Unknown Armies:Hand-to-hand damage

For hand-to-hand attacks—that is, physical attacks such as punches, kicks, takedowns, baseball bat to the skull, etc.—the damage you do is equal to the sum of the two dice you rolled. A successful roll of 47 does 4 + 7 = 11 points of damage.

If you're using a weapon of some sort in your hand-to-hand attack, you do more damage. To decide a weapon's damage shift, ask three simple questions:

• Is the weapon big? ("Big" means you need both hands to wield it effectively.)
• Is it heavy? ("Heavy" means it has enough heft to crack bones.)
• Is it penetrating? ("Penetrating" means it cuts or stabs through the skin.)

For each "yes" you get, the weapon does 3 additional points of damage. A rock is heavy, but not big or penetrating, so it adds 3 points of damage. A steel chair is big and heavy, so it adds 6 points of damage. A machete or sword is heavy and penetrating, so it adds 6 points. A chainsaw is big, heavy, and penetrating, so it adds 9 points.

Crits cause your target to die or drop unconscious immediately. Your choice. If he hasn't acted this round, he doesn't get to. TThis only happens if the GM says it makes sense. If you were throwing a pillow at the target, he's not going to die or fall unconscious no matter what you roll.

Fumbles cause you to take the damage you rolled—that is the weapon bonus plus 20 points (0+0 = 10 + 10 = 20). You screwed up so badly that either you hurt yourself all on your own or your target deftly countered your attack and hurt you in the process.

Matched successes do firearms damage plus weapon bonus, but only if you're using a weapon with a bonus of +6 or higher. If you're using a weapon with a +3 weapon bonus, or no weapon at all, the match has no special effect. (Note: If your hand-to-hand attack skill is also your obsession skill, matched successes inflict Cherries in addition to the possible firearms damage unless the Cherry states otherwise.)

Matched failures cause you to take your weapon's bonus in damage, if you are using a weapon. A +6 weapon would cause you 6 points of damage. If you aren't using a weapon, the match has no special effect.

Explaining Crit Kills

If you roll that fatal 01 and instantly drop some poor bastard in his tracks, it's not terribly dramatic to say "he dies." Here are a number of plausible one-hit kills for smaller weapons.

With a Blunt Object

• A sharp blow to the temple puts a deadly shock through the brain, resulting in instant death.
• A transverse blow across the bridge of the nose sends bone fragments into a sinus cavity causing the victim to drown in his own blood unless someone performs an emergency tracheotomy within about five minutes. For the purposes of the 01, assume the blow also knocks him out or immobilizes him with pain while he dies.
• An upward blow at the base of the skull (either attacking from behind or by reaching around) breaks the neck or causes instant unconsciousness.
• A blow to the front of the throat crushes the trachea. Intense pain and panic is breathing heavy. Asphyxiation happens soon after.
• A hard thrust right to the bottom of the sternum breaks off a bone called the xiphoid process and drives it into the heart.
• A hard blow directly between the shoulder blades instantly stops the heart.

With a Sharp Object

• Even a small knife driven up into the head through the top of the eye socket kills quickly. (Elizabethan playwright Kit Marlowe died this way.)
• An upward blow under the sternum pierces the heart.
• A shallow slash across the throat causes blood to drain down the windpipe and drown the target.
• A deep slash to the neck causes a rapid bleed-out from either the vein or the artery.
• A long slash along the inside of the bicep from elbow to armpit opens an artery.
• A slash on the inside of the leg from knee to groin opens an artery.