Damage OUCH! On A Grand Scale

I'm going to get a little mathematical, so bear with me.

Let me preface this with "This is not another thread about how the Wild Die or Exploding Dice make the math wonky".  I'm fine with Savage Worlds at character level. My issue is when it starts to get into Vehicles and higher damage die pools. Here's a chart that shows the percentage chances of rolling a wound on your damage at character level with some fairly basic weapons from the Savage Worlds Deluxe Edition. Anything that represented below a 1% was rounded down to -. These values include dice acing.

Savage Worlds Character Damage To Wound

Target	2d4	2d6	2d8	2d10	3d6
5	25%	38%	56%	72%	75%
6	19%	31%	47%	64%	66%
7	14%	25%	39%	55%	57%
8	12%	21%	32%	47%	49%
9	9%	17%	26%	40%	42%
10	6%	13%	21%	33%	36%
11	3%	10%	18%	28%	30%
12	2%	8%	15%	23%	25%
13	2%	6%	13%	19%	21%
14	1%	5%	10%	16%	17%
15	-	4%	8%	13%	14%
16	-	3%	6%	12%	11%
17	-	2%	5%	10%	9%
18	-	1%	4%	8%	8%
19	-	-	3%	7%	6%
20	-	-	3%	6%	5%

It's a nice spread. No one has a 100% chance to wound and there is a smooth progression between damage and Target Toughness.

Now here is a chart of the Sci-Fi Companion's Starship damages. Note that this is without any additional armor to the frame and ignores Starship Shields as they just ablate anyway. These values include dice acing.

Sci Fi Companion (Lasers) To Wound

Target	2d10(5)	3d10(10)	4d10(15)	6d10(25)	8d10(40)	10d10(50)
20(5)	13%	42%	74%	99%	100%	100%
25(6)	7%	24%	53%	94%	100%	100%
35(8)	2%	7%	21%	70%	96%	100%
45(10)	-	2%	7%	38%	80%	97%
50(11)	-	-	4%	26%	67%	93%
55(13)	-	-	4%	19%	57%	88%
60(15)	-	-	3%	13%	47%	82%
70(20)	-	-	-	7%	32%	69%
80(25)	-	-	-	3%	20%	54%

Sci Fi Companion (Mass Drivers) To Wound

Target	3d12	4d12	6d12	8d12	10d12	12d12	14d12	16d12	20d12
20(5)	33%	66%	96%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
25(6)	17%	44%	90%	99%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
35(8)	4%	14%	60%	92%	99%	100%	100%	100%	100%
45(10)	-	4%	28%	71%	97%	99%	100%	100%	100%
50(11)	-	2%	17%	56%	88%	98%	100%	100%	100%
55(13)	-	-	10%	41%	78%	96%	100%	100%	100%
60(15)	-	-	6%	28%	66%	91%	99%	100%	100%
70(20)	-	-	2%	12%	40%	74%	93%	99%	100%
80(25)	-	-	-	4%	20%	50%	80%	95%	100%

Sci Fi Companion (Missiles) To Wound

Target	6d6(8)	8d6(15)	8d12(40)	10d12(80)
20(5)	80%	98%	100%	100%
25(6)	58%	91%	100%	100%
35(8)	22%	59%	100%	100%
45(10)	4%	26%	100%	99%
50(11)	1%	16%	100%	98%
55(13)	-	10%	99%	97%
60(15)	-	6%	98%	94%
70(20)	-	1%	93%	88%
80(25)	-	-	86%	78%

Notice a difference? The more dice added, the greater the chance of guaranteeing that 1st wound. Also, many percentages have a very steep drop. 

Besides the starship complexity, this is one of the biggest issues I have with the Sci-Fi Companion. Honestly, the rest of it is awesome. But starship combat is not only lethal, it lacks the elegance of personal combat. I've tried working around it, upside down of it, left and right of it, and I've found that more dice are just a huge issue. Especially since, while the damage potential increases, you still only need to score 4 over the vehicle's Toughness just to cause a wound.

 I may not totally agree with making vehicles exactly the same as characters, but the damage systems should be. I'm thinking again about a tiered damage scale system, where damage is multiplied when used against a smaller scale.

By the way, special thanks to Any Dice for giving me a tool to run these numbers.

The Danger of Stuff Pt. 2 - Losing My Way

Yeah...so...

I have become too wrapped up in stuff. I've been making maps, tiles, and painting figures. I've been collecting, even after I swore I wouldn't fall into that trap. Worst of all, I had brainwashed myself into thinking that maps and minis were just the way you played RPGs.

What I haven't been doing is gaming. I'm so caught up in prepping for eventualities when I start running games that I haven't been running games. Honestly I was so glad to have my artistic drive back that I was willing to drown myself in it.

And I was deluding myself into thinking that I could make a supplemental income with my maps on DrivethruRPG. I'm not knocking DrivethruRPG, I love their services, but when my Forest Tiles were going for $.50 they received maybe a purchase a month. Since they went "pay what you want" they have been downloaded over 50 times this month with only a couple of people tossing me some coin. I'm flattered that people like my stuff, but it is obvious that this is not a source of revenue I should depend on.

So I had to do some soul searching this weekend.

I remembered playing WEG's D6 Star Wars back in college. I had no minis, no maps, and there were epic adventures to be had. My players weren't thinking tactically about body positions, they were think tactically about supporting each other and completing the mission.

That said, I still get players that prefer minis and maps. And if I can't get them to switch over, I will have to adapt. But what I need to stop doing is making maps in a vacuum, and painting minis that I may never use.

What I should focus on is creating some One Sheet adventures, and any extras that I make (such as NPC cards, map designs, figure flats) should go towards that specifically.

So...time to prep things I will actually use, and get back to sharing stuff for free because I can.

Cavern Tiles Have Gone Live!

Yup, they have finally gone live. Note to self- DrivethruRPG gate holders don't work on weekends.

RPG Loot Crates - A Cool Idea I Will Never Buy

Who loves presents? Who doesn't?

That is essentially what a loot crate, dungeon crate, rpg crate, any of the new crates or blocks that are rocking the current geek fad are. It's a monthly subscription to a monthly Christmas, and like all Christmases, the gifts may not be quite what you desired.

I admit, I want in. I want to get some blind rpg stuff delivered to me so I can geek out with my new toys. However I just can't bring myself to make the investment. And Here's Why:

• It's all D&D. Well that's a blanket statement, but more or less true. And if I were running a company that targeted RPG players, I would also set my sights on the 300lb Gorilla that is D&D as well. The problem is that I game everywhere on the mythical timeline, and fantasy isn't my favorite. Some crate makers have admitted they do other settings, but very rarely. Therefore I have no reason to buy a year subscription.
• Wrong game systems. As mentioned above, they target D&D heavily, but I use Savage Worlds as my go to. And there are hundreds of other systems that people enjoy that are being ignored. Even the modules and magazines that accompany these crates are for specific systems (such as some edition of D&D).
• Vynil figures. Some people love them, I don't. I am very picky about why I collect, mainly because my ex-wife was a hoarder. If it's on my shelf, it better do more than look pretty. 
• How many dice do you need? This gets included a lot because every gamer needs at least one set of dice, right? But I am afraid that this cheap, useful go to item is going to be in every crate and I purged myself of the great die bucket long ago. 

That said, I believe there are some good ideas that can be made better here.

• Truly personalized crates. Have you ever thought of making one yourself to give to a special gamer in your life? Suddenly this can be an awesome birthday/Christmas/ anniversary gift and you can tailor it to the person's preferred gaming. What is more, you know you are getting what the crate is worth and - no buttons, no ads, and no stupid frakking inflatable crowns!
• I am considering a digital loot idea. Imagine a bundled download for purchase from Drivethrurpg that includes a map, paper figures, a one sheet adventure, and a map. I have no idea how I would pull that all off monthly but it would be catered to Savage Worlds, no subscription, and significantly cheaper since I am just creating virtual assets.

Anyway that's my brain hemmorage for today. I am currently awaiting approval for my Cavern Tiles to go live on Drivethrurpg. They can connect to the "Pay what you want" Sewer Tiles I have already uploaded and will cost $1.99. That's a 50 tile set, btw.

Sewer Tiles In Action.

Edit: There is some weirdness going on with my pic attachments. This is the second time I have uploaded them as they keep breaking.

Also Edit: The tiles are fixed, as well as some new ones added. Located here on Drivethrurpg "Pay What You Want".

I printed mine up and glued them to chip board. It's sturdy and they come in 6x6 packs, which is nice. The one down side is that they do add weight as the stack gets thicker.

Although I did notice another mistake. I will have to correct that later as my weekend seems booked.

Freebies - Sewer Tiles Fixed!

And here's the new link.

Freebies! - New Sewer Tiles

Edit: Fixed

I was going through my wife's craft stuff and I came across a cheap little matte cutter she had. It was perfect for cutting down all of the chip board leftovers I have from some failed 8x10 tile experiments.

So to kick off my DIY tiles, I started with sewers...again. Well at least these are with my new map style and I think they look pretty sharp. I never bought Paizo's Game Mastery Tiles for the sewer adventures in Pathfinder Society. I'm not a fan over their tile sets (though their maps are fabulous). My problem is that they are 5x8 and my OCD hates odd numbers as well as tiles that can't be turned sideways to be reused in a grid. They are also a bit on the thin side which makes keeping them butted up against each other a pain.

So I have adopted 6x6 as my official tile set size, and I have more tiles planned as time goes on (such as sci-fi!). As for rooms, they can break the 6x6 rule depending on what they are.

I've had a super hard time trying to build re-useable tiles due to Pathfinder Society. It would be impossible to recreate any of their maps with a generic tileset. But my mental issues wouldn't let me get away from trying and failing to make them for PFS. I have to distance myself as much as possible for the idea and move on with my crafting. That said, my sewer tiles are compatible with PFS and can loosely replace their designs. Mine aren't exact to what they have, but it keeps the general gist of things.

Anyway, you can find my sewer tiles in the free downloads section, or right here in the ticketyboo!

PS> I had an experiment idea about gluing plastic sheets from cut up sheet protectors onto my tiles to make them wet/dry erase. I tried white glue spread thin, regular blopped white glue, and a clear colored glue stick. Neither white glue held the plastic on, and even warped the cardstock that was already mounted to the chipboard. The gluestick did the best job, but it did have problems holding onto the sheet in places and it slightly discolored the printed art.

I've tried contac paper but I can't get the permanent stuff, and wet erase markers want to bead up on it and don't make a crisp line. Ah well, back to the laboratory!