Critical Hits - My System

[Anonymous]

I've developed a system for ciritical hits and hit location. It was inspired by 'Torn Asunder' from Bastion Press but is quite a bit simpler. It has not been thorougly play-tested, but a few trial runs seem to indicate it is playable - although very, very nasty.

You can check it out at:

www.olemiss.edu/~usdmw/Critical_Hits.doc

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

The problem with it is that sooner or later, it will be impossible for a character with a good Fort save to fail vs. a crippling injury check (DC 10). For low level characters, this is nothing to worry about, but it falls apart at higher level play. Otherwise, it seems okay, and is pretty simple.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, not quite impossible. Saves automatically fail on a roll of 1, but your observation is otherwise spot on. I'm not sure I think of this is a weakness, however. As it stands the system will most frequently impact mooks. High level characters will rarely be crippled. That was my intention at any rate.

 

[Anonymous]

Saves might fail in your campaign on a roll of 1, but that is not standard per the rules. Only hits automatically fail on a roll of 1.

 

[Anonymous]

While I can't confirm whether it is a general rule in d20 that saves fail on a 1, they certainly do in Conan. I confirmed this last night.

 

[Anonymous]

The following is taken from the d20 System Reference Document, 3.5 Revised.

Automatic Failures and Successes: A natural 1 (the d20 comes up 1) on a saving throw is always a failure (and may cause damage to exposed items; see Items Surviving after a Saving Throw). A natural 20 (the d20 comes up 20) is always a success.

 

[Jason Durall]

While I can't confirm whether it is a general rule in d20 that saves fail on a 1, they certainly do in Conan. I confirmed this last night.

To be specific, the wording on p.161 of the Conan RPG manual is:

"A natural 1 (the d20 comes up 1) on a saving throw is always a failure...[snip]... This is an exception to the basic rule that natural rolls of 1 and 20 on a d20 do not automatically indicate failure or success respectively."

 

[Anonymous]

I agree that the Conan rule of saves failing on a 1 is correct; this is how my group always gamed it in D&D 3.0/3.5e. Nice to know that our house rule is an official rule for Conan.

People always need a chance to fail a save, because every time you roll the dice, there should be consequences for rolling a 1 (as there shoud be benefits for rolling a 20). We take it even further, making a 1 a critical failure on any roll, and a 20 is always a critical success. In combat, we don't bother with critical threats, just call it a critical hit and roll damage. This is how we've always played it, and it works fine (saves an extra dice roll in most cases, too). With the high lethality/low healing of Conan, however, we may have to rethink this, but I doubt we'll bother. It's just that this is how we've always played D&D and d20/OGL, regardless of official rules.

 

[Anonymous]

Which reminds me, we need a new critical failure combat table for Conan... Maybe something like, on a roll of 1, you must roll 1d10 on this table:

1 Instant Sunder/Break!
Your weapon is broken (either the blade or the handle for bludgeoning weapons), the crossbow mechanism develops a serious malfunction and becomes unusable or your bow string snaps. Crossbows can be repaired at 50% the cost of a new one. Bow strings are 1 sp each to replace. Broken weapons can be reforged/remade only if all pieces are present, at a cost equal to 100% of the cost of the original, for blades or 50% of the cost of the original for bludgeoning. Weaponsmith must pass a a Craft check as if he was making the original weapon to remake it. Weapon's hardness is permanently reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 1) and hit points by 1 (to a minimum of 1). All opponents facing you within 5 feet (10 feet for reach weapons) get an attack of opportunity.

2 Friendly Fire!
You miss badly and accidentally strike the nearest ally. Your ally is allowed a Reflex save DC 15 to avoid your strike. On a failed save result of 1, the blow is considered a critical hit against him. If you have no allies present, this roll is considered a normal miss with no other ill effect.

3 Fumble!
You unbalance badly, lose any remaining attacks this round, and leave yourself open to an attack of opportunity from all opponents facing you within 5 ft. (10 ft. for reach weapons). If no such opponents exist because you are an archer or crossbowman firing at distance, you fumble your weapon, sweat drips into your eyes, or you otherwise find the need to reposition yourself slightly due to unstable footing, allies in the way, etc. You lose any remaining attacks this round, must immediately take a five foot step if possible and you have not done so (in which case you remain where you are) and suffer a -2 penalty to your Dodge DV this round.

4 Lose Weapon!
You fumble away your melee weapon. All opponents facing you within 5 ft. (10 ft. for reach weapons) get an attack of oportunity against you unless you have the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. Roll 1d10 again: on a roll of 1-5, your weapon lands at your feet, in your square. 6-10 = your weapon lands one square away, in the square of the enemy you were trying to attack. Crossbowmen and archers do not lose their weapon, instead they drop a bolt or arrow they were trying to ready, losing their next attack.

5-9 Overstep!
You overstep/overreach slightly and suffer a -1 penalty to both Dodge and Parry the remainder of the round. Ranged combatants instead suffer a -1 hit on their next attack.

10 Weapon damaged!
You strike a mighty blow, but it lands badly, hitting the floor, armor, shield, opponent's weapon, or another hard surface at just the right angle to damage your weapon permanently. Your weapon loses 1d3 hardness and 1d4 hit points. If your weapon is thus sundered, all opponents within 5 ft. (10 ft. for reach weapons) get an attack of opportunity. Crossbowmen experience a serious malfunction and their weapon takes the same damage. Archers have their bow string snap automatically, but their bow remains undamaged.

 

[rook111]

Which reminds me, we need a new critical failure combat table for Conan... Maybe something like, on a roll of 1, you must roll 1d10 on this table: (table deleted for space)

Good List Iron_Chef, consider it adopted for use in my games.

 

[Anonymous]

On a melee or ranged attack roll of 1, you must roll
1d20 to determine the extent of your critical failure:

1-2 Instant Sunder!
3-4 Whirlwind Blow!
5-6 Staggering Blow!
7-9 Disarm!
10-14 Feint!
17-18 Crack the Shell!
19-20 Victory is mine!

SUCCESS RESULTS

1-2 Instant Sunder!
Your strike goes right through your opponent’s
weapon, into him! Your enemy’s weapon is broken
(either the blade or the handle for bludgeoning
weapons), or the crossbow mechanism becomes
unusable or his bow is broken. Your weapon sticks in
your opponent, requiring a standard action to remove
(and causing your opponent 1d4 points of additional
damage which cannot be reduced by DR).

Crossbows can be repaired at 50% the cost of a new
one. Bows must be replaced. Broken weapons can be
reforged/remade only if all pieces are present, at a cost
equal to 100% of the cost of the original, for blades or
50% of the cost of the original for bludgeoning.
Weaponsmith must pass a a Craft check as if he was
making the original weapon to remake it. Weapon's
hardness is permanently reduced by 1 (to a minimum
of 1) and hit points by 1 (to a minimum of 1). All
opponents facing you within 5 feet (10 feet for reach
weapons) get an attack of opportunity.

3-4 Whirlwind Blow!
You strike so well your attack carries your weapon
into an enemy adjacent to you. Your enemy is allowed
a Reflex save DC 15 to avoid your strike. On a failed
save result of 1, the blow is considered a critical hit
against him.

5-6 Staggering Blow!
Your not only strike your opponent, but you stagger
him. He loses any remaining attacks this round (but
may defend normally), and leaves himself open to an
attack of opportunity from all your allies facing him
within 5 ft. (10 ft. for reach weapons).

7-9 Disarm!
You strike your opponent’s weapon with such force
that he drops his weapon. He takes no damage. All
allies facing him within 5 ft. (10 ft. for reach weapons)
get an attack of opportunity against him unless he has
the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. Roll 1d10 again:
on a roll of 1-5, his weapon lands at his feet, in his
square. 6-10 = his weapon lands in your square (or
one square away if you are using a reach weapon).

10-15 Feint!
You trick your opponent into dropping his guard, then
strike him unexpectedly. He takes additional bonus
damage equal to your Charisma modifier that is not
reduced by his DR. This bonus damage is not
multiplied with your critical. In addition, he suffers a
-1 penalty to both Dodge and Parry the remainder of
the round as he tries to regain his balance.
17-18 Crack the Shell!
You detect and exploit a weakness in your opponent’s
protection. Roll 1d6 on the subtable below, ignoring
results that do not apply.
1-2=armor failure, 3-4= shield failure,
5-6=helmet failure.
Armor Failure: Your blow caused straps or
buckles to become broken in your oponent’s armor,
lowering his DR by -2 until it is repaired (10 sp).
Shield Failure: You destroy his shield. He
immediately loses its Parry bonus. He must drop his
shield and he loses any remaining attacks this round.
Helmet Failure: You give him a blow to the
head and blood drips into his eyes, temporarily
blinding him for the remainder of the round!
If he is not wearing any protective gear, then you
cause his clothes to rip and tear, causing him a -1
penalty to his Dodge DV this round while he is thus
distracted. If he is not wearing clothes (or has only a
loincloth or similar scanty attire), he suffers no ill
effect (aside from your critical hit).

19-20 Victory is mine!
You are so impressed with the success of your critical
hit, that you believe the gods surely smile upon you
and victory is at hand. You immediately gain a morale
bonus equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of
1) on all attack, damage and saving throws for a
number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier
(minimum of 1).

 

[Anonymous]

Maybe my fumble and success charts should incorporate a saving throw to avoid, say Fortitude DC 15 for melee, and Reflex DC 15 for ranged.

On the fumble chart, you save to avoid the critical effect (turning it into a normal miss). On the success chart, your opponent must save to prevent the bonus critical effect from occuring (he still takes critical damage however---and in the case of a Disarm, he can choose to take the critical hit damage instead of being disarmed, canceling the disarm effect).

 

[Anonymous]

On a melee or ranged attack roll of 1, you must roll
1d20 to determine the extent of your critical failure:

Oops. I meant on a roll of 20... and forgot to replace "failure" with "success". Such was my mad rush to post! Sorry.

 

[Anonymous]

This table assumes you are ignoring the official rule of determining critical threats and instead using auto-criticals (no rerolls, instant critical). :twisted:

Corrected Critical Success Table
On a melee or ranged attack roll of 20, you must roll
1d20 to determine the extent of your critical success:

1-2 Instant Sunder!
3-4 Whirlwind Blow!
5-6 Staggering Blow!
7-8 Disarm!
9-10 Battering Blow!
11-16 Feint!
17-18 Crack the Shell!
19-20 Victory is mine!

Your opponent is allowed a Fortitude save (DC 15,
melee) or Reflex save (DC 15, ranged) to avoid the
effects of your critical success, but still takes damage
as normal from the critical hit.

SUCCESS RESULTS

1-2 Instant Sunder!
Your strike goes right through your opponent’s
weapon, into him! Your enemy’s weapon is broken
(either the blade or the handle for bludgeoning
weapons), or the crossbow mechanism becomes
unusable or his bow is broken. Your weapon sticks in
your opponent, requiring a standard action to remove
(and causing your opponent 1d4 points of additional
damage which cannot be reduced by DR).

All opponents facing within 5 feet (10 feet for reach
weapons) get an attack of opportunity on him.

3-4 Whirlwind Blow!
You strike so well your attack carries your weapon
into an enemy adjacent to you. Your enemy is allowed
a Fortitude save (DC 15, melee) or Reflex save (DC
15, ranged) to avoid your strike. On a failed save
result of 1, the blow is considered a critical hit against
him. Roll again for a critical success against this
second foe!

5-6 Staggering Blow!
You not only strike your opponent, but you stagger
him. He loses any remaining attacks this round (but
may defend normally), and leaves himself open to an
attack of opportunity from all your allies facing him
within 5 ft. (10 ft. for reach weapons).

7-8 Disarm!
You strike your opponent’s weapon with such force
that he drops his weapon. He takes no damage. All
allies facing him within 5 ft. (10 ft. for reach weapons)
get an attack of opportunity against him unless he has
the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. Roll 1d10 again:
on a roll of 1-5, his weapon lands at his feet, in his
square. 6-10 = his weapon lands in your square (or
one square away if you are using a reach weapon).
Your opponent can choose to take the critical hit
damage and cancel the disarm effect if he wishes.

9-10 Battering Blow!
You attempt to beat your opponent back in melee;
you may immediately make an attack of opportunity
against him, as he is caught offguard by your sudden
reckless assault. If you score another hit, your
opponent is knocked back 5 feet. If you score another
critical hit, he is pushed back five feet and knocked
prone. If you are using a ranged attack, then you do
not get an attack of opportunity; instead your attack
knocks him back five feet on a successful Reflex save,
and drops prone on a failed save.

11-16 Feint!
You trick your opponent into dropping his guard, then
strike him unexpectedly. He takes additional bonus
damage equal to your Charisma modifier that is not
reduced by his DR. This bonus damage is not
multiplied with your critical. In addition, he suffers a
-1 penalty to both Dodge and Parry the remainder of
the round as he tries to regain his balance.
17-18 Crack the Shell!
You detect and exploit a weakness in your opponent’s
protection. Roll 1d6 on the subtable below, ignoring
results that do not apply.
1-2=armor failure, 3-4= shield failure,
5-6=helmet failure.
Armor Failure: Your blow caused straps or
buckles to become broken in your oponent’s armor,
lowering his DR by -2 until it is repaired (10 sp).
Shield Failure: You destroy his shield. He
immediately loses its Parry bonus. He must drop his
shield and he loses any remaining attacks this round.
Helmet Failure: You give him a blow to the
head and blood drips into his eyes, temporarily
blinding him for the remainder of the round!
If he is not wearing any protective gear, then you
cause his clothes to rip and tear, causing him a -1
penalty to his Dodge DV this round while he is thus
distracted. If he is not wearing clothes (or has only a
loincloth or similar scanty attire), he suffers no ill
effect (aside from your critical hit).

19-20 Victory is mine!
You are so impressed with the success of your critical
hit, that you believe the gods surely smile upon you
and victory is at hand. You immediately gain a morale
bonus equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of
1) on all attack, damage and saving throws for a
number of rounds equal to your Charisma modifier
(minimum of 1).

 

[rook111]

Question for you Iron_Chef, ar you still doing the Critical damage multiplier and using your table? Or do you only use your table on a NAtural 20 in addtion to the Critical multiplier to Damage?
Do you still use Critical ranges or is a critical only on a natural 20?

Ok so there were more than one question but they all relate.

 

[Anonymous]

Weapons "auto-critical" on their "threat range", whether its 20/x2 or 18-20/x2, whatever is normal for it.

Yes, I'm using the critical damage multiplier AND my table. LOL, maybe that's too much, but I'm always looking for ways to bring extra excitement, terror and flavor to my combats. Do you think it is too much? That's why I allowed a save to negate my table results, but not the normal critical damage the foe would take.

 

[rook111]

I was thinking of using your table only on a natural 20 along with the regular criticals. Sort of an added bonus for rolling the magic number. That way a regular threat gets the damage multiplier but if you roll the natural 20 you then get the extra damage and a neat special effect.

 

[Anonymous]

I used my charts in tonight's game. When I remembered to use them (LOL), they worked out fine, though I should refine some effects a bit (tone down). Most times on crits in Conan vs. unarmored foes, there was nothing left of them to roll extra effects for... :twisted: