 |
| Artwork by Louis Glanzman |
Critical Hits and Fumbles
Hitting the target in the bullseye, striking a vital organ of the beast, these are examples of Critical Hits. When a character roll their exact Attribute score when making an attack, and succeed at hitting the target, they have obtained a Critical Hit. The player, then, must choose between inflicting the full weapon damage plus the normal damage roll for that weapon (if the weapon inflicts 1d6+1 points of damage normally, the Critical Hit would inflict 7 plus 1d6+1); benefiting from a Positive Die on actions against the target for 1d6 rounds, or imposing a Negative Die for all actions that opponent attempts for 1d6 rounds, while still inflicting normal damage. Opponents achieve a Critical Hit on a natural 20 on their attack roll.
Kaylia shots her pistol with deadly accuracy, hitting the apparently leader of the group right in the head. She rolled an exact 8 on her attack, the same number as her Agility score! That’s a Critical Hit! Now she must choose between gaining some advantage over her enemy or inflicting more damage.
On the other hand, sometimes the sword hilt slips from the hand, you drop your guard momentarily, or trip over loose wires on the floor. That’s what happens on a Fumble during combat. If a player rolls a natural 20 on his attack, or if an opponent rolls a natural 1, their attack turns into a Fumble. The combatant will have to choose between either inflicting the normal damage from his weapon on himself or an ally; suffering a Negative Die to all his actions for 1d6 rounds; or granting a Positive Die to an opponent for all actions against him for 1d6 rounds.
Seeing their leader taking such a devastating shot must have make some impact on the mercenaries. One of the rolles a natural 1 on the attack, which means a Fumble for opponents. Thus, the Overlord decides that he hits one other mercenary, reducing their numbers.
Cover, Concealment and Other Modifiers
It may sound simple, but in actual combat, participants will do what they can to tip the conflict to their favor somehow. They will seek higher ground to have an advantage over their foes. The ones who want to survive, will get behind something when bullets start flying. Some fancy technological artifact might conceal its user, granting a tremendous advantage to him.
In game terms, whenever a situation provides some form of advantage, the one benefiting from it could enjoy a Positive Die for his actions in which the situation would improve his chances of success. Similarly, when someone finds himself in a situation that hinders his chances of success, he should receive a Negative Die to actions related to it.
The following tables present a few examples of situations that might provide Positive and Negative Dice, but the Overlord should be able to assess other situations quite easily, especially with those examples in mind.
Positive Die
|
Negative Die
|
Attacking from higher ground.
|
Trying to outmaneuver someone else in higher ground.
|
Attacking from a concealed position.
|
Trying to fire against someone you cannot see.
|
Grappling an opponent half your size.
|
Trying to pin down an opponent twice your size.
|
Spending a full round aiming for a shot.
|
Fire at an opponent with cover.
|
Attacking a prone target with a melee weapon.
|
Attacking a prone target with a ranged weapon.
|
Attacking a immobilized target.
|
Shooting at a running target.
|
The mercenaries shooting at Kaylia all receive a Negative Die, since she is behind cover. But since one of the is in a higher ground, he compensate this, nullifying her advantage.
If you like what you've just read, check out my books over RPGNow and Lulu.