20240117

The To-Hit Dice

Simultaneously determines hit-or-miss and hit location. 

  • Prerequisite
    • Zocchi (aka DCC) dice. I only use even dice, giving a dice chain of:
      • d2 <-> d4 <-> d6 <-> d8 <-> d10 <-> d12 <-> d14 <-> d16 <-> d20 <-> d24 <-> d30 <-> d100
    • Numbered bodypart/module table for targets. Choicer modules should be lower numbers
      • For humanoids, I use 1.Head; 2.Torso; 3.Abdomen; 4.Arms; 5.Legs
  • Mechanic: Choose a default TOHIT die, step-up for disadvantages (more likely to miss) and step down for advantages (more likely to hit). 
    • Eg. In the deep jungle, a conquistador intends to shoot a target with his matchlock. Default TOHIT: d20. Intervening foliage, SU1; Target in poor light, SU1; Long range for matchlock, SU1; Round spend aiming, SD1. Step up thrice and step down once. Adjusted TOHIT: d30. Rolled. Result 5, Target shot in leg .
    • Eg. A vessel is targetting the carrack Silver Hart. Referencing the wind/movement/gunnery table, default TOHIT for a moderate breeze is d24. Based on orientation, only the Silver Hart's midships (Size: 8 cells) can be targetted and four cannon can be brought to bear. Roll 4d24, results: 2, 6, 11, 20. Cells are numbered starting from the top left, so a cell of mast level (containing sails and rigging) and a cell of the tweendeck (containing a cannon) are hit. The last two shots miss. Roll damage for each cell and apply to occupants, module, and deck. (see the Silver Hart's SHIPSHEET below).
  • Additional Mechanics: Though inelegant, modifiers to the TOHIT can have interesting effects. 
    • Eg. A sword-bearing kern is attacking a cavalier. Due to his limited reach, the kern's melee TOHIT has +1. It is impossible to strike the cavalier in the head. 
    • A target's bodyparts may be behind cover. Eg, rolling a TOHIT of 5 against a target behind a waist-high wall would see the ball bury itself in that, rather than the target's legs. Cover/concealment may stop an attack outright, reduce its force, or shatter most unhelpfully.
  • Rationale: Not prohibitively fiddly, enables piecemeal armour coverage by allowing bodyparts to be struck individually, works for targets composed of different numbers of modules. Can put strangely sized dice to use. .
  • Implications
    • Hitting a target can be certain, but additional advantages can make hitting them in the head liklier
    • More modules, easier to hit


 You may consider the SHIPSHEET appearing here a preview.