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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2011680" data-attributes="member: 18387">Torn Asunder: Critical Hits    When critical just are not enough.  The critical hit system in d20 is very simple and very abstract.  That does not work for a lot people and there has been a few alternative systems out there but they rarely address odd creature body types and the healing of those wounds.  A good critical hit to the torso that damages bones and internal organs just is not the same if a few simple cure light wounds can heal the person back up.  That is one of the strengths of Torn Asunder.  It does not just present a critical hit system and stop; it takes the system and applies it to other areas like called shots, prestige classes that really take advantage of the rules, and monsters that do as well.  When I first read it last year I was expecting a typical critical hit system, and while the system is good; it was the healing that really showed me this was a good book.      Torn Asunder is by Bastion Press.  They have been responsible for some great books like Alchemy and Herbalist, Fairies, and their setting Oathbound.  Torn Asunder is a ninety six page softbound book.  The art and layout are both okay.  Nothing in it really stands out as particularly bad or particularly good.  The book is black and white unlike some of Bastions earlier works that were in color.      The book starts right into the critical hit system.  It works with the current system just adding a few levels of complexity.  Not all critical hits will have one of these critical effects.  It has different types of critical effects for different creatures depending on the body type.  For instance a humanoid creature and six legged beast will have a different potential for critical effects.   The system works pretty well and it is smooth once one gets used to it.  There are three different types of critical effects: Mild, Moderate, and Serious.  The type of weapon used (piercing, slashing, bludgeoning) also determines the damage inflicted.   It makes for a good add on system that does not actually change anything in combat.  People still roll to attack like normal, they confirm criticals like normal.  If the confirmed critical beats the armor class by so much that is when one gets a critical effect.      The healing though is what sold me on this book.  It limits what the cure spells can cure.  They still cure hit points but might not be able to cure broken bones.  It also expands on the heal skill making it useful.  It also has how long these critical effects take to heal so that one does have to rest up for a few weeks if magical healing is not available.  It adds a great deal of realism to games that want that and should enhance a good grim and gritty campaign.  Even high magic game though will have the healing rules effected as a it will take a more powerful healing spell to heal many of the critical effects.  This can give a character an injury that actually lasts and force them to seek out higher level clerics.  There are new pieces of healing equipment as well as new healing spells to help aid in the curing of the critical effects.      The book has some new weapons and armor in it as well as magical version of them.  There are of course new classes, monsters, feats and spells that take advantage of the new critical effects and the how they interact with the characters.  There are some really good ideas in there.    This book has seen use in my group and not everybody was happy about that.  Any critical hit system is going to be used more on the players since they are going to be in every fight.  The combat characters could be taken out of a fight with one bad critical where in the normal game they would have just taken a bunch of damage but been otherwise okay.  The book does require a slightly different mental approach and not every one was ready for that.  The system though did its job of adding detail and deadliness to the game.  It is just not going to be something that everyone wants added.</blockquote>

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