Rics
Cadet
Ok, so I had a thought (this is a monumental achievement for me...happens like once every 3 years). What about a system that implements non-lethal damage? Wouldn't it be really neat to be able to fight/spar without killing someone or depleting ones health? Think of it like the non-leathal rules in AD&D. I could think of many scenarios where I wouldn't want to kill somebody, yet win a fight or render them unconscious.
How it could work
The damage delt could go to fatigue rather than health. Once fatigue drops to nothing the player is unconscious. Once the player's fatigue drops to ZERO any blow (non-leathal or otherwise) cannot be delt until their fatigue returns to at least 25% or it results in a killing blow. This will prevent griefers from knocking out their opponent repeatedly every time they gain 1 fatigue back(you could prolly imagine how annoying that would be). This way, a player who has been knocked out can get away unless the attacked indeed wishes to deliver a killing blow.
An attacker should be able to toggle lethal or non-lethal damage (reguarding they have a weapon that allows non-leathal). Or, lethal/non-lethal damage should be assigned to certain weapon types (ie: bare hands would always be non-lethal unless otherwise trained differently). Also certain attacks could deal non-lethal damage, such as a hilt bash.
Scenarios for non-lethal damage
Now, lets say while I'm out adventuring around I run across a young twerp from a minor rival faction (not talking about an enemy of war here, just a rivalry). I can tell right away that I would wipe the floor with him if we fought...yet I still want to teach him a lesson and scare him off. It would be great if I could just beat him up a bit without murdering the guy. So I pummle him until he drops or runs off...just so he gets the idea. It'd be great to have that option, and if you ask me, I think it would save from a lot of griefing. Most of the time the only option is to either PK the guy, or let him run around, and most people have a sense of duty so they don't want to let him just run about in their territory. Non-lethal damage would give them a third option...one where they can enforce, yet refrain from being a murdering bastard.
Ok, now say a friend pisses me off and I feel like giving him a beatdown (or even a rival character but in the same alliance), but I don't want to deplete his heath. Say we're in an area where enemies lurk so I want to make sure we'll both be able to fight should our little brawl get interrupted by a mob or PKer. It'd be nice to have an option to show off our manliness without needing a cleric around afterwards to heal us up.
A little something extra
Non-lethal damage could even be implemented into the skill system and training. Players could train or whatnot to learn new brawling or grapple attacks. Can you just imagine frequenting your local bar being known as the "resident brawler"...having others come from all over to stake their claim in at your bar! Brings a whole new life to the tavern scene. That's a whole character progression in itself, provides for great RP, and some brings something unique to the game.
Closing thoughts
That's the jist of my thoughts anyhow. I just think it's something that would add a nice little variation to characters and some depth to the overall game. I'm all about giving the players options. Does it always have to be "death" or "nothing"? I've always had a hard time RPing my characters because most are neutral leaning towards shady, but not murderers. Give me an option where I can RP a "boarderline evil" character rather than forcing me to be the "epitome of evil". In most games now I can either be all talk, or I can murder them. It gets really old having to /emote non-lethal brawls between same-faction players.
What do you think? Sound like something worthy of having? Any ideas on it you'd like to add?
How it could work
The damage delt could go to fatigue rather than health. Once fatigue drops to nothing the player is unconscious. Once the player's fatigue drops to ZERO any blow (non-leathal or otherwise) cannot be delt until their fatigue returns to at least 25% or it results in a killing blow. This will prevent griefers from knocking out their opponent repeatedly every time they gain 1 fatigue back(you could prolly imagine how annoying that would be). This way, a player who has been knocked out can get away unless the attacked indeed wishes to deliver a killing blow.
An attacker should be able to toggle lethal or non-lethal damage (reguarding they have a weapon that allows non-leathal). Or, lethal/non-lethal damage should be assigned to certain weapon types (ie: bare hands would always be non-lethal unless otherwise trained differently). Also certain attacks could deal non-lethal damage, such as a hilt bash.
Scenarios for non-lethal damage
Now, lets say while I'm out adventuring around I run across a young twerp from a minor rival faction (not talking about an enemy of war here, just a rivalry). I can tell right away that I would wipe the floor with him if we fought...yet I still want to teach him a lesson and scare him off. It would be great if I could just beat him up a bit without murdering the guy. So I pummle him until he drops or runs off...just so he gets the idea. It'd be great to have that option, and if you ask me, I think it would save from a lot of griefing. Most of the time the only option is to either PK the guy, or let him run around, and most people have a sense of duty so they don't want to let him just run about in their territory. Non-lethal damage would give them a third option...one where they can enforce, yet refrain from being a murdering bastard.
Ok, now say a friend pisses me off and I feel like giving him a beatdown (or even a rival character but in the same alliance), but I don't want to deplete his heath. Say we're in an area where enemies lurk so I want to make sure we'll both be able to fight should our little brawl get interrupted by a mob or PKer. It'd be nice to have an option to show off our manliness without needing a cleric around afterwards to heal us up.
A little something extra
Non-lethal damage could even be implemented into the skill system and training. Players could train or whatnot to learn new brawling or grapple attacks. Can you just imagine frequenting your local bar being known as the "resident brawler"...having others come from all over to stake their claim in at your bar! Brings a whole new life to the tavern scene. That's a whole character progression in itself, provides for great RP, and some brings something unique to the game.
Closing thoughts
That's the jist of my thoughts anyhow. I just think it's something that would add a nice little variation to characters and some depth to the overall game. I'm all about giving the players options. Does it always have to be "death" or "nothing"? I've always had a hard time RPing my characters because most are neutral leaning towards shady, but not murderers. Give me an option where I can RP a "boarderline evil" character rather than forcing me to be the "epitome of evil". In most games now I can either be all talk, or I can murder them. It gets really old having to /emote non-lethal brawls between same-faction players.
What do you think? Sound like something worthy of having? Any ideas on it you'd like to add?