Critical Hits for Undead, Constructs...

[Grazzt]

The notion of a golems arms and legs crawling toward me when he has no torso left seems silly....

And the notion of fire-breathing dragons, spell-throwing monsters and humans, and magic swords that fight on their own is not? C'mon now, its D&D, remember.

 

[Aeris Winterood]

What????

And the notion of fire-breathing dragons, spell-throwing monsters and humans, and magic swords that fight on their own is not? C'mon now, its D&D, remember.

You mean this is a game???? Surely you jest!!!!!


It is a game.... and I think I shall allow massive damage in mine! heheheee

I was hoping someone would convince me that my thinking was wrong.. but no one has yet...

 

[alsih2o]

Imagine you cut the head off of a zombie ... and it continues to attack. Or a clay golem, made entirely of clay and merely shaped to resemble alsih20 hit in any part of it's anatomy ... it continues to function.

my golems are much prettier than this

 

[Grazzt]

Re: What????

I was hoping someone would convince me that my thinking was wrong.. but no one has yet...

(in my best Ben Kenobi voice mimicking the scene from Star Wars):

"Your way of thinking is wrong. These aren't the rules you are looking for."

 

[alsih2o]

perchance you could house rule something where crit slowed these critters or reduced their number of attacks. this seems to take both sides of the argument into account.

 

[Felon]

Re: What????

I was hoping someone would convince me that my thinking was wrong.. but no one has yet...

Aeris, it's been explained to you plainly and simply. You casually reject it. You're not hoping all that hard.

These effects you're talking about--like taking out a golem's leg--don't happen in D&D. Not to flesh and blood living people, so why why should it impair a chunk of granite? You fight to zero, then drop.

Ok... you just made my point..... Yes, a blow like such may instantly kill a live humanoid... but it critically did damage to the undead.... may kill it.. may not... but it was hit by a tremendous strike... which may or may not "slay" it.

As I said, the tremendous hit is represented by rolling maximum damage. It hurts the undead more severely than rolling minimum damage, but thanks to crit immunity the deadite just keeps coming.

 

[Aeris Winterood]

Re: Re: What????

Aeris, it's been explained to you plainly and simply. You casually reject it. You're not hoping all that hard.

These effects you're talking about--like taking out a golem's leg--don't happen in D&D. Not to flesh and blood living people, so why why should it impair a chunk of granite? You fight to zero, then drop.

It doesnt happen in D&D???? Maybe in your campaigns... but in those i DM or play in those things DO happen.... Such acts are described by the DM when the dice fall where they may... We just dont exclaim, "I did 5 points of damage. Is it dead?" that 5 points may be... " You cleave a chunk of shoulder from the zombie as he tries to claw you..."

Guess it depends upon who or what game you play....

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

That's the point the others are making too ... all of that description is just flavor text; there's no rule mechanics attached to it to say "5 points of damage = leg severed, can no longer walk" or whatever (pick up Bastion Press' "Torn Asunder: Critical Hits" when it comes out if you want rules for that sort of thing, BTW).

I do the same thing in my game, as DM, depending on the creature's HP and damage dealt ... "You strike the creature a glancing blow, opening a gash in one arm" (hit 4th level fighter for 5 hp damage). It isn't until the creature's last HP ebbs away, though, that the climactic blow is struck: "You decapitate it ... you sunder the construct's leg, and it falls ... your rapier pierces the creature through the heart, and it drops dread ..." etc. But again -- that's all flavor text.

 

[Felon]

Re: Re: Re: What????

It doesnt happen in D&D???? Maybe in your campaigns... but in those i DM or play in those things DO happen.... Such acts are described by the DM when the dice fall where they may... We just dont exclaim, "I did 5 points of damage. Is it dead?" that 5 points may be... " You cleave a chunk of shoulder from the zombie as he tries to claw you..."Guess it depends upon who or what game you play....

lol, yes, I play D&D.

Seriously, if your DM just colorfully describes the damage, then he can just colorfully describe how the undead takes the damage and just keeps on coming.

Now, if your DM actually arbitrarily assigns wound effects based on damage, then that's your own house rules, and you'll figure out on your own what they mean to undead. In the core system, there's just damage and dying and death.

If you allow crits to affect them normally, then they certainly are watered-down. Feats like weapon specialization and power attack provide ways that simulate especially accurate or powerful blow, and they affect undead and golems pretty well.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

It kind of seems like you're looking for something more like called shots than just critical hits...because as stated before, critical hits are just hits on...well...critical areas. Massive damage is just doing lots of damage, and whatever your DM attributes to that is just flavor, and not mechanical in any way...so I'd suggest some kind of called shots rule.