Tellings Revision: Critical Damage/Increased Damage Skill

Here's a game philosophy question: What does an extra damage, critical damage, increased damage skill mean?

More accurately, what are the game mechanics justifications for such skills? One fo the central issues that the Tellings revision faces is to push what seems to be proprietary to Tellings and to soften, retool, or remove mechanics reminiscent of other game systems. The whole mechanic of doing extra damage or critical damage is common to many games, of course. It is a perk, a special effect, a game changer. For example, backstab in most games is about striking an opponent from behind, from surprise, ignoring most defenses, and inflicting double or more damage. This makes sense for games like D&D when a character's wound level is measured (generally) by how many hit points they have. Therefore, an attack that does a lot of HP damage is a "big deal" and can be overlaid with additional rules about incapacitation.

However, for Tellings, this kind of thing is covered by hit location, Trauma Point, and Trauma% rolls. In other words, the measure of whether a strike is a "big deal" or not is different than a big hit to a HP pool. In fact, most Tellings characters never really gain additional BODYpts. Wounds and critical wounds work differently.

Therefore, does it make sense to have skills like Killing Strike, Charge, or Crushing Blow (which can do up to 4 x damage)? Wouldn't buying Weapon Skill Levels: Damage and increasing Attack Score to make called shots more effective fit the game philosophy more? Or is there a place for some critical damage skills modified and tailored for the Tellings system of damage?

Would something like changing Find Weakness to allow the character to change their weapon/attack damage to PEN damage make more sense?

Revision: Chapter Three: Skills and Knowledges

Chapter Three: Skills and Knowledges

Chapter Three details all of the skills, lores, trades, and knowledges available to characters. The chapter details combat and non-combat skills. In general, I think the skill system/point system to work. There are a few skills and mechanics I would like to tweak -- mainly simpifying and thinking long and hard about characters who are totally skill-based (without any major supernatural abilities like magic ability or divine magic). If there are any major skill overhauls, I will start a different blog thread for them. But generally, here are the chapter headings and the revision possibilities are (*) asterisked:

Starting Skill Points
Attribute Bases (ATTRbase)*

I really like the ATTRbase system for buying skills. It needs to be a bit more clearly articulated and the character sheet needs to have a place where ATTRbases are recorded.

Skill Cost*

Some skill costs might change, to be determined on a skill-by-skill basis. Overall, I am thinking about making combat skills slightly cheaper. The rationale is so that players who choose to be archetypal warriors and rogues (skill-based only) can actually be more fully effective -- especially since mages and priests make up for their lack of skills via their spells and prayers.

Skill Rolls
Complementary Skills
Everyone Skills
Table 3.1: The Skills and Knowledges Quick List*

I am thinking of adding to the appendices a worksheet that looks like this sheet except it will be used for character creation -- kind of like a dim sum menu where people can select their wish list and then see how much it all costs.

Learning New Skills and Increasing Skill Rolls
The Skills List
The Combat Skills*

Revisions to particular skills forthcoming. The rationale (as said above) is also about thinking about skills that seem to be awkward, particularly those skills that too closely mimic the mechanics of other games (e.g. the whole Killing Strike/Backstab thing) or those skills that complicate fluid-time combat in unexpected ways (e.g. the delays/DS-modifiers of skills like Charge or Crushing Blow). Also, might there be ways to collapse skills a little (e.g. Charge or Crushing Blow might be just one skill).

Skills under revision:
Armor Proficiency *change ATTRbase to just STR/1
Charge*
Close Quarters Fighting *change ATTRbases to AGI, DEX/1
Combination *ideally to simplify how it is bought
Command*
Coordinate*
Crushing Blow*
Defend Skill Level*
Find Weakness*
Killing Strike*
Martial Combination*
Shield Proficiency *include Shield Punch in the skill
Tactics*

The Non-Combat Skill*

Skills under revision:

Magic Research*
Poison Research*
Set/Remove Traps*