One more condition monitor..., Yup, endless debate Options

[The Jopp]

I actually enjoy the simple basics of Shadowrun with stun damage and physical damage, but I have ONE problem. For convenience all stun damage has been grouped in one place, the Mental Damage monitor.

Ok, so what annoys me then?

Here’s an example. Joe Runner tags his target for extraction, a corp scientist, and tags him with a capsule round containing a sedative.

Let’s assume that the target has NO armor and takes a M stun from the actual hit from the bullet and takes a nasty fall giving him another box of L stun. Now the target must resist D stun from the sedative. The target manages to stage down the D damage to S and has now taken M+S (Stun) which accumulates to a D stun. According to all rules he should become unconscious and that really bugs me. Why?

Well, the first hit is blunt trauma which will hurt like hell and give the target some problem due to the pain, pain which also includes a release of endorphins and adrenalin, making him more alert. The second effect is a drug making him more woozy, designed to make him sleep or impede his motor functions or hopefully knock him out cold.

Ok, so he is in PAIN and his movement is sluggish and his head feels like it is filled with cotton, but fall asleep? No, to me he would be very close to being disabled with a Mental Stun and a Physical Stun.

So, here’s my little solution (or gameplay impeder, take your pick).

Add a new condition monitor for Physical Stun so we have three of them

Mental Stun
Physical Stun
Physical

What is what then?

Ok, I’ll keep it short.

Mental stun
Mental stun includes Mana spells that causes Stun damage like “Stunbolt, Stunball” etc. It also includes any kind of drug causing stun damage. Physical stun damage will turn to physical damage when it goes over Deadly damage. If Mental Stun reaches “Deadly” the character will become unconscious.

Physical stun
Physical stun includes bashing someones head in with a baseball bat, fist, gel round etc. It also includes Physical Manipulation spells like “Clout”. Physical stun damage will turn to physical damage when it goes over Deadly damage. If Physical Stun reaches “Deadly” the character will become unconscious.

Physical Damage
Physical damage takes care of overflow damage from either stun monitor and also keeps score of your gunshot wounds, knife stabbings, chopped off limbs and the like.

What do you think? Is there any oddities that could be improved? Should Mental Stun be bale to translate into physical damage like the physical stun?