[BNW] Stun attacks

["Patrick O'Duffy" <redfern@thehub.com.au>]

I'm curious as to how stun attacks (rubber bullets, tasers, Screamer power etc)
apply against armour.  Do these attacks ignore armour, are they entirely negated
by armour, or what?

The problem is that Strength is much more important in overcoming stun attacks
than armour (at least, as far as I can work out from the rules).  That gives
results I don't like.  It means that Toughs, who have armour but no Strength
bonus, have _less_ defence against a taser than a Bouncer, who has a Strength
bonus but no armour.

(Assuming I haven't missed something in the rules, that is.)

So how does armour affect such attacks?

The other quibble I have is that rubber bullets don't cause any physical
damage.  That's cinematic and simple, sure, but I'm aiming for a slightly
grittier feel.  In the real world, people can be quite badly injured by rubber
bullets, suffering major contusions, broken bones, concussions or even being
killed, if the bullet hits them in the eye or other vulnerable areas.

I'm leaning towards changing rubber bullets from a 'stun-only' attack to a
low-powered normal attack.  My impression is that in the real world, rubber
bullets are about as dangerous as a solid hit from a baseball bat or club, which
is (for an average attacker) about 2d6+2.  One easy solution would be to say
that rubber bullets do only half damage.  A Colt 2000, for instance, does 5d6+5,
or about 13 points; halved, that's 6 points, doing a single wound to most people
and requiring a difficulty 6 Stun check.  A baseball bat (2d6+2), by contrast,
will do 7 damage, almost exactly the same.

That feels about right for me; it's simple, and it makes even light armour quite
effective as protection.

I'd be interested in hearing other people's take on the stun-damage thing, and
especially some ideas on how pure stun attacks like tasers should work.

--
Patrick O'Duffy, Brisbane, Australia

Remember: a paranoid is simply someone in possession of all the facts.

 - Spider Jerusalem, TRANSMETROPOLITAN #30