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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 5234245" data-attributes="member: 4937">My experience with called shots is that it effectively bypasses the hit point system to a large extent.  You seem to think that this isn't a called shot system, but I can't really understand why you think it isn't.Your system looks typical of what I've seen, albiet I don't think I've ever seen anyone make it so easy to accomplish.   The basic problem here is that in most cases, severing a fighting limb or leg is functionally equivalent to killing the creature.  While its 'not dead yet', it renders it effectively helpless - either unable to attack or unable to move.  Even if it isn't technically 'helpless', the CR of a creature whose had his limb severed is greatly reduced to the point that killing it does not consume any significant resources.  Since incapicitating a creature in this way is much easier than outright killing it (you only need to do 1/8th of its hp), its CR is effectively much lower than advertised.I think I could end the fun of your system really quickly by having monsters abuse it as heavily as players are likely to.  A few giants abusing sunder would leave a typical party looking like the Black Knight in 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'.   And that's to say nothing of what happens to a party that doesn't have access to regenerate.  It's possible to sever limbs under my house rules, but not generally possible to do it deliberately.  The actual intent of my rules is to transform certain 'save or die' situations into 'save or suck' as well as providing color to certain 'your probably dead anyway' situations.   While on some level I'd like to provide called shots, in practice it effects game balance in unpredictable ways and seems to me poorly suited to D&D's hit point/AC/low lethality combat model.</blockquote>

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