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Critical Hits - why, and why not?
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<blockquote data-quote="N'raac" data-source="post: 6685272" data-attributes="member: 6681948"><p>I don't disagree, but my post is less focused on arguing for the addition of critical hits and fumbles than on the assumption we will have them and, if so, why is there no result between "add a few more hp damage" and "consult limb loss subtable". We played with a model of varying severity of critical hits, but we had to assess how the various curative-type spells would interact with these longer-term effects.</p><p></p><p>The bigger picture problem is not far off the broader discussion above, that these work against the PC's in the long run. If you injure, break or sever the Orc's arm, so what? He's dead in a couple more rounds, tops, either way. But the PC has to get by with a wounded/useless/missing arm until it heals/gets healed/gets regrown/gets replaced with The Arm of Vecna/whatever. It creates a death spiral as the PC's keep getting more and more battered as the scenario goes on.</p><p></p><p>But if they are viewed as desirable, or even essential, the justification tends to be "realism" (as you note, often at the cost of "heroism), then "arms are either hale and hearty or severed - no possibility exists between these points" isn't very realistic, and a PC with a sore arm that will recover after a couple of hours is a lot more playable than one whose arm is in his backpack in the hope a cleric can reattach it back in town.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="N'raac, post: 6685272, member: 6681948"] I don't disagree, but my post is less focused on arguing for the addition of critical hits and fumbles than on the assumption we will have them and, if so, why is there no result between "add a few more hp damage" and "consult limb loss subtable". We played with a model of varying severity of critical hits, but we had to assess how the various curative-type spells would interact with these longer-term effects. The bigger picture problem is not far off the broader discussion above, that these work against the PC's in the long run. If you injure, break or sever the Orc's arm, so what? He's dead in a couple more rounds, tops, either way. But the PC has to get by with a wounded/useless/missing arm until it heals/gets healed/gets regrown/gets replaced with The Arm of Vecna/whatever. It creates a death spiral as the PC's keep getting more and more battered as the scenario goes on. But if they are viewed as desirable, or even essential, the justification tends to be "realism" (as you note, often at the cost of "heroism), then "arms are either hale and hearty or severed - no possibility exists between these points" isn't very realistic, and a PC with a sore arm that will recover after a couple of hours is a lot more playable than one whose arm is in his backpack in the hope a cleric can reattach it back in town. [/QUOTE]
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Critical Hits - why, and why not?
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