Last week, I released a Critical Botch Table for Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons. The intent of the table was to add more consistent and ever-present danger to the game, danger centered around the whims of the d20. The opposing and similarly dangerous companion of the aforementioned mechanic is the Critical Strike Table, which I created this week. This table dictates the terrible effects that might occur when a character suffers a devastating blow at the hands of an enemy (or vice versa). Once again, this system is a bit archaic, but I feel that the danger and randomness displayed on the table is representative of the battlefield itself. That being said, these tables will definitely require playtesting, so use them at your (players’) own peril.

In general, there are fewer opportunities for an additional effect to occur on the Critical Strike table than on the Critical Botch table. This is because suffering double the dice worth of damage is pretty awful on its own, whereas missing is just a miss until it isn't. On the other hand, I always have a hard time believing that critical strikes are as easy to recover from as any other. As such, my table dictates that there is a 50% chance that a particularly devastating attack will impose a deleterious side effect on the target. The additional effects for weapon attacks are rather straightforward: if you get hit in the leg, you’ll move less; if you get hit in the eye, you’ll see less. The spell attack effects are less obvious, but generally themed around the idea that if hostile magic gets in your system, it can do some extraordinarily strange things. I had specific narrative flavors in mind for each of the spell-related conditions, but I’d be interested to see how other DMs explain the effects to their players.

My favorite part of this table, however, is not actually on the table. The Scarring Wound mechanic lends a bit of narrative and roleplaying weight to critical hits (and to combat overall), as there is a small but significant risk that a player will come away from their battles permanently changed. If treated properly, a character will recover completely, but adventures should be getting their scars from somewhere, especially since battlefield medicine (that isn’t direct healing) should be rather ineffective within the setting.

If you get the chance to play around with this table, let me know what you think! Also, if this table leads to any fun stories, I’d love to hear them.

Link to Table because TL hates big images.

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You can see this D&D stuff and a bunch of other (mostly D&D-related) things at the N3rd Dimension.