Roll with Blow

Prerequisite: Acrobatics or any unarmed combat skill; cannot exceed prerequisite skill.
Default: prerequisite skill-2.

This Technique represents special training that allows one to roll with a punch or other bludgeoning attack, resulting in less injury.

house rules

rounding

Instead of rounding up damage or minimum always being 1, just apply Fractional Damage.

divisor changing

Also, with a high degree of success, allow better divisors than 2. Since a critical success gives you 1 (no matter how much, which is better than ANY amount of Injury Tolerance: Damage Reduction) something like this could work:

• success by 0 = divide by 2
• success by 5 = divide by 5
• success by 10 = divide by 10

These three work well with fractional damage because they will produce single-decimal results.

Or 'reduce to 1' whichever is better, in the case of a critical fulfilling such criteria. Generally if you are succeeding by 10 you are in crit territory anyway. This just makes it beneficial to buy up the technique past 16.

bonuses

It's easier to move body parts smaller than your torso. Add +1 to the roll for a limb, +2 for an extremity, +3 for a digit. This is similar to the optional dodge bonus found in one of the series 2 pyramid articles.

penalties

This is a more general guideline for Knockback but is noted here because of how it doubles knockback. People with higher Basic Move are better at keeping their feet underneath them at high speeds, so the distance you move in relation to your move should matter.

Orientation and posture also matter, it's harder to keep your feet under you at high speeds when moving backward than forward, or to move your limbs fast when not standing up.

As a result: figure out the maximum distance you could move in the direction of knockback if you took a Move maneuver and moved in that direction without turning. Take an additional -1 to the DX roll to avoid falling down per yard beyond that distance the knockback sends you.

Someone already in a 3-point or 4-point posture should get a +1 or +2 to this DX roll though. Also keep in mind if you are already at a lower posture than standing, it's a shorter less damaging fall!

quot

Douglas Cole

2015 http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=1871425&postcount=23

I talk about a few ways to deal with this, including pointers to Roll with Blow, in a note called Shrug it Off over on Gaming Ballistic.

Shrug It Off

https://gamingballistic.com/2013/04/25/shrug-it-off/

make a HT roll whenever you’re hit with crushing damage, and your margin of success reduces the injury. Not the shock or knockback or the need to roll for Knockout and Stun if you get hit in the head, but the injury would be reduced.

I’d definitely use the damage inflicted as a penalty to the HT roll; not full damage, though. Maybe half damage.

I might even double penalties if you get slammed with a Parry 0U weapon like a mace – but let’s hold off on that for now.

DR subtracts right from damage, so no need to double-count that.

see also

• Action Points from The Last Gasp
• Chest Roll
• Rear Chest Roll
• Retreat and Movement
• Shrug It Off