Comments on: Ideal RPG: The Crit System

By: Dyson Logos

Dyson Logos — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:58:03 +0000

What I liked was how WHFRP didn’t actually have those as Critical hits as we know them. Those tables were rolled on once you had no hit points left. Your hit points (Wounds) were an abstract representation of your ability to avoid real damage, whereas the crits are what you got when you ran out of them.

By: Wolfgod

Wolfgod — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 02:41:52 +0000

You know, Wounds and Vitality would kinda lend itself to this. If you went below 0 Wounds, you could have a lasting injury, not just be KO’d.

By: NFG

NFG — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:14:21 +0000

I agree with Knightfall. However, then we need a chart or something to decide the damage done. Or perhaps the GM could just decide based on the actions in combat but a random chart might also be nice.

So far as game play goes, I understand what Joshua was saying about the heroes taking more damage over time but these kinds of crits will also add a level of threat that will keep the players from becoming complacent in the game too. IMO.

Good thread this one…

By: Wolfgod

Wolfgod — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:24:58 +0000

I like this a lot. Heck, we’ve got magical healing.

By: KnightFall

KnightFall — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:39:08 +0000

I’ve always preferred the confirm a crit method to a 20 automatically being a crit. You could always add the house rule that a 20 on the confirmation roll results in a permanent injury. That way the player or DM has to roll two 20s in a row, something that is rare but not impossible.

By: The Recursion King

The Recursion King — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:51:13 +0000

The critical hit house rules I use with my gamer group don’t factor in permanent damage to players; they favour the player.

If the HD is the same or less than the hero that rolls a natural 20, its an instant kill. Bye bye monster. If the HD is more than the hero, its maximum damage.

If the natural 20 is rolled by a monster against a hero, its just +1 damage caused.

This heavily skews the critical hit system in the character’s favour, but as natural 20s are always hits using these house rules and the fact (that the above poster points out) that heroes are going to take a lot more criticals than the enemy, I think it balances out. It’s also fun for a player to score an instant kill… or panic when he doesnt because he’s just found out his opponent is more powerful than he is…

As for incorporating permanent injury into games on a critical hit system; I’d do some experimenting first. It needs to be rare enough that players wont cry foul over it, I think.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:52:20 +0000

The problem with this, as with most crits systems, is that over the course of their careers PCs are going to take a lot more hits than they’ll give. It becomes a matter of when will they get crippled or disfigured, not if, so you and your players should probably figure out what happens then. Is there some source of magical healing enough to fix it? If they have to retire a character do they start over from scratch or bring one in at the party’s level, etc.