Hit: R-M = C

Miss: M-R = F

R = number rolled on the d20
M = minimum roll needed to hit
C = chance for a Crit, expressed as a %
 
 

Edged Weapons	Blunt Weapons	Missile & Thrusting Weapons	Vs. Animals	Fumbles (Alt)
Dragon 39	-	Best of Dragon, Vol. V	-	Dragon

Critical Hits Effects Table -- Edged Weapons

d%	Result
01-31	Double damage
32-62	Triple damage
63	Shield destroyed (no effect if no shield)
64	Shield destroyed (roll again if no shield)
65	Helm removed (lose ear; stunned 1-6 rounds if no helm)
66	Helm removed (lose ear, stunned 1-6 rounds)
67	Voice box punctured, no talking (no effect if helmed)
68-69	Ear removed (no effect if helmed)
70	Ear removed (helm removed if helmed)
71-72	Eye removed (no effect if helmed)
73	Eye removed
74	Knee split; movement halved
75	Knee split; no movement
76	Fingers removed; DEX reduced 1-3 points
77	Leg removed at ankle
78	Leg removed at knee
79	Leg removed at hip
80	Shield arm removed at wrist (no effect if shield)
81	Shield arm removed at elbow (no effect if shield)
82	Shield arm removed at elbow (no effect if shield)
83	Shield arm removed at wrist
84	Shield arm removed at elbow
85	Shield arm removed at shoulder
86	Weapon arm removed at wrist
87	Weapon arm removed at elbow
88	Weapon arm removed at shoulder
89	Abdominal injuries; carry capacity halved
90	Chest injuries; carry capacity halved
91	Abdominal injuries; death in 1-6 days
92	Chest injuries; death in 1-4 days
93	Abdominal injuries; death in 2-12 turns
94	Chest injuries; death in 2-8 turns
95	Abdominal injuries; immed. death
96	Chest injuries; immed. death
97	Throat cut; immed. death (no effect if helmed)
98	Throat cut; immed. death
99	Decapitated; immed. death (no effect if helmed)
00	Decapitated; immed. death

Critical Hit Effects Table—Blunt Weapons

d%	Result
01-31	double damage
32-64	triple damage
65-66	shield broken (no effect if no shield)
67-68	shield broken (roll again if no shield)
69-70	shield arm struck (no shield defense for 1-6 rounds)
71-72	shield arm broken; lose shield
73-74	weapon arm struck; hit probability -2
75-76	weapon arm struck; hit probability -4
77-78	weapon arm broken; no attacks
79-80	hand struck; dexterity down 1-5 points until healed
81-82	hand struck; dexterity down 1-5 points
83-84	chest struck; stunned 1-6 rounds
85-86	chest struck; ribs broken, lungs punctured; no movement
87-88	chest struck; ribs broken, heart punctured; death.
89-90	leg struck; fall to ground
91-92	leg struck; movement halved
93-94	leg broken; no movement
95	head struck; lose 1-6 pts INT (no effect if helmed)
96	head struck; lose 1-6 pts intelligence
97	head struck; lose 2-12 pts intelligence (no effect if helmed)
98	head struck; lose 2-12 pts intelligence
99	skull crushed; dead (no effect if helmed)
00	skull crushed; dead.

Critical Hit Effects Table—Missile and Thrusting Weapons

d%	Result
01-34	double damage
35-70	triple damage
71-72	shield arm struck (no effect if shield)
73-74	shield arm struck
75-76	weapon arm struck; hit probability -2
77-78	weapon arm struck; hit probability -4
79-80	weapon arm struck; no attacks
81-82	struck in abdomen; death in 1-6 days
83-84	struck in chest; death in 1-4 days
85-86	struck in abdomen; death in 2-12 turns
87-88	struck in chest; death in 2-8 turns
89-90	struck in abdomen; immediate death
91-92	struck in chest; immediate death
93	blinded in eye (no effect if helmed)
94	blinded in eye
95	larynx punctured (no effect if helmed)
96	larynx punctured
97	struck in head; lose 1-6 pts INT (no effect if helmed)
98	struck in head; lose 1-6 pts INT
99	struck in head; immediate death (no effect if helmed)
00	struck in head; immediate death

-
Critical Hit Effects vs. Animals

d%	Result
01-29	double damage
30-58	triple damage
59-60	limb removed at body; speed halved
61-62	limb removed at midpoint; speed halved
63-64	limb removed at midpoint; hit probability -2
65-66	limb removed at body; hit probability -4
67-68	limb removed at midpoint; speed halved, hit prob. -2
69-70	limb removed at body; speed halved, hit probability -4
71-72	throat cut: immediate death
73-74	decapitated
75-76	abdominal injuries; immediate death
77-78	abdominal injuries; death in 2-12 turns
79-80	abdominal injuries; death in 1-6 days
81-82	chest injuries; immediate death
83-84	chest injuries; death in 2-8 turns
85-86	chest injuries; death in 1-4 days
87-90	snout struck; immediate retreat
91-94	snout struck; hit probability -2 for 1-4 rounds
95-98	snout struck; hit probability -4 for 1-4 rounds
99	head struck; stunned for 1-6 rounds
00	head struck: immediate death

Fumble Effects Chart-All Weapons <(Alt)>

 

01-19	slip; roll dexterity or less on d20 or fall and stunned for 1-4 rounds
20-33	stumble; roll dexterity or less on d20 or fall and stunned for 1-6 rounds
34-39	trip and fall; stunned for 1-6 rounds
40-44	off balance; roll dexterity or less on d20 or no action next round
45-49	lose grip on weapon; roll dexterity or less on d20 or no attack next round
50-54	lose grip; roll dexterity or less on d20 or drop weapon
55-59	lose grip; drop weapon
60-61	shield tangled with opponent (no effect if no shield)
62-63	shield tangled with opponent; neither attacks next round
64-65	weapon tangled with opponent; no attack next round
66-69	weapon knocked away-roll d8 for direction, d10 for distance in feet
70-74	weapon breaks (base 100% chance -20% for each “+” or ability of weapon
75-76	hit self; half damage
77-78	hit self; normal damage
79-80	hit self; double damage
81-82	hit friend; half damage
83-84	hit friend; normal damage
85-86	hit friend; double damage
87-88	critical hit, self
89-90	critical hit, friend
91-92	twist ankle; half speed for 1 turn, roll dexterity or less on d20 or fall
93-95	helm slips; roll dexterity or less to fix, hit probability -6 until fixed
96-97	helm slips; roll dexterity to fix, no attacks until fixed
98	distracted; opponent’s next attack at +3
99	roll twice, ignoring rolls of 99 or 00
00	roll three times, ignoring rolls of 99 or 00

GOOD HITS & BAD MISSES

Carl Parlagreco

Critical hits and fumbles are probably two of the most controversial
subject areas in D&D. The most common procedure is for 20 to <The version in Best of Dragon V mentions 'D&D and AD&D' here.>
represent a “perfect hit” and 1 a “perfect miss,” or a critical hit and a
fumble, respectively. This is an overly simplistic system, and this
seems to be the main problem. The problem is less severe with
20’s—a character’s strength and dexterity bonuses, along with any
magical help coming from swords and the like, often combine to
modify the die roll to or above the magic score of 20.
Stronger characters have a relatively better chance at reaching
this score, so do higher-level characters (but only because higherlevel
characters will presumably have more powerful magic swords).
Unfortunately, the problem is that a character who can only hit
his/her opponent on a roll of a 20 will get critical hits as often as one
who needs only a 10 or better.

When applied to fumbles, the simple system really falls apart. A
roll of 1 is a fumble-period. An 18/00 STR, an 18 DEX, a
+5 sword, none of it will help. Or, if these will help, then what’s the
point of having the rule, since all one needs is a + 1 dagger to boost
any rolls of 1 up to 2, and your worries are over. And, if a 1 is always a
fumble, a character will fumble 5% of the time, whether he or she is
1st, 5th, or 15th level.

The following variant system allows swords and dexterity to
increase chances for a critical hit, and reduce chances for a fumble,
without eliminating them entirely. Basically, any swing that hits can
be a critical hit, and any swing that misses can be a fumble. The
higher the die roll, the “better” the swing, and the more likely it will
be critical. The system works as follows:

The character rolls the die normally, to determine if he/she has
hit. If the roll is a hit, then the minimum score necessary to hit is
subtracted from the roll, and the result is the percentage chance of
the hit being a critical hit. If the swing is a miss, the result is subtracted
from the minimum score needed to hit, and that is the chance of the
swing being a fumble.

EXAMPLE: Ferdinand Orc-Punter, +2 hit probability due to
strength, +2 sword, needs a 10 or better to hit Sorghum Orc. He
swings, rolling a 14, +2 (for strength) +2 (for the sword), with the
final result of 18. A hit! The chance of it being critical is 18 (the final
result) minus 10 (the minimum score needed), which is 8 (the
percentage chance of the hit being critical).

EXAMPLE: Sampson Numbfingers has + 1 hit probability and a
+1 dagger. He needs an 11 or better to hit a bugbear. He rolls
4+ 1 + 1=6. A miss. The chance he will fumble is 11-6. which is 5.
This system is nicely symmetrical, and works well. If the percentages
seem too high, they can always be halved.

The tables below are for the various kinds of critical hits. The first
table is primarily for swords, but is also used for poleaxes, oxtongues,
and the other large cutting weapons that pop up occasionally.
The second table is for maces, with other fun things such as
falling rocks being rolled for here, if desired. The table for critical hits
against animals is used for all weapons. The missile fire critical hits
table is also for thrusting weapons such as spears, and for daggers.
The fumble table is also for all weapons. Most of the results are
minor, such as losing one’s balance or dropping a weapon, but even
the nastier ones, such as “hit self,” aren’t unreasonable to allow for.
If you’ve ever seen an SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism)
tournament, you can probably understand how it can happen.

In using the charts, some referee input is necessary. When fighting
an elephant with a dagger, it’s not too likely that one of the
elephant’s legs will be lopped off by a critical hit.

Also, a character who is missing an arm or two won’t be in very
good condition, and is likely to bleed to death. Still, there are
instances where the character insists on fighting to the end. In these
cases, have the character roll a system shock check. If the check is
made, then he/she can continue on fighting (provided he/she has
the limbs necessary), although 1-3 pts. of damage are taken each
round until something is done to bandage up the wound. If the
system shock check is failed, the character falls unconscious due to
pain for 1-12 rounds.

Q. Where does the 'double damage for a
20' rool come from?
A. This rool is generally taken to mean
that when the 'to hit' die is rolled and
a natural 20 comes up, any subsequent
damage done by the attack is
a 'critical hit', and does twice as
much damage.  The rool is widely
used, especially when characters
attack monsters (monsters rarely get
this rule used in their favor). If they
did, fewer players would be as keen
on the idea--a fire giant who rolled a
20 would do as much as 60 points of
damage with one blow!
    The idea of 'critical hits' has never
been an Official part of The Game.  It is
most likely that it has been borrowed
and much-simplified from game
systems where this rool exists.
(Imagine #13)
 
 

Rothe wrote:
Gary,
I still remember vivdly when I first cracked Men & Magic in 1976 and I'm deeply impressed that after all these years you take time to diligently respond to questions.
So are critical hits still not part of AD&D

Howdy,

Not in a game i run...though if the players really insist I can deal with it as I tend to roll a lot of 18, 19, and 20 results for the NPCs/monsters.
so if they want their PCs dead quickly, I can oblidge;)

Cheers,
Gary

Here we go again . . . more of the critical hits
business. Worse still, misses which hit the supposedly
professional fighter or whack a friend.
Stupid, really stupid. For those who use critical
hits, here are some for monsters:

Any 20 indicates a critical hit on the character.

Attack form:
ACID/DISSOLVING: Character’s legs destroyed—
totally helpless

BITE: Character’s jugular vein severed—
instant death

BLOW (as from a giant): Character’s skull
smashed—instant death

CLAW: Character’s eyes tom out—defenseless

CLAW: Character’s eyes tom out—defenseless

CONSTRICTION: All bones broken—permanently
destroyed

CUT: Character’s head cut off—instant
death

HORN: Character’s heart pierced—instant
death

HUG: Character’s spine snapped—instant
death

MISSILE: Lungs pierced—instant death

POISON: Quintuple dose; destroys arteries
or nervous system—permanently destroyed

Use your <IMAGINATION> for other attacks.
(Note that this is not “official,” but it is more
“official” than critical hits and misses.)
 

As a final word: No more Mr. Niceguy!

E. Gary Gygax
Lake Geneva, Wis
(Dragon #41)
[edit]


"My soul for #39"

Dear Editor:
Although I am not a regular subscriber to
The Dragon, (alas, the ole cash just isn’t there
when you need it) I managed to trade my soul
away for a copy of #39. I have just finished reading
it and feel that there are a few things I must
comment on. The first thing is the article “Good
Hits and Bad Misses” by Carl Parlagreco. It is an
excellent system and I found it to be quite playable
when combined with a little common sense. Previously,
I had used the system in the Arduin
trilogy, but Mr. Parlagreco’s system has worked
much better for me.

Russell Shiffer
Walnut Creek, Calif.
(Dragon #43)