Alzrius
The EN World kitten
The Critonomicon is a sourcebook of critical hits (and fumbles) from Technomancer Press. Ninety-four pages long, the book is thermal bound between a pair of orange covers. The front cover depicts generic figures being killed in rather amusing ways (the majority of which seem to be fumbles). The book has only one piece of interior artwork, a black-and-white image of a rather ferocious dragon just after the table of contents.
The cover reads that the book is compatible with any RPG system, and while that’s true, there’s a definite nod to the d20 system in the book. Many (though by no means all) of the critical hit tables work by adding to the critical multiplier, for example. Likewise, the spell critical tables are broken down by d20 schools of magic and spell levels, even referencing d20 spells.
The major strength of the Critonomicon, however, is the staggering multiplicity of critical hit and fumble tables it introduces. In the first four pages, we’re given differing critical hit charts that use a d6, a d20, and a d100. And that is, quite literally, just the beginning. There are charts here that are designed to have special results (“skull cleaved in two (crown to neck); immediate death”); charts that cross-index body location with type of weapon (piercing/slashing/bludgeoning/bite); tables specific to each weapon type, both melee and ranged (to say nothing of the bullet and laser blaster tables); and specific hits for types of opponents such as mounted enemies, flyers, swimmers, and undead (providing an undead critical hit charts that, very creatively, says you can still inflict critical damage if you’re literally crushing body parts), and that’s still not all of the critical hit tables you’ll find here.
And that’s only the first third of the book.
After this come the fumble tables. Much like the crit charts, these cover a wide range, from what type of dice you want to roll, to weapon types, to even fumble types; if you want comedic fumbles or fumbles that damage the fumbler, you’ll find them here. Altogether, this covers another third of the book.
The last third of the book covers spell fumbles. Calling them fumbles, however, is something of a misnomer. While it’s true that these only happen when a spell is botched (this section opens with a discussion of when to use these tables), the effects are wild magic, with unpredictable effects that can range from the caster being struck by lightning, to gaining massive ability score bonuses for a short time, or quite a few other effects.
After giving several different unified spell fumble tables, the book then gives tables for each of the nine schools of magic (the eight standard schools plus Universal). Each school is broken down into sub-tables for spell levels 1-3, 4-6, and 7-9. The book ends with a quick mention that divine spells do not fumble; when they fail, they simply don’t happen. That said, there’s no reason why divine spellcasters couldn’t use these tables also.
There can be no question that the Critonomicon is, quite simply, the last word in critical hits for your role-playing game. The incredible variety of tables it offers is matched only by how useful and varied they are, making it a virtual guarantee that this book will have what you’re looking for in crits and fumbles. The high degree of customization mixed with innovative results makes all other crit books obsolete. To crit, or not to crit? That is the question, and The Critonomicon is the answer.
The cover reads that the book is compatible with any RPG system, and while that’s true, there’s a definite nod to the d20 system in the book. Many (though by no means all) of the critical hit tables work by adding to the critical multiplier, for example. Likewise, the spell critical tables are broken down by d20 schools of magic and spell levels, even referencing d20 spells.
The major strength of the Critonomicon, however, is the staggering multiplicity of critical hit and fumble tables it introduces. In the first four pages, we’re given differing critical hit charts that use a d6, a d20, and a d100. And that is, quite literally, just the beginning. There are charts here that are designed to have special results (“skull cleaved in two (crown to neck); immediate death”); charts that cross-index body location with type of weapon (piercing/slashing/bludgeoning/bite); tables specific to each weapon type, both melee and ranged (to say nothing of the bullet and laser blaster tables); and specific hits for types of opponents such as mounted enemies, flyers, swimmers, and undead (providing an undead critical hit charts that, very creatively, says you can still inflict critical damage if you’re literally crushing body parts), and that’s still not all of the critical hit tables you’ll find here.
And that’s only the first third of the book.
After this come the fumble tables. Much like the crit charts, these cover a wide range, from what type of dice you want to roll, to weapon types, to even fumble types; if you want comedic fumbles or fumbles that damage the fumbler, you’ll find them here. Altogether, this covers another third of the book.
The last third of the book covers spell fumbles. Calling them fumbles, however, is something of a misnomer. While it’s true that these only happen when a spell is botched (this section opens with a discussion of when to use these tables), the effects are wild magic, with unpredictable effects that can range from the caster being struck by lightning, to gaining massive ability score bonuses for a short time, or quite a few other effects.
After giving several different unified spell fumble tables, the book then gives tables for each of the nine schools of magic (the eight standard schools plus Universal). Each school is broken down into sub-tables for spell levels 1-3, 4-6, and 7-9. The book ends with a quick mention that divine spells do not fumble; when they fail, they simply don’t happen. That said, there’s no reason why divine spellcasters couldn’t use these tables also.
There can be no question that the Critonomicon is, quite simply, the last word in critical hits for your role-playing game. The incredible variety of tables it offers is matched only by how useful and varied they are, making it a virtual guarantee that this book will have what you’re looking for in crits and fumbles. The high degree of customization mixed with innovative results makes all other crit books obsolete. To crit, or not to crit? That is the question, and The Critonomicon is the answer.
