D&D 5E Critical Hit Question

[Henrix]

You could also skip the extra damage, but describe something bad that causes impairment. An arrow to the knee can cramp anybody's style, movement, and adventuring career.

In other words; a crit is a chance to describe some suitable incident that happens. The opponents feet are swept from under him, a blow to the head knocks his helmet off and he gets -1 AC, or anything else you can think of - as long as it adds to the enjoyment of all.

 

[El Mahdi]

deleted

 

[Psikerlord#]

Dungeon Crawl Classics has dozens of crit tables. Maybe you can crib those.

do they indeed, I didnt know that... shall check them out!

 

[Lidgar]

Second for the MERP tables if you can find them. Very descriptive...

 

[Joddy37]

Well, I will advise you to prepare a simple critical effects table. With an extra die roll you can add a random detail to your combats. The first thing that comes to my mind is,

When you roll a critical hit, besides dealing normal damage, roll 1d6 for an additional result:

1: You distract your opponent. It loses its concentration or its reaction until your next turn.
2: You cripple your opponent. It loses its speed on its next turn.
3: You wound your opponent. Its maximum hp is reduced by one hit dice.
4: You disrupt your opponents offensive maneuver. Its next attack gains disadvantage.
5: You breach the defensive stance of your opponent. The next attack against it gains advantage.
6: Double your damage dice against your opponent.

You can use the same table for the critical fumbles, this time the negative effects are on you, positive ones will be on your opponent, logically.

 

[Nebulous]

do they indeed, I didnt know that... shall check them out!

Yeah, they're good, but very lethal if you roll high. Here's an example. There are many, many chart, depending on class and level. The dwarf and fighter ones tend to be much more violent and bloody than the others.

 

[the Jester]

This is my "colorful critical hits" system. The present writeup uses 4e rules references, but it should be easy enough to wing an update.


Colorful Critical hits in Cydra

Whenever a creature suffers a critical hit in Cydra, check the severity on the following table. This adds both color and deadliness to critical hits and helps scar characters up, leaving them with interesting stories to tell. The severity check is based on how much damage the character took relative to his current hit points. (This is an important part of the colorful critical hit system- otherwise, characters with high hit point totals will never take crits above 1d12 severity.)

Major Wound (less than half current hp): Roll 1d20
Grievous Wound (over ½ hp, still above 0): Roll 2d12+7
Incapacitating Wound (0 or less, still alive): Roll 3d10+16
Lethal Wound (dead): Roll 3d6+34

1- Impressive blow: marked (save ends)
2- Staggering blow: slide 1 square
3*- In the face: nose is broken (-1 Perception)
4- Knockdown: knocked prone
5- Ears ringing: deafened (save ends)
6*- Break 1d4 random digits: -1 to skill checks using the injured digit
7*- Break 1d6 ribs: -1 to speed and Fortitude
8^- Lose an ear: -1 to Perception checks
9- Lose shield or off-hand weapon: drops 1d4 squares away; if two-handed or natural weapon, target must spend a minor action to regain its grip or poise before it can attack with it again
10**- Break jaw/face: -2 to Bluff, Diplomacy and Intimidate
11- Armor or shield damaged: gains a wear point and the target suffers -1 defenses (save ends)
12- Break foot: slowed until end of next turn
13- Head shot: dazed until end of next turn
14*- Break hand: -1 to attacks with that hand
15%%- Blow to the head: deafened
16- Forehead smash: dazed (save ends)
17^- Lose a digit: if a toe, -1 to Acrobatics, if a finger, -1 to Thievery
18- Blood in eyes: blinded (save ends)
19**- Break lower leg or ankle: slowed
20**- Break lower arm or collarbone: -2 to attacks with that hand; cannot use shield
21**- Break sternum: can't run or charge, -1 Fortitude, -4 Endurance checks
22^- Nose chopped off: -4 Diplomacy, +1 Intimidate
23**- Break upper arm: unusable
24**- Break thigh: immobilized until end of next turn, slowed thereafter
25^- Eye put out: -2 Perception
26- Impaled: immobilized (save ends); may be impaled on weapon, dead body, terrain object, etc.
27^- Digits chopped off (1d5): If fingers, -2 to Thievery, if toes, -2 to Acrobatics
28*- Artery severed: ongoing 5/tier damage (save ends)
29^- Foot chopped off: fall prone, cannot stand (save ends), slowed
30^- Hand chopped off: cannot use
31^- Genitals destroyed: reproduction impossible, stunned until end of next turn
32^- Lower jaw ripped free: stunned (save ends), -4 Bluff and Diplomacy, +1 Intimidate
33%- Gutted: slowed; every time you take a move action make a moderate Acrobatics check or tangle feet, fall prone and suffer 5/tier damage; dazed and -2 defenses (save ends)
34^- Vocal cords ruined: -2 Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate; cannot speak
35^- Hamstrung: slowed
36**- Muscle damage: weakened
37- Terrific blow: unconscious (save ends)
38%%- Organ damage: weakened
39^- Leg chopped off: fall prone, cannot stand (save ends), immobilized
40^- Arm chopped off: cannot use, stunned (save ends)
41*- Knockout blow: unconscious
42%%- Brain damage: -4 to Intelligence and Wisdom-based skills
43^- Eyes put out: blinded
44%%- Rendered comatose: unconscious
45^- Spine shattered: paralyzed (roll 1d6: 1- total, 2- neck down, 3- waist down, 4- left side, 5- right side, 6- one random limb only)
46- Throat slit: ongoing 15/tier damage (save at -4 ends); Aftereffect: ongoing 10/tier damage (save ends); Aftereffect: ongoing 5/tier damage (save ends)
47^- Heart destroyed: slowed and weakened
48^- Brain destroyed: -8 to Intelligence and Wisdom-based checks
49^- Decapitated: blinded, deafened and stunned
50^^- Unseemed from nave to crotch: slowed, helpless and stunned
51^^- Head pulped: blinded, deafened, stunned and hard to find all the bits (spread over 3d6 square radius)
52^^- Cut in twain: immobilized, helpless and stunned
53^^- Cut in thirds: immobilized, helpless and stunned
54^^- Utterly dismembered: immobilized, helpless, stunned and ongoing 10/tier damage
55^^- Entire body explodes: immobilized, helpless, blind, deaf, stunned, ongoing 20/tier damage and spread over 3d10 square radius

An effect is alleviated when it is properly treated. An alleviated condition may still exist but no longer penalizes the victim (a broken arm is splinted or fixed in place, a sucking chest wound is sealed with something, etc).

Some critical hits remove limbs and impose a penalty.

*Any healing will alleviate this condition.
**Healing that restores hit points equal to the character's surge value will alleviate this condition.
%This condition is alleviated when the character is restored to full hit points.
%%This condition is alleviated by a remove affliction ritual or similar effect.
^This condition is alleviated by a regenerate ritual or similar effect.
^^This condition requires both a regenerate and a raise dead ritual or similar effects to alleviate it (even if the victim is somehow alive).

 

[Grunker]

I use the Pathfinder critical hit and fumble decks, with a couple of house rules

 

[Inez Hull]

Critical hits are often not a good match for D&D's abstract hit points. It may be helpful to first discuss with your group what your shared understanding is of what hit points, hit point damage, and critical hits represent. Also consider exactly what you want your critical hit system to do for you such as: increase deadliness of combat, introduce lasting consequences for participating in combat, increase "realism" of combat, and how your critical system will achieve this.

Another option is to use a death & dismemberment table, which gives specific wound results, however is rolled on when hit points are reduced to zero instead of on a natural 20. This has the effect of criticals/wounds generally occurring less often than for rolls of 20 but the impact is usually more deadly.

 

[Ilbranteloth]

This is how we handle criticals:

Critical Hit
20 = Automatic hit; roll damage (including modifiers) twice
Target makes CON save (DC 10 + attack bonus) or suffers an injury

If target’s CON save fails by 5 or more:
Bludgeoning attack, the target is knocked Unconscious
Slashing attack, at start of each subsequent turn target repeats CON save or suffers bleeding damage
Piercing or nonlethal attack, the target is stunned; at the beginning of each turn the target repeats CON save or remains stunned
A successful save, natural or magical healing ends bleeding/stunned

Critical Miss
1 = Automatic miss and suffer opportunity attack
If firing into melee, roll attack to possibly hit an ally in the melee

Injuries
+1 level of exhaustion per injury
Recovery (one attempt daily)
3 Death saves = recover 1 level
3 Death fails = worsen 1 level
Natural 20 = recover 1 level
Natural 1 = worsen 1 level
Reduced to dying = permanent effect (determined by DM/player)
1 level for Greater Restoration
Lesser Restoration = additional Death save (disease only)

We've also modified the exhaustion table:
1- Disadvantage on attacks/saves/checks
2- Speed halved
3- Hit Point max halved
4- Incapacitated and cannot move
5- Unconscious
6- Dying
Recovery (one attempt per day)
1 level after long rest
1 level for Greater Restoration

And Unconsious:
Incapacitated; unaware
Cannot move or speak
Fails STR and DEX saves
Attackers have advantage
Hits within 5’ are critical
Recovery (one attempt per round)
3 Death saves = +1 hp and conscious
Natural 20 = +1 hp and conscious
Death fails = no effect

These all work together to make a simple but robust system. One of the (2nd level) characters suffered a critical and then was knocked to 0 hit points by the next attack. So he's now suffering disadvantage on all checks, and moving at half speed. He made his first death save, but he won't fully recover for at least 5 more days. Since my description of the attack was that he was slammed in the chest (surprise ambush while walking through a door), we're describing the injury as bruised/fractured ribs.

And he was specifically targeted, and the first two characters through the door failed their Perception checks miserably. They were already being cautious in battle, but now that they're seeing the effects in use they are being more cautious about who they attack, and their tactics when they do.

Ilbranteloth