire, Cold, Energy, Negative Energy, Toxic, and Psionic. Different powers provide varying amounts of resistance (damage absorption) or defense (dodging and deflection) to these types. Then there is the Hamidon, whose attacks deal ''untyped'' damage which bypasses all of this.

* ''[[Dark Heresy]]'' also features an impressive array of damage types - there is Fatigue, enough of which can render a character comatose; there is Energy, Impact, Explosive and Rending damage as the four normal damage types, and if the character is out of Wounds, these also inflict Critical Damage corresponding to their damage type; there is also Tearing, which is basically Rending, but much, much worse; there is poison; and there is insanity, which is damage to the mind, as well as Corruption, which is damage to the soul, not to mention stat damage. And racking up enough Critical Damage, Insanity, Corruption or damage to any one stat, and the character either dies or is rendered unplayable. And this is disregarding the various mental disorders a character can pick up during the course of the campaign.

* Apparently the upcoming [[The Dresden Files (Tabletop Game)|The Dresden Files]] RPG will feature damage tiers that will have increasingly bad consequences when filled. Certain weapons and attacks start automatically at a higher tier than others. A gun, for example, might start a tier higher than a knife.

** This was scrapped after early testing revealed some serious flaws in the proposed system. The final product just gives some weapons the ability to add a number to the roll when calculating damage.

* In [[Mutants and Masterminds]] (1e/2e), a system without HP, where damage is dealt by rolling to have their natural toughness, or armor or forcefeild of some sort save them from damage, there were two different charts for damage Lethal and Nonlethal, giving a penalty to the roll for each failed throw, untill they fail by enough, where more serious penalties are inflicted. Depending on the edition, 1e had entirely different types of damage decided on when the power was taken, and certain damage was forced to be lethal or not. in 2e any power could do any damage (Though a smart DM would question the Player on how they intend to merely incapacitate the foe with a 1000 degree Nova Blast), but either way, Nonlethal damage could only apply penalty to nonlethal damage saving throws, and could, at max, knock out the foe, where Lethal damage would deal a penalty to both nonlethal and lethal saving throws, and could make the foe [[Mostly Dead|dying]].

** 3e dropped this, so getting shot through the chest is the same as being punched by Batman. In fact Maxed out power-attacking Batman can hit harder than any weapon, apart from a direct shot from a rocket launcher, and there's no distinction in damage.

** In the first iteration of the series, Special attack power and defensive ability both were determined by ''one'' "Special" stat, so pokemon with a very high number in that area were [[Game Breaker|game-breaking powerhouses]] since they could soak up and dish out Spec. damage equally well. This is one of the main reasons why Psychic pokemon (specifically, [[Olympus Mons|Mewtwo]] and [[Glass Cannon]] Alakazam) were so ridiculously overpowered in RBY, and the split into two separate stats helped to even the playing field quite a bit.

* ''[[Age of Wonders]] II'' has a set of flags for an attack which could inflict [[Standard Status Effects]]: Fire (Burning), Cold (Frozen), Lightning (Stunned), Magic, Poison (Poisoned), Death (Cursed), Holy (Vertigo), Physical, Wall-crushing (2x for machines and gates, affects walls and other map objects).