Soak/Toughness in Sci Fi edition

AngryGhost · Post by **AngryGhost** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 11:01 am

Hey, not sure if I'm reading it right so I'll ask just out right.

Without armour/natural defence is there soak in sci fi edition? If so is it static or rolled?

Nighthawk · Post by **Nighthawk** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 11:35 am

Hi AngryGhost, there's no "natural" Soak in BASH! Sci-fi: only the power "Toughness" that simulate a sort of body armor.
In my BASH! Sci-Fi campaign I apply the rules of the italian version of BASH! UE ("SUPER!", Inspired Device) where there is the concept of Damage Resistance (RD), a sort of natural defense that everyone has, not considering artificial means of superpowers (battle armors, body armors and so on): the character can resist to incoming damage checking (2d6xCharacteristic) in this way
Hand-to-Hand combat -> RD is Brawn
Ranged attacks -> RD is Brawn
Thwon weapons -> RD is Brawn
Mental attacks -> RD is Mind
Eventually you can add levels of the superpower "Armor" to your Brawn in RD checks, if you want to buy it

AngryGhost · Post by **AngryGhost** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 2:29 pm

Nighthawk wrote:Hi AngryGhost, there's no "natural" Soak in BASH! Sci-fi: only the power "Toughness" that simulate a sort of body armor.
In my BASH! Sci-Fi campaign I apply the rules of the italian version of BASH! UE ("SUPER!", Inspired Device) where there is the concept of Damage Resistance (RD), a sort of natural defense that everyone has, not considering artificial means of superpowers (battle armors, body armors and so on): the character can resist to incoming damage checking (2d6xCharacteristic) in this way
Hand-to-Hand combat -> RD is Brawn
Ranged attacks -> RD is Brawn
Thwon weapons -> RD is Brawn
Mental attacks -> RD is Mind
Eventually you can add levels of the superpower "Armor" to your Brawn in RD checks, if you want to buy it

Thanks for answering my question. I really like what you've done there. I'm going to use it as it is for now though as I'm planning on running something...a little more deadly

Nighthawk · Post by **Nighthawk** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 6:11 am

I'm agree with you, AngryGhost, because I'm playing a Star Trek setting and, when a Klingon use his hand disruptor not on stun but on disintegrate... well, there aren't not too possibilities for the poor security officer to survive

I would use this extended version of RD just to ensure to my players fun and cinematic play but I would also define clear rules on lethal damage, not explained well in BASH! Sci-Fi and absent in BASH! UE (due to its superheroic background).
Can we discuss here this aspect?

Post by **BASHMAN** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:44 am

Well BASH! SF and Fantasy are "Heroic Scale" games- so they don't get "Soak" as a natural trait. Originally when I first made BASH! Fantasy and was testing it, we had a brawny Barbarian with a Brawn of 4 who seemed to be IMMUNE TO SWORD THRUSTS. They always did less damage than his soak. But I don't care how TOUGH you are, you get stabbed nine times with a sword, it's going to do SOMETHING to you!

So you don't get a soak by default. Instead you need to wear armor OR have Toughness. This means getting shot with a blaster can be deadly- but I've run several campaigns of BASH! SF and Fantasy and it hasn't been a problem.

A new power in BASH! Fantasy that would work well for BASH! SF would be "Sexy Armor" that is- even though you don't wear armor, you take 5 less damage per hit per level in that power (max level 3).

The SF equivilent could have something to do with "Plot immunity" or "I'm Not a Red-Shirt" etc.

Nighthawk · Post by **Nighthawk** » Tue Mar 15, 2011 4:07 am

Great, Bashman! These new rules sound good and I'll apply them as soon as possible in my campaign: I must only decide if rename the mundane power as "Hey! I'm not a red shirt" or "Plot Immunity"... maybe better the first

I'll wait for the new version of BASH! Fantasy

Nighthawk · Post by **Nighthawk** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 10:16 am

Hi Bashman, one question: how do I consider the power "Hey, I'm not a red shirt"/"Sexy Armor"/"Plot Immunity" in BASH! Sci-fi terms? A Mundane Power or an Advantage?

Post by **BASHMAN** » Wed Mar 16, 2011 1:36 pm

It would be a Mundane Power.

If you search for "Sexy Armor" on this forums, you'll likely find the full description of that power in the section where I posted about Legends of Steel.