Chopping Force
Chopping Force Damage is physical damage caused by weapons or other effects that cut deeply into the body. Unlike Blunt Force, which crushes or fractures tissue through impact, Chopping Force opens large wounds by slicing through skin, muscle, blood vessels, and sometimes bone. The severity of the damage depends upon both the force of the attack and the cutting surface delivering it.
Chopping Force is most commonly associated with weapons designed to deliver broad, powerful cuts or slashes. Axes, greatswords, and similar weapons can inflict devastating wounds, but creatures with sufficiently large claws, teeth, or other cutting appendages may produce the same effect. Outside of combat, Chopping Force can also result from mechanical traps, falling blades, or other hazards capable of making a substantial cut.
Chopping Force Sources
Chopping Force Damage comes from weapons, creatures, traps, and other effects capable of cutting deeply into the body. Unlike a fine blade intended for precision or piercing, chopping weapons rely on force and a substantial cutting edge to create large wounds.
Examples include:
- Axes, greatswords, and other chopping weapons
- Large creature claws, talons, or other cutting appendages
- Mechanical traps containing blades or cutting surfaces
- Falling or swinging blades
- Magical weapons or effects that create powerful cutting attacks
- Large-scale environmental hazards capable of slicing through the body
Chopping Force Saving Throws
Outside of combat, the appropriate Saving Throw against Chopping Force Damage depends upon the circumstances. Strength may allow a character to resist or slow an unavoidable chopping mechanism, hold back a closing blade, or prevent a trap from completing its motion. Agility may allow a character to avoid a swinging blade, falling weapon, or other moving cutting surface altogether.
In combat, however, Saving Throws do not ordinarily replace the combat rules. Combat actions, attacks, defenses, and the circumstances of the encounter determine whether a chopping attack lands and how its effects are resolved. An enemy swinging an axe at a character is a combat action; a concealed blade suddenly dropping from the ceiling is an environmental hazard.
Chopping Force Mitigation
Chopping Force Damage can be mitigated by preventing the cutting surface from reaching the body, deflecting the attack, or using protection capable of resisting or reducing the force of the cut. Armor and shields can be particularly important against chopping attacks, although sufficiently powerful blows may penetrate or bypass ordinary protection.
Active forms of mitigation include:
- Armor designed to resist cutting and slashing attacks
- Shields used to block or deflect attacks
- Combat actions that block, parry, evade, or otherwise mitigate an incoming attack
- Protection spells that reinforce or shield the body
- Protection runes and other magical wards
- Magical artefacts designed to resist cutting attacks
- Bracing, positioning, or otherwise placing an object between the character and the cutting surface
Chopping Force Related Conditions
The most characteristic consequence of severe Chopping Force Damage is Severe Bleeding. Large cuts can sever major blood vessels and cause rapid blood loss even when the initial wound does not immediately incapacitate the victim. Without appropriate treatment, severe bleeding can continue to reduce the body's ability to function and may ultimately result in death.
A sufficiently powerful chopping attack may also cause Loss of Limb Function or Loss of Limb, particularly when a limb is badly damaged or completely severed. Severe injuries to other parts of the body can cause Unconsciousness, while catastrophic Chopping Force Damage can reduce the body's available Body Points to the point of death.
Unlike many other forms of physical damage, Chopping Force often leaves a visible and immediate indication of its severity. A character may survive the initial attack but still face a rapidly worsening condition if the wound is not treated.
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