Not if it would destroy the feel of SF and turn it into a different game. But there are ways to add LC without making overwhelmingly dangerous. For instance, make Body Points STR+STA/5 ... a bit more points than what I mentioned above. Ruling that Beam weapons (lasers/sonics) attacks that do Body Damage only do 1 pt per die (so that 20d10 laser blast only does 20 body points damage. Something the Bughunters system does is to have armor not only provide a damage defense, but also reduce LC of attacks. Perhaps you are wearing armor so Laser attacks cannot do body damage. Etc... . This system is more vague than hit locations.

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I like hit location systems on paper, but I've always found that using them slows down the game and creates a number of unwelcome questions -- how many points damage can a head take before you die, how can you take a 60pt wound to the chest and still be up but a 5 point wound to the hand kills you, etc... . And that's just the beginning.

But its all GMing ... such as a GM can use armor in reducing the damage of an attack and still narrate that the strike hit an arm or let or something unarmored. Don't let the rules slow the story or spoil the fun.

Precisely, Terl.

I see your point. Maybe do a -10% per bump up to the max. which would be the skill level.

(example: Zari (level 5 projectile skill) wants to shoot her autopistol at a bad guy. Her shot with all modifiers is 90%. She wants to aim. So, she takes -30% to get three bumps. her new to hit is 60%.
She could have gone as high as 5 bumps @ -50%, therefore a 40% chance to hit.).

I'll have to playtest this.

We played last Saturday. The same story, the higher level characters could concentrate shots on a particular vital easily.

Sam wrote:  "Anyone familiar with the Amazing Engine system? Bughunters, specifically? One aspect of it I thought seemed very impressive was the addition of Lethalty Classes to damage and the adddition of Body Points along with Stamina Points (whatever that system called it). The idea is pretty simple and seemed to be a good compromise between damage systems that are too vague and those that are too detailed."

I have the Amazing Engine game (Bughunters was my favorite) and that damage system was one of the most impressive parts of those game rules.  It was a simple way handling the possibility for life threatening damage as characters had way more Fatigue than Body points.  Attackers could specify how they targetted an opponent (General, Non-vital, or Vital).  General attacks were the easiest and did not modify damage.  Non-vital attacks lowered the probability of an attack scoring leathal damage while Vital attacks increased the likelyhood of inflicting leathal Body damage.   I only ever played one game with the system but I found that players tended to think twice about jumping into combat with opponents armed with high leathality-rated weapons. 

This discussion prompted me to read the "Ablative Damage" rules of the Frontiersman (issue 8).  I must admit that I like them quite a bit and plan on giving them a go (if I can find the time anytime soon!).  These rules look like they are a quick and easy fit to the SF-Alpha Dawn game system.  The ability for the attacker to shift the actual strike area is a great idea; and the possibility of recieving a head shot really makes helmets a worthwhile investment for players.  I can see this system encouraging players to make use of nearby cover.

Thanks Bill, for the great work!

Twenty years ago, I came up with a similar system; it’s a bit involved to explain but makes the combat seem realistic. First of all, I wanted to keep it fairly simple i.e. I didn’t want a lot of extra dice rolling. So, the attack roll was also the hit location roll. The TENs die was used to determine which side where applicable, right arm, left hand etc. the ONEs die was used to determine the body part that was hit. With the TENs die, an even number always meant the right side and an odd number always meant the left side. As for the ONEs die the numbering went as thus;

So lets say that a player’s character has a modified “to hit” of 60% and rolls a 56, The TENs die is a five, an odd number, the left side. The ONEs die is a six, the hand. Therefore the left hand was hit. Damage is rolled normally.

I divided the character’s base stamina score over what I call the four core parts, the head, the neck, the chest and the abdomen. The percentage division is as follows;

These are the vital areas, any damage taken in these areas would automatically be subtracted for the character’s current Stamina score example; the character has to make a Stamina check vs. a poison grenade. His base stamina is 50. He has 2 wounds to the head and three wounds to the chest, his current stamina is 45. Wounds to the arms, hands, legs and/or feet do not count against his stamina. If the character should sustain wounds to at least one of these areas that are equal to or greater than the percentage allocated, the character is incapacitated (in shock, possibly unconscious). A character in this state still has a chance at life, he must make a current stamina check each turn, if he fails he loses one more stamina point, reducing his current stamina (if stamina is reduced to zero he dies). If another character has the medic skills, he can perform a minor surgery check if there is no more combat or a major surgery check if there still is combat, in an attempt to stabilize the wounded character. A successful check means that the wounded character has been stabilized and no longer needs to make a current stamina check. Failure means the character continues to make current stamina checks. If the medic fails, he can continue to retry but at a -10% per previous failure. Staydose will temperarily stabilize the wounded for 1d10 rounds (wounded character does not need to make current stamina checks). Only one staydose can be used, a second dose will not add more time. If the damage equals or is greater than twice the allotted percentage, the character dies.

As for the limbs, damage to them that equals or is greater than the allotted percentage renders that limb useless until healed. If the damaged sustained is equal to or greater than twice the allocated percentage, the limb is severed and the character must make a current stamina check. Failure means the character has gone into shock and is incapacitated (see above paragraph). If a leg or arm was hit, I would make a roll to determine which part of the arm or leg was hit;