I am regretfully having problems understanding the process involved with determining hit locations.
I understand that the attacker declares the area that he is attacking and how..ie I am attacking with a over hand cut from the right side to my foes head. Okay then you roll your apposed attack roll .
My example warrior has melee pool of 10 , lets say he uses 6 dice to attack with and has three successful die rolls (of 6+),the defender attempts to parry with medium round shield using 5 dice and totaly blows it with only one success(of 6+). I understand the method for determining damage but....
Now for my problem, okay it says in the book you roll a d6 using table 4.2 to determine hit location. Am i right to assume that all attack locations are actualy randomized, that it doesnt matter what you were aiming for?
Another request, I am having problems following the diagram for table 4.2 (we never studied roman numerals in school). Could someone plz give me the hit locations for cut/thrust and missle with normal numbers?
(ie thrust attacks 1)head 2)neck 3)arm etc). I dont know why but when I look at table 4.2 my eyes cross and it becomes a jumble.(heheh)
Thank you for your time .

Hi Thorbrin,

Hit locations-

Let's say you want to punch someone in the nose. Ok, you punch'em. If you're like most people, sometimes you'll hit the guy in the chin, on the eye, cheek, maybe even cuff his ear or punch him in the neck. Pretty much the most accuracy you're going to get is to punch him in his grill somewhere. Likewise with weapons. So, you declare the "area" you're aiming for, and then "Exactly" where it hits is random. Of course, if you pick up the Accuracy advantage, you get a lot more say about whether you hit the nose, eye, jaw, or neck. Does that make sense to you?

If you want to give the characters "super ninja skillz" you can just say that folks can declare exactly where they're going to hit, all the time, although you will find everybody will always aim for the eye, groin, or neck pretty much.

Roman Numerals-
I = 1
Multiple I's get added together(II=2, III=3, etc.)
V = 5
Now, here's where roman numerals get tricky. Putting I's before the highest number subtracts, not adds. So IV is 4, while VI is 6, VII is 7, VIII is 8.
X= 10
Just like V, putting numbers before it is a subtraction, after is a addition.
IX is 9, XI is 11, XII is 12, etc.

Does that make sense to you?

Chris

Thanks for the fast response Chris.
I understand the logic behind not allowing players to pin point shots wherever they like. It would quickly become very boring as you say with evryone aiming for head,groin etc.
On weekends I strap on armour and travel all over Ontario,Canada participating in a re-enactment group called Blades of Glory. We re-enact a medieval era foot tourney, using blunt steel weapons. We use a variety of weapons short swords,long swords,bastard swords,great swords,daggers,hand axe,great axe,flail(wooden ball) and a mixture of fighting styles.
I can definitely relate to aiming for one part of the body and hitting another, usually your opponent is not going to stand still for you or not try and deflect a hit away from themselves. The combats are full contact,using points for strikes in a time bout usually about 2 or 3 minutes long(basicly length of song being played).
Thank you for the Roman numeral lesson, that helped a lot.
I cant wait to play this game!

Here's a handy table for you.

I - 1
II - 2
III - 3
IV - 4
V - 5
VI - 6
VII - 7
VIII - 8
IX - 9
X - 10
XI - 11
XII - 12
XIII - 13
XIV - 14

Basically you need to look at the order in which numbers occur, and then add or subtract. A smaller number occuring before a larger number is subtracted from the larger. A larger number occuring before a smaller number is added. Begin from the back and work your way to the front. For XIV for example, begin with the V, which equals 5. Before the V is an I, equalling 1. Since the smaller number (1) is placed before the larger number (5), it is subtracted from the larger for a total of 4 so far. The next number is X (=10). Larger before smaller --> addition. 4 + 10 = 14.

Another list:
I - 1
V - 5
X - 10
L - 50
C - 100
D - 500
M - 1000

You never place more than three of a kind together. 4 is not written IIII, but IV with the one subtracted from the five. 1691 is written MDCXCI (from the back : 1+100-10+100+500+1000 = 1691).

It is a complicated system and it's quite understandable why the arabic system got more popular. Especially since it can depict the number zero.

- - -

When you determine hit location you find the appropriate table (I, II ... etc.) -- the one for the location the character aimed for, and then roll a d6 on this table to find the specific hit location. If the character tried an overhand slash versus hit location IV (overhand right and left) and succeeded with his maneuver, then roll a d6 on this table (on p.236) to find where within this section the character hit. A "2" for example would indicate "upper arm and shoulder", while a "4" would indicate "neck". Injury descriptions are found in the table...

Thank you , that answered my question in great detail.
I must say that this seems to be a very freindly forum. It is a really nice change from the usual stuck up jerks that I tend to see at other boards.
Keep your gaurds up gentlemen ! Getting hit in this game is nasty..very nasty! And I thought Rolemaster was nasty.I think my gaming buds are in for a surprise.No more wading through hordes of foes and saying "I still have 100hp left bring on more".

Thorbrin wrote: I think my gaming buds are in for a surprise.No more wading through hordes of foes and saying "I still have 100hp left bring on more".