Hit Locations:

Ob-Racing (ADQ 7/2) introduced us to hit locations for pedestrians. This was a good thing. But sometimes you need to go further than that, and actually aim for a specific location on a pedestrian. In this case, use the following modifiers which are in addition to attacking a pedestrian.

Location	Head/arm/leg	-3
	Torso	-2
	Hand/other	additional -1

So for example, Barry the Hard Vampire Hunter is attempting to stake Ken the Class 5 traditional vampire. Barry wants an instant kill, so declares that he is attempting to hit the heart of Ken. This is a -3 modifier above all others (-2 for the torso, additional -1 for the heart location). If Barry was in his car using the turreted stake thrower to shoot Ken's heart, then the modifier would be -6 (-2 for the torso, -1 for the heart, -3 for the pedestrian).

Shotguns or weapons firing buck shot or something similiar may not use this hit location rule. The weapons fire too many pellets which scatter to allow any kind of pin point accuracy.

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Damage Bonus (DB):

A DB of a character (not to be confused with the db of Rolemaster) represents the strength of a character, and is an amount that is added (or subtracted!) from any damage that a character makes in hand to hand combat, whether using fisticuffs or with a melee weapons. Only a person or creature capable of using tools should have a DB, other beings should just have a standard HTH damage rating.

On any of the lists in this page, a DB is represented by a +n instead of the usual damage. So for example, a human would be listed as having a HTH damage of +0, while a dog would have a HTH damage of 1d-5.

Not every creature has a DB, and not every creature who should have a DB does have one either. These creatures are usually powerful beings which have a high damage already, such as a Class 5 vampire which has a damage of 3D. In this case melee weapons won't really have any additional appropriate effects over the strength of the being.

As a rule, a DB shouldn't exceed +4, and a creature with a damage of 1D or greater shouldn't have a DB, they are already powerful as it is.

On all pages on this website, where damage should be listed, the notion DB +n will be used instead to signify the fact that the being has a damage bonus, and what it is.

Hows does it work:
Using DB is very simple. Every time the being is in melee combat (whether using a close combat weapons or their natural weapons [such as fists]), simply add the DB to any damage that the being scores.

Remember than a standard human does 1D-5 damage with their fists, modified by their DB.

For example, Barry the vampire hunter is a typical human, so he has a DB of +0. When he attacks in close combat he doesn't add anything to his roll. Dork the Ork however has a DB +1, so when using his fists, he rolls 1D-5 +1 for his damage. Ken the Class 5 vampire also doesn't add anything to his roll, but as he scores 3D damage, he probably doesn't lose any sleep about it.

So, how do I get a DB?
Getting a DB is not particularly easy, but there are several ways. The first is to be born into a race which has one (like Orks and some other fantasy races). The second is to get one through skills (such as Martial Arts which would give one at certain skill levels), and the third would be through Cybernetics (STR+0 limbs have a DB +2, STR+1 limbs have a DB +4, the rest don't effect DB).

As such, any improvements can only come through skill improvements, cybernetic improvements, or maybe genetic manipulation (such as becoming a vampire).