The basic idea of combat in E2E is for it to be streamlined and dangerous, but not have player characters dropping dead like flies. The Shock mechanic from A Game of Thrones is nice - basically damage exceeding the shock value (1/2 constitution) has further effects on the character - serious injuries (bleeding wounds) or what have you. The basic mechanic is nice and is one I've been experimenting with.
The problem is you can't track too many effects or combat slows down to a crawl. The question is whether or not to implement a save mechanic (Fortitude) to resist a multitude of effects or just have effects kick in at certain levels. For example:
Method 1 (Save Mechanic)
If damage > toughness, Fortitude DC 12 + damage - toughness (in other words, 12 + the excess damage). I implemented the original mechanic similar to how charms work in magic. Basically the save is against a moderate daze effect (Stun). A successful save reduces this to dazed. Succeeding by 5 or more eliminates the effect. Failing by 10 or more will increase the effect to staggered. 15 or more is an instant kill.
Method 2 (Magnitude Mechanic)
If damage > toughness, the target is stunned (if the damage is nonlethal, he is dazed). If damage > toughness x2, the target is staggered. I suppose toughness x3 could be death, if necessary.
The problem here is that it takes some of the control away from the player - no save, which is like a safety harness. The ability to roll a die gives a feeling of power, whether it is justified or not. The save mechanic is comprehensive, but at the expense of time.
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One method you could use to keep record keeping to a minimum would be to abandon hit points (like M&M).
If you are hit and the attack exceeds your toughness, then make a Fortitude save = DC+(amount past your Toughness).
If you save, you are fine.
If you fail, you are stunned,
If you fail by 5 you are staggered, by 10 you are disabled,
If you fail by 15 dead.
If you are already Stunned any failure makes you staggered, if staggered, then any failure makes you disabled, if disabled any failure you die.
If you want to keep some mechanism like Hit Points you could replace them with Action Points which could be used to automatically make a save (or give you a big bonus or something).
That's an interesting idea. The nice thing about hit points is that it tracks damage over time, instead of just from turn to turn. So the combat is one of two fronts - instant and long term damage.
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