Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Tigron321 08-22-07, 02:41 PM	Alright, so I got a ranger in my group here that's going to call her shots. You know, Aiming for certin body parts on certin creatures. So how do I adjust the to hit ratio? Okay, aiming at an eye would be harder to hit, but what about aiming at a orc's head. Would that be considered a critcal hit if she hit it?
Salla 08-22-07, 03:27 PM	There are no rules for called shots in D&D, and this is a good thing. In short, she cannot do this. If she wants special effects on her shots, she should take class features or feats to account for such (like Sneak Attack or Improved Critical).
Dragonsblood 08-22-07, 03:44 PM	You don't let her. I have a ranger in my group who does the same thing. I let him say where he's aiming if he wants to (and usually he does), let him roll to-hit as normal, then I say where it actually hits based on the damage he does. If he called a shot to the head (or other vital area), but didn't deal enough damage to normally kill his mark, I say he hit the enemy in the shoulder, or he skinned the side of his head, or something similar. He does not gain any mechanical advantage (or disadvantage) by calling shots, but he satisfied with a colorful description.
Senevri 08-22-07, 04:11 PM	Actually, recently I've come to consider this, and I think I may allow them: Called Shot<tactical> Prerequisite: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Far Shot By targeting a specific, more vulnerable, but harder to inflict area, you cause more damage to your opponent. piercing shot You may take a voluntary penalty to your attack roll (up to a maximum of +5), and gain twice that much as an extra damage to your ranged attack. Slow 'em down By taking a penalty of -4 to your next attack, you may strike the opponent's feet and reduce their movement by 5ft. The opponent takes only half damage from this attack. Something like that, maybe.
Tigron321 08-22-07, 04:12 PM	okay great, Thanks.
Vharuck 08-22-07, 04:13 PM	First off, in a fight, you'll take whatever shot you can get best that you think will do the most damage. You are always trying to attack the most vulnerable points, it's just that you don't always hit them and they're not always open. To say that the character benefits from aiming at a vital organ is saying that the character will never shoot at any other vital organ otherwise. Second off, the system has methods of hitting vital points. Critical hits, sneak attack, death attack, true strike, stunning blow, trip, flanking, etc. And called shots either buff the PCs considerably if they're the only ones doing it, or if the NPCs call shots too then the PCs will suffer from the inevitable dismemberment or afflicted handicap.
dknight100 08-22-07, 07:42 PM	Unless you house rule it in, "called shots" would be precision based damage, i.e. a sneak attack or similar effect. If you do want to house rule it in, keep in mind that anything that increases the randomness of the combat, and is applied evenly, always favours NPCs over the PC's. I.e. Player 1: I shoot orc #1 in the head (it dies). Result: 1 dead orc, who cares. Orc #2: I shoot that PC in the head (PC 1 dies) Result: A dead player.
Sleepwalker13666 08-23-07, 01:33 AM	AEG has a book called swashbuckling adventures, it's a really good book (some of the feats and prcs need some rebalance) but they have a called shot system that is pretty well balanced, you take various penalties to attack roles depending on what you want to hit, in response you receive some extra damage and maybe an additional effect such as slowed movement for hitting legs. They have BAB prereqs to make certain called shots, for example if you do not have a BAB of 12 you can not attempt an eye shot, despite the -8 to do so.
Dragonsblood 08-23-07, 01:53 AM	Unless you house rule it in, "called shots" would be precision based damage, i.e. a sneak attack or similar effect. If you do want to house rule it in, keep in mind that anything that increases the randomness of the combat, and is applied evenly, always favours NPCs over the PC's. I.e. Player 1: I shoot orc #1 in the head (it dies). Result: 1 dead orc, who cares. Orc #2: I shoot that PC in the head (PC 1 dies) Result: A dead player. Oh my God you kill your players when the PC dies?? :shocked:
dknight100 08-23-07, 01:56 AM	Oh my God you kill your players when the PC dies?? :shocked: :confused: You're not supposed to?! oh crap
Shaggy_Shaggs 08-23-07, 02:10 AM	Point her toward feats and class features that can emulate what she wants to do. For example, the other day I was thinking about making a character that specialized in sneaking up and kicking folks in the family jewels. I ended up putting together a Monk 1/Rogue 19 setup with relevant feats Stunning Fist, Ascetic Rogue, Craven, and Hamstring, and relevant class ability Crippling Strike. Result: An unarmed attack that, when executed with surprise, does 2d10+8d6+20 (average 59) damage, 2 Strength damage, halves the victim's movement rate for 24 hours or until they receive healing, and forces a (DC 22 + Wis mod) Fort save or leaves the target stunned. That is a kick in the jewels, no called shot required.
Sleepwalker13666 08-23-07, 02:56 AM	:confused: You're not supposed to?! oh crap Maybe that's why I have trouble keeping players in my group. Me: "Hey Tucker you comin to the game tonight?" Tucker: "Uh..you know I'm not sure that your groups right for me." Me: "Oh come on, it's not my fault Jen was such a bleeder, I already said I'm sorry about your shirt."
arderkrag 08-23-07, 03:12 AM	I allow call shots. Check out the rules of my rpg (in my sig ) for a description (in the second part of the files for the game).
Voran 08-24-07, 08:55 PM	I'd be fine with a Power Attack type version of "Called Shot" as Senevri provided. But coming up with a GURPS like table of "Eye/Head/Arm/Groin/etc" stuff of Hit Penalties versus Damage or crit bonuses, can get a little tedious. Plus players start screaming bloody murder when you start having baddies calling shots back on them.