How much SDC would a typical tree have?

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dragonfett
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How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by dragonfett »

Reading the thread of the Skelebots and the GB's got me thinking about just how much SDC a tree actually has.
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by Killer Cyborg »

dragonfett wrote:Reading the thread of the Skelebots and the GB's got me thinking about just how much SDC a tree actually has.


I've spent quite a bit of time pondering that question, and I haven't really come up with any good, realistic answers.

So I just have to go with what Palladium said on p. 285 of HU2, under the Plant Growth power:

Bushes, shrubs, and small trees: AR 5, 4d6 SDC
Average tree: AR 8, 4d6x10 SDC
Large trees: AR 10, 6d6x10 SDC
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by Shark_Force »

unsurprisingly, there is conflicting information here.

the plant shaman animate tree spell indicates 100 SDC per 10 feet of height (which could arguably mean 10 SDC per foot of height), with an AR of 6 +1 per 10 feet of height.

i would not be surprised to discover that there are other conflicting sources. if i were to suggest one place to check for said conflicting sources, i would probably recommend the herbalist OCC in rifts england, since i seem to recall that class being able to animate plants.
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by Thinyser »

Lots.
Actually Lots and Lots and Lots.
Take an axe and go chop one down, say 2 foot diameter maple. How many hundreds of whacks did it take? Each axe hit is likely doing 2d6 or an average of 7 SDC if it took 100 whacks that at least 600-700 SDC just in that one little section you were chopping at.
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by Killer Cyborg »

Thinyser wrote:Lots.
Actually Lots and Lots and Lots.
Take an axe and go chop one down, say 2 foot diameter maple. How many hundreds of whacks did it take? Each axe hit is likely doing 2d6 or an average of 7 SDC if it took 100 whacks that at least 600-700 SDC just in that one little section you were chopping at.


Not to mention PS bonus.

Although some of the hits might be technically soaked by AR?
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by The Beast »

Wood has an AR?
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by Killer Cyborg »

The Beast wrote:Wood has an AR?


According to HU, yeah.
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by Shark_Force »

Killer Cyborg wrote:
The Beast wrote:Wood has an AR?


According to HU, yeah.


also according to spirit west.

though to be fair, i feel like proper technique lets you take out a tree in a relatively small number of hits.
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by grandmaster z0b »

So many variables. A thick, old hardwood is going to take a lot more hits than a young softwood. Even then how much moisture is in the trunk, how many knots in the wood etc. will make a big difference.
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by kaid »

Also sort of depends what you are shooting it with. The 100 sdc per 10 feet seems reasonable to me. I have hit trees with a hail of gunfire and other than blowing the heck out of its bark which in time probably would kill it did not weaken the structure of the tree enough to be noticed. We are talking a few hundred rounds of 9mm/.22 and more than a few .30-.06 rounds.
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by dragonfett »

Interesting points to ponder. How would you rule dropping a tree on top of an opponent, either as a trap or during combat.
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by Tor »

Shark_Force wrote:the plant shaman animate tree spell indicates 100 SDC per 10 feet of height (which could arguably mean 10 SDC per foot of height), with an AR of 6 +1 per 10 feet of height.


Nice, no upper limit, too bad MD bypasses natural AR for some odd reason. Pretty sweet for SDC settings though. Is there a way to get a thousand-foot tall tree with various spell-nurturing?
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by Shark_Force »

Tor wrote:
Shark_Force wrote:Is there a way to get a thousand-foot tall tree with various spell-nurturing?


nothing comes to mind. theoretically if you lowered gravity in an area for an extended period of time, trees there would eventually start growing taller... probably, i think (pay close attention to the number of disclaimers)

of course, that doesn't mean much to people who want said tree in a timeframe that is not measured in years.

there are a few spells that can grow trees really quickly. or perhaps just one, honestly i'm not entirely certain. you could perhaps find a seed from a very tall tree on a low gravity planet, attempt to replicate the proper environment somewhere, grow the tree using magic, and then you'd probably need to strengthen it if you don't want it to collapse in the event of conditions returning to normal.
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by Tor »

If gravity were lowered and trees became taller, they might become weaker though, since they don't have to support as much weight.
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by Athos »

dragonfett wrote:Interesting points to ponder. How would you rule dropping a tree on top of an opponent, either as a trap or during combat.


I would use the crash rules for damage and say they were pinned, assuming they didn't dodge the falling tree.
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Re: How much SDC would a typical tree have?

Unread post by Killer Cyborg »

Athos wrote:
dragonfett wrote:Interesting points to ponder. How would you rule dropping a tree on top of an opponent, either as a trap or during combat.


I would use the crash rules for damage and say they were pinned, assuming they didn't dodge the falling tree.


The Create Traps (or whatever) skill in the RGMG has rules for dropping trees on people. They're specifically for traps, but could be adapted to other situations.
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