Tranquilizer Darts?

[Pierce]

Anyone have any advice on Tranq darts? Fort save DC? Dart pistol/rifle range? Exotic/Simple/none of the above?

 

[takyris]

Well, based on the description for Knockout Gas:

Knockout gas:

Inhaled
Fort DC 18
Primary: 1d3 Dex
Secondary: Unconsciousness

I'd probably go with something like:

Knockout Dart:
Damage: 1d3 Piercing + Poison
Poison: Fort DC15, Primary 1d3 Dex, Secondary Unconsciousness
Not built to be thrown. Can deliver its damage by hand or by gun

Tranquilizer Gun (Personal Firearms)
Range increment 20 ft.
Size Small
Internal loader, holds 1 dart(?)

Tranquilizer Rifle (Personal Firearms)
Range increment 40 ft.
Size Large
Internal loader, holds darts(?)

Dunno. That's off the top of my head. Shorter range because of the slightly more bulky and awkward darts, and I have no idea how many darts a gun or rifle would hold.

 

[Pierce]

Works for me. Appreciate it.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Doesn't it seem a little problematic though that it would take 10 melee rounds to knock someone out?

I think I'd be tempted to have primary damage KO and secondary damage KO too, perhaps. After all, they still might make the ST and ignore it anyway!

 

[Darke]

Those stuff is in Urban Arcana actually.

das Darke

 

[takyris]

Well, in the movies, the guy hit by the tranq gun always gets to stumble drunkenly, clutch at the dart and stare at it in slowly dawning horror, collapse to his knees, and try to crawl away or shove his plot-important CD-ROM into a sewer grating or something as the bad guys close in. Usually, the bad guys have the chance to get to him, grab him by the arm, and say, "Mister Hero, you're a difficult man to find," before they blur out into darkness (and then our hero wakes up tied to a nuclear missile in the middle of an alligator pit).

So I didn't think that immediate unconsciousness was in keeping with usual cinematic terms.

In realistic terms, I have no idea at all, although my guess would be that it would take a bit of time to get into the bloodstream, no? I don't know that it would take a full minute, but I didn't think making a 30-second house rule was worth it.

Das Darke, what were the weapon stats in Urban Arcana?

 

[twistnack]

Air Pistol (simple)
Damage: 1d2
Critical: 20
Range Increment: 30 ft.
Rate of Fire: 1
Magazine: 1 int.
Size: Small
Wieght: 2 lb.
Purchase DC: 7
Restriction: —

Air Rifle (simple)
Damage: 1d2
Critical: 20
Range Increment: 50 ft.
Rate of Fire: 1
Magazine: 1 int.
Size: Large
Wieght: 2 lb.
Purchase DC: 8
Restriction: —

Both weapons fire darts that can be loaded with a chemical payload. Air pisotols require a CO2 cartridge that allow for 10 uses (Purchase DC 3 to replace).

 

[twistnack]

I made this with posion creation guidelines from the Urban Arcana WE. I put unconsciousness as the primary damage and I think it's correct. Even if some knows what's going on around for a while before the drug kicks in they're affected enough to pervent from doing anything of value. Even 30 seconds would allow the target to act in 5 more rounds of combat.

Tranquilizer
Type: Injury
Save DC: 17
Initial Damage: Unconsciousness 1d3 hours
Secondary Damage: —
Purchase DC: 9
Restriction: Lic (+1)
Craft DC: 24
Time: 4 hours

I created this for a game I'm starting this week where I want to give the character a quick nonleathal way to deal with mooks.

 

[takyris]

See, the one problem I have with immediate unconsciousness is that it's a d20M version of an instakill. I don't know about real-world darts at all, but from a strictly cinematic viewpoint, you want to give your PCs time to do SOMETHING -- get their cell phone out and press the speed-dial, fire off one desperate shot, etc.

From a heroic standpoint, getting hit by a tranq dart and getting to do SOMETHING -- even if it's "Make a FortDC15 to take either a move or attack action this round" -- lets the heroes be a little more heroic. You could make it something like:

DC:17
Primary Damage: 3d6 Str + Limited actions
Secondary Damage: 3d6 Str

Special: A character who fails his initial save can only take a move or attack action each round.

But I dunno.

As long as you're consistent, it should be fine one way or the other.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Well, in the movies, the guy hit by the tranq gun always gets to stumble drunkenly, clutch at the dart and stare at it in slowly dawning horror, collapse to his knees, and try to crawl away or shove his plot-important CD-ROM into a sewer grating or something as the bad guys close in.

Agreed there.

Perhaps it ought to do something like 2d6 Dex primary and unconciousness secondary (so he is actually debilitated a little for the 10r it takes to knock him out).

Another perhaps is we could re-write the poison system so it worked better We are a bit step up from D&D1 "save or die instantly", but not as good or realistic as, say Bushido made it back in the 80's.