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[scamtank]

Mostly the skills in the end, I know, but why does it seem so random? Opportunity strikes aside, how is it suddenly easier for me to hit the fingers and the lower leg on the left side, but hitting the torso is nearly impossible? What determines the striking plane of a given blow? Is it pure chance? Sometimes my blow hits the target in the back or the side, what determines facing? Is there some way for me to see it? Does this affect the "accessibility" of target body parts?

I'm trying to figure out a way to make trivially tiny body parts harder to hit, but all these variables are making me pull my hair out. A little help?

[Bilanthri]

Trivially tiny body parts are, as a general rule, extremities, which are well known to be caught/damaged in a fight due to defensive wounds or ineffective attacks. Tycho Brahe lost half his nose to a duel.

[Azated]

Alot about combat is known only to Toady himself.

To be honest, I don't think creatures are coded the way we think of them. Take a human for example; you'd expect the nose, eyes, mouth and whatnot to be where you would immediately know as the front. The way I see it, DF creatures are really just a blob of flesh with different sections coded to do different things, not a carefully structured organism designed for maximum efficiency.

This probably isn't the case, but it explains why you can stab a person in the back from six feet away with them (presumably) facing you.

[Garath]

My experience from adventure mode causes me to consider creature facing to be relative to where te creature last attacked or how it moved, various things apply, but large quadruped creatures attacking a companion opposit of me (classic flanking) makes it easier on average for me to hit hind legs, lower body and tails, while when it's trying to kill me I get better chances at upper body, head and front legs. When fighting very large creatures, you'll mostly get leg shots untill they fall to the ground. It is entirely possible for you to stand to the right and be able to hit right arm, right leg, head, upper and lower body - all valid targets, but having trouble hitting the left side.

I'm pretty sure of this since I almost never get a chance to cut off tails unless the creature is running or fighting a companion. It's just a bit confusing that you can't see which way someone is facing. This actually also influence your shield coverage too I think and having an archer shooting at you from behind is dangerous. In fort mode this can be exploited by making fortifications in reverse. A blank wall on the outside and fortifications on the inside. As your enemy charges in at the lure, like a puppy on a chain, your marksdwarves are going to have a fieldday.


As an aside, I found that as a human fighting bogeymen, I had most success cutting off heads, while as dwarf adventurer I did better cutting them in half at the lower body. It might be coincedence, but humans are 2x as tall and would easier hit heads, while dwarfs are more the same height

[Bilanthri]

!!Huzzah!! for attention to detail!