Damage Types

[Michael]

Originally posted in World War II Weapons and Soldiers, however categories of damage for immunity and resistance powers (and weaknesses) deserves its own topic.

Updated Immunity/Resistance Rules

Each damage type immunity, which provides a +50 soak and can survive in that environment indefinitely, can be bought for the standard 1 pt. An entire category (smashing, piercing, life, or self-contained) of 3 damage types can be bought for 2 pts. The larger category of energy can be bought for 4 pts.
Resistance provides a +25 soak, can survive in most conditions indefinitely, and for minutes in the most extreme cases. Resistance is half of the cost of immunity.

Immunity freezing will let you survive in space (except for the vacuum and lack of air).
Resistance freezing will let you survive in freezing water or on Antarctica in spandex.

Damage Types:

Smashing (2 pts)
Pressure (Crushing, Deep Underwater, Vacuum, Buried Under Building, Joint Lock, Alligator Bite)
Impact (Unarmed Strike, Club, Hammer, Bazooka, Large Rock)
Ramming (Body Slam, Crashing, Potato Masher, Falling, Bus, Very Large Rock)

If Hammer knocks an enemy into a building which then collapses on them, his opponent would take impact damage from the initial strike, ramming damage from slamming into the building, and then pressure damage from the collapsed building crushing them afterwards.

Piercing (2 pts)
Blades (Sword, Knife, Axe, Spear, Claws)
Projectiles (Bullet, Small Rock [Sling Stone], Arrow, Artillery Shell, Shards of Ice)
Ordinance (Tank, Battleship, Browning M2 HB, Most weapons with a +5 or Larger Size Damage Bonus)

Sickle slicing someone with her namesake is blades damage. If she unloads her PPSH-41 it is projectiles damage. If Sickle starts using a 50 calibre Dushka that Hammer has been carrying for her, it is ordinance damage.

Energy (4 pts)
Fire (High Temperatures, Laser, Molotov *, Flame Thrower)
Freezing (Low Temperatures, Cryo Beam, Freeze Ray)
Electricity
Acid
Plasma
Sonic
Magnetic
Gravitic
Particle Beam
Radiation

Life (2 pts)
Disease (Biological Weapon)
Poison (Mustard Gas, Nerve Gas)
Aging

Self-Contained (2 pts)
Suffocation (Breathing)
Eating/Drinking
Sleeping

[BASHMAN]

I like these, but I think 4 points might be cheap for "All Energy Damage" immunity.

I think I'd combine Plasma into Heat as an Energy type.

What does a Particle Beam do that is different from the other types that it cannot be combined into one of them?

I'd also add another type to the list: Psychic Damage.

[Michael]

1. For 4 pts you can take smashing (2) and piercing (2), which is all physical damage. Energy does have too many categories though, so I need to cut it down.

2. Going to replace Acid (and Mustard Gas) with Chemical

3. Particle Beams are charged particles moving at very high speeds (might need a different name but they are a very common attack type in science fiction: phaser, blaster).

4. I would base Psychic Damage on what it does.
cyrokinesis: freezing damage
pyrokinesis: heat damage
telekinsis: smashing or piercing
telekinetic choke: suffocation
psychic sword: blades

heart crush: pressure with armor piercing enhancement
I might also consider a 1 pt psychic enhancement on powers: where armor doesn't protect but mind shield does

A mental blast that knocks people out could be placed under sleeping

Replace eating/drinking with sustenance and most energy drains would fall under that category.

An attack that drains life force would go under aging

[Michael]

Based on different questions and comments, rewriting the categories:

Damage Types:

Smashing (2 pts)
Pressure (Crushing, Deep Underwater, Vacuum, Buried Under Building, Joint Lock, Alligator Bite)
Impact (Unarmed Strike, Club, Hammer, Bazooka, Large Rock)
Ramming (Body Slam, Crashing, Potato Masher, Falling, Bus, Very Large Rock)

Piercing (2 pts)
Blades (Sword, Knife, Axe, Spear, Claws)
Projectiles (Bullet, Small Rock [Sling Stone], Arrow, Artillery Shell, Shards of Ice)
Ordinance (Tank, Battleship, Browning M2 HB, Most weapons with a +5 or Larger Size Damage Bonus)

Energy (4 pts)
Heat (High Temperatures, Fire, Laser, Molotov *, Flame Thrower, Microwave)
Cold (Low Temperatures, Cryo Beam, Freeze Ray)
Electrical (Taser, Ion Weapons)
Chemical (Acid, Mustard Gas)
Sonic (Screamers, Sound Cannons, Sonic Blade)
Magnetic (Magnetic Beam, Magnetic Pulse)

Biological (4 pts) (Unliving advantage completely protects)
Disease (Anthrax, Plague)
Poison (Nerve Agent, *, Venom, Alcohol)
Life (Aging, Sleep, Psychic)
Suffocation (Breathing, Carbon Monoxide)
Sustenance (Starvation, Dehydration, Energy Drain)
Radiobiology (Gamma Rays, Alpha Particles, Cosmic Rays)

New 1 pt enhancement on special attack: 2 Types of Damage
This special attack inflicts 2 types of damage, use whichever 1 would do the most damage to the target.
Example: Most Sci-fi Blasters have Impact and Heat effects.
Plasma Weapons can be Electrical and Heat or Pressure and Heat.

[BASHMAN]

Caveat that the 2 types of Damage: if you have Immunity to one type, it counts as Resistance; if you have Resistance it has no effect unless you have Resistance to both. If you are Immune to both effects, you are immune to all of the attack.

[Michael]

Based on advice and comments: new list of damage types.
1. Combined magnetic, sonic, and gravitic into Vibrational
2. Put radiobiology as radiation sickness under disease

That would make sense that if an attack has 2 damage types that immunity to 1 would count as resistant to both.

I'd also consider that if the target had X2 vulnerable to both attack types then they would instead take X3 damage.

Damage Types:

Smashing (2 pts)
Pressure (Crushing, Deep Underwater, Vacuum, Buried Under Building, Joint Lock, Alligator Bite)
Impact (Unarmed Strike, Club, Hammer, Bazooka, Large Rock)
Ramming (Body Slam, Crashing, Potato Masher, Falling, Bus, Very Large Rock)

Piercing (2 pts)
Blades (Sword, Knife, Axe, Spear, Claws)
Projectiles (Bullet, Small Rock [Sling Stone], Arrow, Artillery Shell, Shards of Ice)
Ordinance (Tank, Battleship, Browning M2 HB, Most weapons with a +5 or Larger Size Damage Bonus)

Energy (4 pts)
Heat (High Temperatures, Fire, Laser, Molotov *, Flame Thrower, Microwave)
Cold (Low Temperatures, Cryo Beam, Freeze Ray)
Electrical (Taser, Ion Weapons)
Chemical (Acid, Mustard Gas)
Vibrational (Sonic, Magnetic, Gravitic)

Biological (4 pts) (Unliving advantage completely protects)
Disease (Anthrax, Plague, Radiation Sickness)
Poison (Nerve Agent, *, Venom, Alcohol)
Life (Aging, Sleep, Psychic)
Suffocation (Breathing, Carbon Monoxide)
Sustenance (Starvation, Dehydration, Energy Drain)

[MrJupiter]

I like the arrangement of four major damage groups, with sub-categories and specific classifications listed for each. Well done. I can see that this will be useful at the gaming table for sure!

[Michael]

In order to better reflect HEAT rounds (High Explosive Anti-Tank Rounds), I think I should treat them as both Impact and Ordinance Damage (1 pt enhancement to be 2 damage types).

They were used in WWII by the Bazooka, Panzerfaust, Faustpatrone, PIAT, Panzershrek, and some German tanks.