Just looking for clarification on weapon damage before we start Star Wars this weekend. It says that when calculating weapon damage, each success that isn't cancelled out by a failure adds +1 damage to the total. In order to have a successful attack, you have to score 1 net success to begin with. Let's say after rolling my dice, I end up with only 1 net success, does this mean that my Holdout Blaster will do 6 damage instead of the normal base 5 damage, just because I rolled the bare minimum needed to hit? If this is the way it's meant to be, it seems odd to me, since no weapon will ever do just it's base damage as long as you succeed in attacking. If this actually is the way it's meant to be, I may have a house rule where every net success beyond the first will add extra damage to the attack. What do you guys think?

Yes you have it right.

I have it right, meaning that a weapon will never do it's listed base damage and will always do at least +1 damage, or that every success beyond the first adds to the damage total?

OP:

Or maybe the designers already took that into consideration and intentionally reduce all weapon "base damage" by 1, so that the minimum 1 success gets the weapon's true minimum damage to where they wanted it in the first place?

Just a thought...

Base damage plus success is easier math than base damage plus successes minus one. Not a lot, I'll admit, but it saves the hassle of having to remember to take the one off. It makes a little more streamlined, so that could be the thinking behind it.

OP:

Or maybe the designers already took that into consideration and intentionally reduce all weapon "base damage" by 1, so that the minimum 1 success gets the weapon's true minimum damage to where they wanted it in the first place?

Just a thought...

Yeah, I thought about that too. Either way, just seems odd to me how they chose to do it.

I dunno. Seems pretty straight up and intuitive to me.

X + Successes = Damage

Works fine.

Why house rule it? What advantage does this give you? The game is balanced around this level of damage, and it's not like it's asking you to relearn years of habit or anything like that.... You just learned this dice mechanic, why not learn it right?

I wouldn't house rule it. The game is balanced so that that every uncancelled success adds one damage. Only one success still is base damage +1. It's simple and easy, and the developers have confirmed that's the way it's supposed to be.

All uncancelled successes count, meaning hits will always do base+1 minimum.

Weapons were balanced with this in mind, so there's no reason to fiddle with the numbers, really.

I guess it is previous game experience that is clouding some minds. Personally I think base + successes is the most logical approach.

Thanks for all the input. I think I won't house rule it afterall and just go with how it's stated in the rulebook.

I have it right, meaning that a weapon will never do it's listed base damage and will always do at least +1 damage, or that every success beyond the first adds to the damage total?

Damage done = Base + Successes

You never do base damage.

It's the same in WFRP3.

Besides, almost everyone you shoot will likely have some Soak.

I wouldn't mess with it. From what i've seen around the forums the devs took into account that you would always get that +1.

I think they did it this way since its pretty simple to explain. It can be explained in the minimum amount of steps.

Yep. Back in Beta they reduced the damage of a lot of weapons to help with balance issues. So, no reason to change what was already adjusted.

I guess it is previous game experience that is clouding some minds. Personally I think base + successes is the most logical approach.

"You must unlearn what you have learned." -Yoda

"You must unlearn what you have learned." -Yoda

I need to quote this to my group. I see a lot of stuff they got used to from previous systems they are trying to do in this system. I love this system so much better than other stuff.