i had this idea for called shots:
a player would name a target, then roll 2d20 (keep highest).
the DM would determine DC and consult a table like this:
very hard: 20 only hits (9.8%)
hard: 19-20 hits (19.1%)
medium 17-20 hits (36.2%)
easy: 15-20 hits (51.3%)
or:
a player would name a target, then roll 3d20 (keep highest).
the DM would determine DC and consult a table like this:
very hard: 20 only hits (14.3%)
hard: 19-20 hits (27.1%)
medium: 18-20 hits (38.6%)
easy: 17-20 hits (48.8%)
what do you guys think?
Your PC is already making called shots, they're trying to hit the enemy as hard as they can in as vulnerable a spot as they can. That is what a hit is. Some characters are really good at it and get sneak attack.
i'm thinking of targetting specific parts of an enemy so as to get an advantage or change the tactical situation.
such as: hitting a 1 eyed creature in the eye so as to blind it, hitting a villain in the hand so he drops the treasure he
is trying to run away with, disabling a single goblin at long distance so it can't run way and warn it's tribe,
hitting that chandelier so it drops on the cultist's head and messes up his ritual, etc etc.
stuff like that.
The problem is implementation, See you have to do someting in order to make calling the shot worth wile, but at the same time there has to be a cost otherwise people would do it all the time, some games reduce accuracy to compensate, and DnD has a tradition of trading the damage for a maneuver, btu taht really doesn't make sense here.
Some games make a hit to a location a simple fact of taking an attack or a crit and randomly assign such locations in the eventof such.
The best way I've seen to handle it is in tephra where you can simply invest more action points to turn an attack into a called shot without screwing up the rest of the accuracy/damage of your attack. Tephra doesn't have move actions, standard actions or such, characters have a pool of points that increase with level and every action has a point cost.
For 5e I would suggest is trading out the bonus action in exchange for the called shot.
I would simply require the PC to hit by five or more, making it a reversed version of the hazard rules we saw in the playtest..
MechaPilot wrote:
For basic called shots have a temporary effect that's nto to bad, for critical calle dshots maybe something a litle more lingering.
Also seriously reconsider the 5 or more idea, it really doens't mesh with the idea that this is intentional. Bonus action expenditure seems more in line with the concept.
Diffan wrote:
rampant wrote:
Ok then every shot is gonnabe a calle dshot since there's no cost to declaring it.
rampant wrote:
You could just impose Disadvantage on called shots; of course that would allow Advantage to negate the penalty.
I don't mind the "exceed by 5 or more" rule though; it allows for the possiblity of getting a normal hit, even if the called shot doesn't succeed.
DaveyJones6913 wrote:
Orethalion wrote:
MIne's packed away, but the 2nd Ed Complete Fighter's Handbook had some cool variant rules for things like Called Shots (Numbed and Useless points).
DaveyJones6913 wrote:
When you say exceed by five people don't automatically assume that missing the new target means you miss the old one. So I'm interpretting the exceed by 5 to mean that you can make any attack a called shot and if you get the required 5 extra you get the called shot bennies, but if you don't get the extra five you can still hit normaly. Which means there's no downside to making a called shot.
The Accuracy penalty approach never really works well, because either called shots are too expensive to be worthwile or so cheap that they become SOP.
Charging the bonus action seems appropriate because it represents extra time and focus to set up your shot, forces you to make a choice because most characters get nice bonus actions eventually, and doesn't keep you from being able to use called shots when you need them, against tough foes who you need to disable a specific location in order to do the job.
rampant wrote:
Called Shots are actually quite easy to implement in 5e. There are a few simple ways to do it. You can pick the best one for the situation.
Method #1. The attacker has Disadvantage on the attack.
Use this when the the Called Shot would be significantly harder to make.
Method #2. The defender has Cover.
Use this when the location you are trying to hit is small or obscured by something. Depending on the amount of Cover, the target will have +2 or +5 AC against the attack.
Effects of Called Shots.
Once you pick a method to resolve if the Called Shot hits, you need to pick an effect. Usually this will be obvious. If the effect is something a creature can try to avoid, then allow a Saving Throw. Otherwise, key your effect based upon the damage done on the attack.
Examples of Called Shots in play.
Shooting a potion out of a creature's hands with an arrow. The DM rules that the shot is tough to make and imposes Disadvantage on the attack. If the Called Shot hits, the target must make a Strength Saving Throw (DC 5 + damage done) or drop the item.
actually the idea was to keep it simple; reduced hit probability for a more specific effect.
you still roll damage, and the DM decides just how much it effects combat.
and WTF do monstes have eyes for if PC's cant poke them out?
DaveyJones6913 wrote:
FFSAA wrote:
Ramzour wrote:
let me just spell this out so there won't be any more misunderstandings:
(though i thought i was typing english)
the idea is to enhance the chances effect of a hit with a condition by sacrificing a measure of to hit probability.
conditions, limitations and prerequisites would apply,
HP, AC, etc apply as usual, nothing else changes.
the only reference would be one for DC which would be no different then encounter DC
in terms of its complexity and operation.
DaveyJones6913 wrote:
DaveyJones6913 wrote:
Have a player say what they're trying to do.
Have them roll with Disadvantage.
As a DM, take into account if they hit, and how much damage they do, and then let them know if the "called shot" was successful and what it's impact is.
Novacat wrote:
I still don't get know why you would want to complicate things with this clunky new mechanic instead of using the existing rules. Seems much easier to just give Disadvantage on the attack roll. It's a much more simple method and it already works with the other existing rules.
But there's no reason the math needs to be that complicated. If character abilities aren't a factor, a DM could just roll percentile dice.
Savage Worlds handled called shots by making all attacks touch attacks, handling armor by the piece's location, and having armor affect toughness.
So if you were wearing a breastplate, someone might send a called shot at your less-armored limbs with a slight penalty to hit. If they hit, they do more damage because there's less armor to get through. That doesn't work so well in 5E for many reasons. Still, you could follow the idea...
Called Shot in 5E: disadvantage on the attack roll, but the DM assesses the AC of the target location. If the target location is unarmored (head, limb, etc.), the AC is reduced to 10 + Dex (or whatever, c.f. monks). Max Dexterity modifiers from worn armor applies. e.g. a creature with a +3 Dex modifier is wearing a breastplate (AC 16) and is targeted by a called shot to its unarmored face. The attacker rolls with disadvantage against AC 12, since breastplate imposes a maximum of +2 to their Dex modifier. If the attack hits even with disadvantage, the attack deals damage normally.
You can start to see some laws emerging from this idea, namely that you never bother using called shots if the difference between the normal AC and target AC is less than 3, since that's the net penalty conferred by disadvantage.
Of course, this worked better in SW because the penalties imposed on the roll increased with inverse proportionality to the size of the target. Calling a shot on someone's arm was a -2, whereas calling a shot on the eye slit in their visor was a -8. 5E doesn't allow "stacking disadvantage", so this brainstorm ends here.
ok this is the 4th time i have to explain this, so at this point you have given me the right be snooty about it.
-there is no more math involved then anything you have suggested so far.
you suggest a flat modifier, i suggest a to hit number. what is the difference?
-the point is to have DIFFERENT dificulty levels for DIFFERENT situations instead
of having one crude modifier to account for any and all situations.
what about any of this is so damn hard to understand?
32 post and not one of them actually commenting on what i actually posted.
i give up! you people are ****ing useless.
DaveyJones6913 wrote:
Honestly, I think the battlemaster maneuvers provide a good framework for called shots.
Anyonecan replicate the effects of a battlemaster maneuver by making a called shot. When you do so, you suffer disadvantage on your attack, and if it hits you get the effect of the desired maneuver. You do not gain the bonus damage when making a called shot and your superiority die is only a d6.
Ex called shot to the legs to replicate trip attack.
Make an attack with disadvantage. If you hit a Large or smaller target, your target must make a Dex save or fall prone.
Anything more potent than battlemaster maneuver probably shouldn't be something that can be improvised at-will.
DaveyJones6913 wrote:
DaveyJones6913 wrote:
Ramzour's suggestion literally does everything you are trying to achieve with your rule. It modifies the difficulty of the action by making the target number higher and/or manipulating the probability curve with a dice trick. It gives multiple different options for different degrees of difficulty (1/2 cover for easy, 3/4 cover for moderate, disadvantage for hard, and a combination of disadvantage and cover for very hard). The player describes what they want to do, the DM assigns a difficulty, and the player rolls. If they do not meet the DC, they miss. If they meet the DC, the DM describes the appropriate results. The basic idea is identical to yours, the only difference is that his version piggybacks on the existing rules of the game to create the difficulty modifiers, while yours creates an entirely new resolution mechanic involving multiple dice and tables.
Removed some name-calling and personal attacks.
http://company.wizards.com/policies/web/conduct
Keep it clean.
I'd just like to say that these basic mechanics should have been included in the core of the game. We shouldn't be having to cobble together something TSR did in 1995 to play 5e. in 2014. I want to use tactics amd manuevers in combat without being a Battlemaster fighter or choosing a feat for a lousy d6. 
Brightmantle wrote:
Nope, perhaps more like 3.5. I don't want to play 4e. Thank you very much for the suggestion.
Last knight one of the players in the group I'm DMing wanted to put an arrow in an enemys knee (no - it was NOT a guard from Skyrim) to keep him from running. The player attacked with disadvantage. I ruled that the enemy took no damage, but instead his movement was halved if th player succeed on his attack.
I don't think I would allow them to blind a creature so easily, though!