Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Stev Beren 08-02-06, 09:14 PM	Please, lets avoid the sarcasm> Only reply if you have some constructive critisism. Negative is fine, just not . . negative negative. On a natural twenty roll another d20 and add it to the total, on a natural one, roll another d20 and subtract it from the total. This leaves in somewhat of a "Lucky strike" potential, without the negation of skill - that first level Kobold is still unlikely to hit the epic level fighter. .unless he just keeps rolling twenties and adding. . and the Epic fighter is frankly unliekly to miss even on that natural one. Just considering it, and looking for feedback> I AM including some variety of crit hit/fumble, as per my preference and my player's preference, so I'm just tryign to find the most equitable sort. Other options are welcome.
theblindman 08-03-06, 12:59 PM	I like it, but it's not really a system for "critical" (as in x2 damage) hits or fumbles. Or am I reading it wrong? I like that it still gives low-level characters a chance to hit high-level characters without the "1-in-20 attacks always hits" reasoning.
Goblinchaser 08-03-06, 08:43 PM	I used an "open ended" roll such as that in my game, where a 20 was not an auto success, but they would roll, "natural 20" roll again add that to the bonus, if another 20 was rolled, roll again. Rolemaster works off a similiar progression. It worked well but the end result was not meaningful, usually most character would hit on a 20, with out the "20 always succeeds" rule in place aside from the mage. With tables, for special effects I assume it would work, but was not a complexity that I was willing to add to the game at the time. I do occasionally have them reroll a natural 20 on confirm to hit in a climatic battle, and perhaps if the third roll is a hit, perhaps add a x1 in addition to the damamge, or special effect, blindness etc, if the attack would have resulted in kill, it was a memorable Death... Let me know what you come up with for a Crit Table... Likewise I used the fumble table, but found that fumbles hurt PC's more than anything since many of the creatures that they combat have Natural weapons, and its hard to drop a claw, and I cant see a Dragon biting itself... so I ditched it, along with the standard House rule of open ended rolls unless I feel it is cinematically important...
Arcade 08-04-06, 10:52 AM	This is a fairly standard variant that I use myself. I only pull it into play at higher levels where the discrepancy between AC/BAB or DC/saves are large enough to warrant the open ended rolls. Otherwise, it's an extra roll that doesn't add much to the game. But at high levels, especially with insta-kill spells, I definitely use it. Though it is slightly more complicated, on a natural 20, you should add the next die result to 19 (or add 20 subtract 1 if your mind works easier that way). This way you get a result of 20-39 instead of 21-40. The only reason this is important is so a result of 20 is possible instead of jumping from 19 straight to 21. Similarly, on a natural 1, subtract the second roll from 2.
Shinryouga 08-06-06, 05:40 PM	I've been using this rule (nat 20+1d20/nat1-1d20) for several years now, and here's my observations of it. It works just fine. Its the "rolling" variant of the "taking ten" variant where you treat it as +10 or -10. In the end, the people who should be hitting or missing are still hitting or missing. I find it has the biggest benefit for PCs with high defense. Example: Paladin with combat expertise, shield specialization, buffed up full plate and heavy shield = AC 31 when expertising at around 7th level. Hill giants with +17 to attack still hit him just as often, because they can hit him on a 14+ without the house rule. But when the pack of 8 bugbears attacks, his armor class really shines because they previously needed natural 20's to hit before the house rule, now they need natural 20s followed by a roll of 5 or better. Their "hit chance" drops from 5%, to 1.25% (I think, dont quote my math, you get the idea) So to sum up: CON: 1 extra dice roll when a nat 20/1 is rolled. PRO: Rewards PCs who invest in defense. Allows for dramatic 1 in a million shots, but technically makes them no more or less likely than the core rules. Just my two coppers.