Hello,
Recently I've been culminating a list of every damage type ever. For each one I have a color to represent it as well.
Here is the list I have as of yet:
Impact (white)
This includes any damage coming from blunt objects, such as fists, clubs and boulders. This is basically all physical damage.
Puncture (black)
This includes anything pointy, from spears to shrapnel from grenades. This is all damage from things that pierce.
Slash (red)
This includes anything sharp, including such things as swords and axes. This is all damage from things that slice.
Heat (orange)
This includes anything hot, such as fire and sriracha sauce. This is all damage from things that burn.
Ailment (green)
This includes poison, disease, nausea, and any such thing. This is all damage that makes you sick.
Suffocation (blue)
Lack of oxygen, basically. This is all damage from things that make you cease to breathe.
Emotion (yellow)
Anything that hurts you emotionally. This is all damage that makes you cry or wish you were dead.
Mind (purple)
Anything that damages your brain's ability to work properly, or makes you unable to think straight. The name is dumb, I know. Please, I am open to suggestions.
NOTE: The names for Emotion and Mind are pending. The current names don't entirely fit; they feel awkward. Saying, "I deal 2d emotion damage to your character" just sounds weird. Suggestions for new names for these are welcome.
Special (offwhite, it was the only color of die I had left)
Basically, this color is for unique forms of damage that are only used in certain situations. i.e. arcane, cold, etc.
Here is the rubric I use to grade whether a suggestion merits its own damage type. All are graded out of 2:
a) Its effect and/or the way in which it damages the human body is unique and cannot be replicated by other damage types.
b) It is common enough to merit its own spot on the list.
c) It is something that causes actual damage to an individual. i.e. it would cause a unit's health to deplete.
d) It is useful in combination with other damage types to be able to recreate certain attacks. i.e. Ailment can be combined with Puncture to create poisoned arrows.
Usually, a suggestion has to get at least a 7/8 to count. Maybe a 6/8, but there are some other factors which matter.
In addition to these damage types is also a Shock effect which can be added to some attacks.
All of these damage types are meant to be combined in different ways to recreate certain things. Radiation is Heat + Ailment. A bullet from a gun is Puncture + Impact.
One other thing to mention is that the main point of all of these damage types has to do with defense. Just as each of these is a damage type, it is also a defense type. i.e. steel plate armor protects well against puncture and slash damage, but not really impact or any of the other damage types. An energy field protects against impact and heat really well, and possibly puncture and slash to an extent, but it is useless against ailment, emotion or mind damage.
These are all the damage types I have come up with, as well as those suggested by all of you that I have accepted. Are there any I possibly may have missed? It would be helpful to know!
Biting falls under Puncture damage, because teeth "puncture" things. Scratching would probably fall under Slash.
Electricity is basically just Heat, so it doesn't need its own category.
I considered Cold, but when does cold actually damage anything. When you're cold, you just sort of slow down. Unlike heat, which burns you, cold just sort of stops you.
Part of what I'm trying to do is create categories of damages that can be combined to create different things. Like, a sword could be a combination of Slash and Puncture damage.
A baster from Star Wars would be Heat and a little bit of Impact damage.
A gun would be a mix of Puncture and Impact, and explosives would be Impact, Heat and Puncture damage.
The main thing I'm looking for is any possible categories that I may have missed. For the sake of historical combat, I think I have caught most of them, but I'm also wondering about fantasy or sci-fi things that are commonly used.
I'm sorry if it's difficult for me to explain what I mean. :/