Grazing

Grazing is a new game mechanic introduced in X-Com: Gray Dawn. In short, it is applied during combat and allows the chance for a target to only suffer a minimal amount of damage (a "grazing" wound) from any attack.

Game Mechanics

When a target is struck, apply damage to armor. If any damage penetrates, the target makes a luck roll (Luck stat+1d10) vs. target #15. If the luck roll succeeds, the wound is a graze. Grazing wounds deal minimal damage, automatically rolling 1's on all dice. This is the maximum amount of damage that can penetrate the armor. EXAMPLE: A 5.56 round will deal 4d6 damage, for an average of 14 points. A 5.56 round that causes a grazing wound will deal a maximum of 4 points. If the target was wearing a SP 14 vest and struck with a 16-point hit that caused a graze, it would still only cause a 2-point wound (So, effectively, graze rolls need only be made for penetrating wounds that would cause greater than minimum damage.

BTM applies to grazing wounds. In the above example, a grazing wound from a 5.56 round causes a 4-point wound. With an average Body Type (BTM 2), the end result would only be a 2-point wound.

Some weapons or ammunition types will cause a modifier to the graze roll.

Some perks will modify the graze roll. (each level of "Devil's Luck" gives a +1 bonus)

An attack roll that greatly exceeds the target's dodge roll will result in graze penalties (-1/every 3 points attack roll > dodge roll). Likewise, an attack roll that just meets or exceeds the dodge roll will net a graze bonus (+1 if attack roll is equal to or only 1 > dodge roll).

Arm and leg hits grant a graze bonus (+2). A head wound incurs a penalty (-2).

Weapons that deal d10 damage will do 2 damage/die. An anti-tank rocket that deals 4d10 damage would do a minimum of 8 damage on a graze.

Most NPCs will not benefit from grazing; it is intended for dramatic effect, a way to simulate the withering punishment achieved by central characters in movies, television and literature.