So, last time we learned about how to calculate damage from normal attacks. Today, we'll review how killing attacks work, then how you defend against it, as well as what happens to you when you actually take the damage.
Killing attacks (bullets, knives, claws, lasers, etc.) roll 1D6 for every 15 points in the Killing Attack. The total is the BODY damage done. Then a single die is rolled, subtracting one from the roll. That number is a multiplier for the BODY damage to determine the STUN damage. For example, Wolverine slashes some poor slob with his claws, which do 2D6 killing damage. He rolls 2D6 and gets a total of 9 for the BODY. He then rolls a third die, and gets a 4. Subtracting 1 from that gives him 3, which becomes the multiplier for the STUN total. Since the BODY is 9, the STUN is calculated as 9 x 3 = 27. The attack does 27 STUN and 9 BODY in total.
Okay, so now that we know how to figure out the damage, let's look at the defenses. First, there are two types: Physical Defense (PD) and Energy Defense (ED). PD works against any normal, physical attack such as punches or getting hit with a baseball bat or something non-sharp. It also works against other attacks that are defined as affecting PD (for example, an blast of force from the Invisible Woman would be a physical rather than an energy attack). However, most EB attacks will be against a character's ED.
So, a normal attack that does 25 STUN and 8 BODY against a PD of 10 will subtract the PD from both the STUN and BODY totals, reducing them to 15 STUN and 0 BODY (you can't take negative BODY damage; the extra PD points are unnecessary in this attack). A killing attack, however, ignores your PD and ED scores, which is why they are so deadly.
Still, as we saw in the Powers section, there are ways to protect from Killing Attacks: Resistant defenses. These can be as simple as Damage Resistance, or some form of Armor, or a Force Field, just as a few examples. In this case, the Resistant Defense reduces the Killing Attack damage in the same way as Normal Damage. So, if Wolverine is clawing at the Hulk, who has fully resistant defenses (of about 30 or so), Hulk takes a grand total of no damage whatsoever, STUN or BODY. However, if Wolverine hits Daredevil with those claws, DD is toast, taking 27 STUN and 9 BODY, which will very nearly kill him.
Okay, so that's how defenses work. I know this was basically a review of stuff from earlier in the book, but who's going back and re-reading stuff already?
Alright, now that we know how to calculate damage and how to stop from being damaged, let's take a look at what happens when our defenses just aren't enough, and some of the damage gets through. There are three basic effects of damage: Stunning, Knock Out, and Death. Stunning happens when the damage you take in a single attack exceeds your CON score. This is from a single attack, not several separate ones. If you have a CON of 18 and take 20 STUN, you are Stunned, and your CV is reduced to 0. You remain Stunned until your next phase; you can't move or make a recovery until that time.
If your STUN total is reduced to 0 from one attack or cumulative ones, you are Knocked Out. Any damage in excess of your STUN total is noted, since that will determine how long you're knocked out for. If you have a STUN of 40, and you've taken enough hits to be reduced to 7 STUN, the next shot might hit you for 15 STUN, which drops you to -8, knocking you out. Being knocked out means you're helpless; your CV is 0, and you can't do anything until you Recover.
Recovery, as I said, is based on how far into the negatives your STUN is. If you're between 0 and -10, you'll get a Recovery every phase. Between -11 and -20, you have to wait until the Post-Segment 12 Recovery (we'll cover that on the next page). Between -21 and -30, you'll be out for a full minute before you can make any Recoveries. Below -30, forget it; you're out until the GM decides otherwise.
Now, if your BODY is reduced to 0, you're dying. Not necessarily immediately, but it's going to happen unless you get some sort of medical aid. Every turn at the post-segment 12 Recovery, you lose another point of BODY. If your BODY damage is ever double your normal BODY score, you're a corpse. For example, your BODY score is 10, and you get shot with a machine gun taking 14 BODY. You're now at -4, and every turn you're going to take one more BODY damage until you reach -10, at which time you are deceased. If your BODY score is 15, then you die at -15 BODY, and so forth.
There is one other effect of damage to go over: Knockback. However, that will be covered on the next page. Suffice to say that Knockback is one of those things that only works in comic book fights. And with that teaser, we'll pause until next time.
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