Another Take on Called Shots/Critical Hits (P.E.A.C.H.) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Another Take on Called Shots/Critical Hits (P.E.A.C.H.) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
hawaiianbrian
03-19-06, 08:25 AM I was reading some discussions on critical hits elsewhere on these boards, where someone said something to the effect that, "it is assumed characters are always going for the most sensitive and damaging areas when they attack," so the idea of called shots and area-specific criticals were removed from the game. I've seen other systems where area-specific crits were done through pretty arcane tables where you roll d100% or some other die combo, consult a chart, and possibly make some more rolls from there. So I got to thinking: what if D&D characters *want* to specifically go for a certain body part with their crit roll, like the dragon's eyes or something? And here's what I came up with:

To score one of the critical hits below, you must first indicate that you are “calling” your criticals to target one of several areas of the body. Unless you do this, you are assumed to be attacking as normal (normal critical hits may be piercing organs, but nothing that would prove instantly fatal or uniquely debilitating).

Attack as normal. Depending on where you are targetting, you will be at a penalty to your attack, from -2 for a limb, to -8 for a fine/diminutive organ like an eye. If you manage to score a critical hit, you may now “spend” the damage you would otherwise have gained from that critical on alternate results from the chart below. You will still do at least one die of damage. You can spend as many critical multipliers as you like, if you are entitled to more than x2, but must at least spend one. Different body parts have different effects, and the degree of effect depends on the size of the critical. Except where noted, effects do stack -- so, for example, two regular x2 criticals spent on shots to the legs would result in a -10 to the creature’s movement rate. In the case of creatures which use the same limb for both movement and attacking, the critical hit only applies to one effect. All damage done in this way heals in a number of days equal to the multiplier, or with a cure spell as 2 hit points times the multiplier, except x5 criticals which are permanent and require a restoration spell to heal. As always, constructs, oozes, and undead are immune to these results.

Foot/Leg
-2 to hit
x1: -5 to the creature’s movement rate.
x2: -5 to movement rate, -1 to Dex and Str checks that involve legs.
x3: -10 to movement rate, Cannot run or charge, -5 Jump and Swim checks, -2 to Dex and Str checks that involve the legs.
x4: Limb severed. Creature’s movement rate halved, and it suffers a permanent -5 to Dex and Str checks that involve the legs. If all the creature's legs/feet are severed, its movement rate is reduced to 5 maximum.

Hand/Arm
-2 to hit
x1: -1 to the creature’s Base Attack Bonus.
x2: -1 to BAB, -1 to Strength-based skill checks.
x3: -2 to BAB, -1 to Str-based skills, -1 to Strength attribute.
x4: Limb severed. -2 to BAB, creatures without Multiattack or Two-Weapon fighting must make all attacks with the offhand, and suffer a permanent -5 to Str checks that involve the arms. If all limbs are severed, the creature cannot attack or perform actions needing arms/hands at all.

Wing/Fin
-2 to hit
x1: -5 to the creature’s fly movement speed.
x2: -10 to the creature’s fly movement speed or drop its manueverability by one level (minimum clumsy).
x3: -10 to the creature’s fly movement speed and drop its maneuverability by one level (minimum clumsy).
x4: Wing severed. Creature’s fly speed is halved and its maneuverability is automatically reduced to clumsy.

Tail/Tentacle
-2 to hit
x1: -1 to the creature’s Dexterity-based checks.
x2: -2 to Dexterity-based checks.
x3: -2 to Dexterity-based checks, plus creature must make Balance check (DC equal to damage dealt) or fall prone.
x4: Limb severed. -3 to Dexterity-based checks, creature is immediately prone and must make a Balance check DC 10 to stand every round. If the creature uses the limb to attack, that attack is removed. A creature who has lost all its tentacles might not be able to move or attack at all.

Lungs/Throat/Gills
-5 to hit
x1: Winded, suffering -1 to rolls after 1 minute of exertion (like combat).
x2: Wheezing, suffering -2 to rolls during any type of exertion (including combat).
x3: Gasping, suffering as per fatigue.
x4: Lungs punctured. Creature begins drowing, and will die in 3 rounds unless healed. If throat hit with a slashing weapon, the attack cuts off the head.

Head/Brain
-5 to hit
x1: Dazzled for 1d4 rounds, -1 to checks involving Intelligence.
x2: Stunned for 1d4 rounds, -1 Intelligence.
x3: Knocked unconscious, is dazzled for the rest of the day, and suffers -1 to Intelligence.
x4: Creature suffers ireperable brain damage, taking -2 to Intelligence, and forced into permanent catatonic state (dazed).

Spine
-5 to hit
x1: -1 to all rolls involving physical exertion.
x2: -1 to rolls involving physical exertion, and suffers -1 Dexterity.
x3: Paralyzed for 1 round, is at -2 to rolls involving physical exertion, and suffers -2 Dexterity.
x4: Spine cut. Creature is permanently paralyzed and cannot move any limbs.

Ears
-8 to hit
x1: Ears are ringing, suffering -1 to Listen and Initiative checks.
x2: Ears ringing, -1 to Listen and Initiative checks and has a 5% chance of spell failure when casting spells with verbal components.
x3: -2 to Listen and Initiative checks and has a 5% chance of spell failure when casting spells with verbal components.
x4: Ear severed or permanently damaged. Creature is at -2 to Listen and Initiative checks and has a 10% chance of spell failure when casting spells with verbal components. Creatures who have suffered such damage to all ears are deafened.

Eyes
-8 to hit
x1: Dazzled for 1d4 rounds.
x2: Dazzled and suffers a -1 penalty to AC.
x3: Dazzled, -1 penalty to AC, -1 to all skill checks involving vision, and 10% miss chance in combat.
x4: Eye is destroyed. Unless the creature has more than two eyes, its depth perception is ruined, resulting in -2 to all attacks and 20% miss chance in combat, as well as a -2 penalty to AC and -5 to all skill checks requiring vision. Creatures who have suffered such damage to all eyes are blind.

Heart
-8 to hit
x1: -1 Constitution.
x2: -1 Consitution, creature is fatigued.
x3: -1 Consitution, make a Con check (DC = damage taken) every round or lose 1d6 additional hit points, creature is fatigued and stunned.
x4: Heart is destroyed. Creature immediately falls to -1 hit points and is dying.

As you can see, the real hardcore results are only possible if using weapons with a x3 crit or higher, or if the DM allows stacking crits with repeated high rolls. I use a system where every roll in the threat range is "read as a 20," add, and roll again, then for every 20 points by which you beat the opponent's AC you have a crit. Starting at x2, then adding x1 for each successive multiple of 20. So far in years of DMing the highest I've seen is a x6 crit. But using a true strike spell might help, plus I also give the players "Hero Points" which are free roll-overs.

I'm also considering allowing the victim a saving throw, but if I do that I'll do away with the to hit penalty for the attacker.

It's a new system and a work in progress, so I'd like to see what other hardcore D&Ders think of it. Please, no "Don't mess with the system as it is" posts -- they're not helpful. I'm experimenting in my game, not making changes to yours. If you think this system works or doesn't, I could use the feedback. Thanks! :bigeyes:
hawaiianbrian
03-19-06, 08:44 AM Ahem... I thought an example or two might help, now that I think about it. :blush:

For all crits, the first "confirmed" is x2 (or x3 - x4, depending on your weapon), then goes up by x1 for each stacked confirmed crit, if you play by that system. So three lucky crit rolls means x4 (x2 + x1 + x1).

Example #1: A character with a longsword is attacking an orc barbarian and wants to cut off his hand. He will need to roll a crit "threat", then back it up four times over by rolling a 19 - 20 (lucky!). He spends his all of his crit (which is x5), so he does regular damage and off comes the hand.

Example #2: A character wielding a battleaxe is attacking a monk who has something valuable and he doesn't want the monk to run away with it, so he goes for the legs. He rolls a crit "threat" and backs it up, doing x3 critical. He spends only x1 of that crit, doing double damage and lowering the monk's movement rate by -5 feet per round.

Example #3: A character with a longbow is trying to shoot out a dragon's eye. Good luck! But he tries, and manages to hit that critical, confirming it twice in a row for a x3 crit, after the help of a true strike spell. He spends x2 of it (there always must remain a x1, for some damage). So he does 1d8 and the dragon is dazzled and suffers -1 to AC.

Example #4: A character wielding a scythe is trying to cut the head off a wizard. He would have to roll a crit, confirm it, then confirm it again for a x5 total critical. He does 2d4 damage and off comes the head. Makes scythes pretty deadly, but then again they already are.
Oneiros
03-19-06, 12:05 PM I dunno - you take a penalty first, then hope you roll a crit threat? (I'm assuming the penalty also applies to the crit confirmation roll?) The disadvantage vs. the highly random, unlikely nature of the payoff still puts very little of the result in the player's control, and doesn't really do much to address your initial idea of "what if D&D characters *want* to specifically go for a certain body part with their crit roll?" That highly variable payoff is also probably going to mean the "called shot" mechanic is going to see little use (or you'll have a unusual number of scythe weilders.)

Add to that any crit which a player gets where he didn't take the penalty for a called shot, he's probably going to feel like he was somehow cheated.

To give the player's a little more feeling of control, what about allowing "retro-active" called shots? That is, only after a critical threat is actually rolled does the player announce "I'm going to take off his hand!", and accepts the attack roll penalty for the confirmation roll only, when he knows the penalty he chose is going to affect the outcome of the called shot directly.

However, if you go with this suggestion, I'd also do a couple of things:

Increase the called shot penalty in each category by 2
Allow the target a save (better of Fort or Ref) vs. the confirmation roll to reduce the "spent" critical level by one (Stacking crits have no effect on the save; the attacker must complete his rolls and annouce how many levels he is spending before the target makes his save.)

Though, if you want the players (and NPCs) to be able to really make called shots at will, I'd recommend the manuever system of The Book of Iron Might (http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?mpress_BOIM) from Malhavoc Press. This allows characters to try to inflict the type of specific injuries you mention with a normal attack roll. Basically, the player takes a large penalty to get the effect he wants (a Blinding Attack is a -30, for example), and then takes some disadvantages to his attack to counter some of the penalties.

For example, if the way the player is going to make the Blinding Attack would provoke an AoO that could completely counter the manuever, that adds +10 to his attack. He can take other disadvantages besides to improve his chances further.

Crits can still play a part - in the Blinding attack example, the effect only lasts a random number of rounds. On a crit, it lasts hours.

Here's a link (http://www.montecook.com/BOIM_Cheat_Sheet.html) to a "cheat sheet" to get an idea of what's allowed in the system.

The same author also wrote Iron Heroes (http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?iron-lore) which uses a simpler system of manuevers, but relies on that system's changes to AC (Armor becomes DR and characters get a Class Defense Bonus) to really get a wide range of actions the character can take.

Oh, and what does P.E.A.C.H. stand for? (Pretty Easy Acrimonious Critical Hits?)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
hawaiianbrian 03-19-06, 08:25 AM	I was reading some discussions on critical hits elsewhere on these boards, where someone said something to the effect that, "it is assumed characters are always going for the most sensitive and damaging areas when they attack," so the idea of called shots and area-specific criticals were removed from the game. I've seen other systems where area-specific crits were done through pretty arcane tables where you roll d100% or some other die combo, consult a chart, and possibly make some more rolls from there. So I got to thinking: what if D&D characters want to specifically go for a certain body part with their crit roll, like the dragon's eyes or something? And here's what I came up with: To score one of the critical hits below, you must first indicate that you are “calling” your criticals to target one of several areas of the body. Unless you do this, you are assumed to be attacking as normal (normal critical hits may be piercing organs, but nothing that would prove instantly fatal or uniquely debilitating). Attack as normal. Depending on where you are targetting, you will be at a penalty to your attack, from -2 for a limb, to -8 for a fine/diminutive organ like an eye. If you manage to score a critical hit, you may now “spend” the damage you would otherwise have gained from that critical on alternate results from the chart below. You will still do at least one die of damage. You can spend as many critical multipliers as you like, if you are entitled to more than x2, but must at least spend one. Different body parts have different effects, and the degree of effect depends on the size of the critical. Except where noted, effects do stack -- so, for example, two regular x2 criticals spent on shots to the legs would result in a -10 to the creature’s movement rate. In the case of creatures which use the same limb for both movement and attacking, the critical hit only applies to one effect. All damage done in this way heals in a number of days equal to the multiplier, or with a cure spell as 2 hit points times the multiplier, except x5 criticals which are permanent and require a restoration spell to heal. As always, constructs, oozes, and undead are immune to these results. Foot/Leg -2 to hit x1: -5 to the creature’s movement rate. x2: -5 to movement rate, -1 to Dex and Str checks that involve legs. x3: -10 to movement rate, Cannot run or charge, -5 Jump and Swim checks, -2 to Dex and Str checks that involve the legs. x4: Limb severed. Creature’s movement rate halved, and it suffers a permanent -5 to Dex and Str checks that involve the legs. If all the creature's legs/feet are severed, its movement rate is reduced to 5 maximum. Hand/Arm -2 to hit x1: -1 to the creature’s Base Attack Bonus. x2: -1 to BAB, -1 to Strength-based skill checks. x3: -2 to BAB, -1 to Str-based skills, -1 to Strength attribute. x4: Limb severed. -2 to BAB, creatures without Multiattack or Two-Weapon fighting must make all attacks with the offhand, and suffer a permanent -5 to Str checks that involve the arms. If all limbs are severed, the creature cannot attack or perform actions needing arms/hands at all. Wing/Fin -2 to hit x1: -5 to the creature’s fly movement speed. x2: -10 to the creature’s fly movement speed or drop its manueverability by one level (minimum clumsy). x3: -10 to the creature’s fly movement speed and drop its maneuverability by one level (minimum clumsy). x4: Wing severed. Creature’s fly speed is halved and its maneuverability is automatically reduced to clumsy. Tail/Tentacle -2 to hit x1: -1 to the creature’s Dexterity-based checks. x2: -2 to Dexterity-based checks. x3: -2 to Dexterity-based checks, plus creature must make Balance check (DC equal to damage dealt) or fall prone. x4: Limb severed. -3 to Dexterity-based checks, creature is immediately prone and must make a Balance check DC 10 to stand every round. If the creature uses the limb to attack, that attack is removed. A creature who has lost all its tentacles might not be able to move or attack at all. Lungs/Throat/Gills -5 to hit x1: Winded, suffering -1 to rolls after 1 minute of exertion (like combat). x2: Wheezing, suffering -2 to rolls during any type of exertion (including combat). x3: Gasping, suffering as per fatigue. x4: Lungs punctured. Creature begins drowing, and will die in 3 rounds unless healed. If throat hit with a slashing weapon, the attack cuts off the head. Head/Brain -5 to hit x1: Dazzled for 1d4 rounds, -1 to checks involving Intelligence. x2: Stunned for 1d4 rounds, -1 Intelligence. x3: Knocked unconscious, is dazzled for the rest of the day, and suffers -1 to Intelligence. x4: Creature suffers ireperable brain damage, taking -2 to Intelligence, and forced into permanent catatonic state (dazed). Spine -5 to hit x1: -1 to all rolls involving physical exertion. x2: -1 to rolls involving physical exertion, and suffers -1 Dexterity. x3: Paralyzed for 1 round, is at -2 to rolls involving physical exertion, and suffers -2 Dexterity. x4: Spine cut. Creature is permanently paralyzed and cannot move any limbs. Ears -8 to hit x1: Ears are ringing, suffering -1 to Listen and Initiative checks. x2: Ears ringing, -1 to Listen and Initiative checks and has a 5% chance of spell failure when casting spells with verbal components. x3: -2 to Listen and Initiative checks and has a 5% chance of spell failure when casting spells with verbal components. x4: Ear severed or permanently damaged. Creature is at -2 to Listen and Initiative checks and has a 10% chance of spell failure when casting spells with verbal components. Creatures who have suffered such damage to all ears are deafened. Eyes -8 to hit x1: Dazzled for 1d4 rounds. x2: Dazzled and suffers a -1 penalty to AC. x3: Dazzled, -1 penalty to AC, -1 to all skill checks involving vision, and 10% miss chance in combat. x4: Eye is destroyed. Unless the creature has more than two eyes, its depth perception is ruined, resulting in -2 to all attacks and 20% miss chance in combat, as well as a -2 penalty to AC and -5 to all skill checks requiring vision. Creatures who have suffered such damage to all eyes are blind. Heart -8 to hit x1: -1 Constitution. x2: -1 Consitution, creature is fatigued. x3: -1 Consitution, make a Con check (DC = damage taken) every round or lose 1d6 additional hit points, creature is fatigued and stunned. x4: Heart is destroyed. Creature immediately falls to -1 hit points and is dying. As you can see, the real hardcore results are only possible if using weapons with a x3 crit or higher, or if the DM allows stacking crits with repeated high rolls. I use a system where every roll in the threat range is "read as a 20," add, and roll again, then for every 20 points by which you beat the opponent's AC you have a crit. Starting at x2, then adding x1 for each successive multiple of 20. So far in years of DMing the highest I've seen is a x6 crit. But using a true strike spell might help, plus I also give the players "Hero Points" which are free roll-overs. I'm also considering allowing the victim a saving throw, but if I do that I'll do away with the to hit penalty for the attacker. It's a new system and a work in progress, so I'd like to see what other hardcore D&Ders think of it. Please, no "Don't mess with the system as it is" posts -- they're not helpful. I'm experimenting in my game, not making changes to yours. If you think this system works or doesn't, I could use the feedback. Thanks! :bigeyes:
hawaiianbrian 03-19-06, 08:44 AM	Ahem... I thought an example or two might help, now that I think about it. :blush: For all crits, the first "confirmed" is x2 (or x3 - x4, depending on your weapon), then goes up by x1 for each stacked confirmed crit, if you play by that system. So three lucky crit rolls means x4 (x2 + x1 + x1). Example #1: A character with a longsword is attacking an orc barbarian and wants to cut off his hand. He will need to roll a crit "threat", then back it up four times over by rolling a 19 - 20 (lucky!). He spends his all of his crit (which is x5), so he does regular damage and off comes the hand. Example #2: A character wielding a battleaxe is attacking a monk who has something valuable and he doesn't want the monk to run away with it, so he goes for the legs. He rolls a crit "threat" and backs it up, doing x3 critical. He spends only x1 of that crit, doing double damage and lowering the monk's movement rate by -5 feet per round. Example #3: A character with a longbow is trying to shoot out a dragon's eye. Good luck! But he tries, and manages to hit that critical, confirming it twice in a row for a x3 crit, after the help of a true strike spell. He spends x2 of it (there always must remain a x1, for some damage). So he does 1d8 and the dragon is dazzled and suffers -1 to AC. Example #4: A character wielding a scythe is trying to cut the head off a wizard. He would have to roll a crit, confirm it, then confirm it again for a x5 total critical. He does 2d4 damage and off comes the head. Makes scythes pretty deadly, but then again they already are.
Oneiros 03-19-06, 12:05 PM	I dunno - you take a penalty first, then hope you roll a crit threat? (I'm assuming the penalty also applies to the crit confirmation roll?) The disadvantage vs. the highly random, unlikely nature of the payoff still puts very little of the result in the player's control, and doesn't really do much to address your initial idea of "what if D&D characters want to specifically go for a certain body part with their crit roll?" That highly variable payoff is also probably going to mean the "called shot" mechanic is going to see little use (or you'll have a unusual number of scythe weilders.) Add to that any crit which a player gets where he didn't take the penalty for a called shot, he's probably going to feel like he was somehow cheated. To give the player's a little more feeling of control, what about allowing "retro-active" called shots? That is, only after a critical threat is actually rolled does the player announce "I'm going to take off his hand!", and accepts the attack roll penalty for the confirmation roll only, when he knows the penalty he chose is going to affect the outcome of the called shot directly. However, if you go with this suggestion, I'd also do a couple of things: Increase the called shot penalty in each category by 2 Allow the target a save (better of Fort or Ref) vs. the confirmation roll to reduce the "spent" critical level by one (Stacking crits have no effect on the save; the attacker must complete his rolls and annouce how many levels he is spending before the target makes his save.) Though, if you want the players (and NPCs) to be able to really make called shots at will, I'd recommend the manuever system of The Book of Iron Might (http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?mpress_BOIM) from Malhavoc Press. This allows characters to try to inflict the type of specific injuries you mention with a normal attack roll. Basically, the player takes a large penalty to get the effect he wants (a Blinding Attack is a -30, for example), and then takes some disadvantages to his attack to counter some of the penalties. For example, if the way the player is going to make the Blinding Attack would provoke an AoO that could completely counter the manuever, that adds +10 to his attack. He can take other disadvantages besides to improve his chances further. Crits can still play a part - in the Blinding attack example, the effect only lasts a random number of rounds. On a crit, it lasts hours. Here's a link (http://www.montecook.com/BOIM_Cheat_Sheet.html) to a "cheat sheet" to get an idea of what's allowed in the system. The same author also wrote Iron Heroes (http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?iron-lore) which uses a simpler system of manuevers, but relies on that system's changes to AC (Armor becomes DR and characters get a Class Defense Bonus) to really get a wide range of actions the character can take. Oh, and what does P.E.A.C.H. stand for? (Pretty Easy Acrimonious Critical Hits?)