We use hit locations, Left Arm, Right Arm, Torso, Head and Right Leg, Left Leg.
This has been working great and make the narration fun and we come up with BUT…
is there anywhere that mentions the different types of damage, or i should say different /more effect when the location is the head? I am thinking to say a 2 damage on a leg may be a good four x four (inches and deep) ■■■■ in the enemy’s leg. But would that same damage not Kill immediately (or at least be much more devastating) on the head?
As I type this, I just thought of the answer! the 2 damage in this example may well be a four inch long x two inch deep ■■■■ in the enemies leg. BUT a 2 damage in the head would be a differnt type of wound such as a 2 inch long by 1 inch deep ■■■■.
No, there is no such thing. The damage system is abstracted and you are free to interpret it the way you want, but just keep in mind that it is actually the wounds that matter, the vigor refreshes after encounter.
In my games we explain the vigor loss as small cuts, bruises, taxing effort to stay alive and not pierced by the enemy’s weapons, while the wounds are the actual cuts and depending where the hit was the the damage resulted in wound the narrative is different.
Haven’t run Conan yet, but as a veteran GM I’m with Valyar here.
There’s little point in determing the depth and length of cuts. It’s much more exciting to narrate it based on the situation, rather than using prescriptive rules or tables. For example, a heavy wound with a sword to the arm might be “you slice through the Pict’s leather braces, and open a nasty ■■■■ in his forearm,” while the same wound with a spear to the torso might be “you sink your spearpoint into the witch’s stomach, and blood gushes forth as you pull the spear out as she screams in agony.”
Use the type of weapon, environment, positioning and the attacker/defender’s gear for richer descriptions. Don’t overdo it, as that can become difficult to come up with new wounds as a GM and tedious as a a player to listen to those. I use such descriptions sparingly for bigger bads, or critical hits.
