"Mighty Deeds" and Critical Hits

[cadriel]

If you know the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, you know that it has an idea in it called "Mighty Deed of Arms." This is a fighter's (Warrior class) ability to make something happen to his advantage in certain acts during combat. Its mechanic is tied to a bonus die that I'm not really interested in, but the general idea is one that I like.

So it's been one of the things I've adapted, and I've found that it works well for critical hits. I basically ask what the player wants to happen when they roll a natural 20 - and I get interesting answers. Sometimes they want a location hit to give maximum or double damage, which I am okay with; other times they want to do something like trip or disrupt the monster they're fighting. I've found that it gives a lot more flavor to combat when the player gets to decide how their big moments go down, and the choice between say knocking down a monster that is using a mind-control power and outright killing it is an interesting one.

I'd be curious if anybody else has taken ideas from DCC into OD&D, or any similar systems for freeform critical hits anyone has used.

[Admin Pete]

Jul 18, 2016 9:14:10 GMT -5 cadriel said:

If you know the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG, you know that it has an idea in it called "Mighty Deed of Arms." This is a fighter's (Warrior class) ability to make something happen to his advantage in certain acts during combat. Its mechanic is tied to a bonus die that I'm not really interested in, but the general idea is one that I like.

So it's been one of the things I've adapted, and I've found that it works well for critical hits. I basically ask what the player wants to happen when they roll a natural 20 - and I get interesting answers. Sometimes they want a location hit to give maximum or double damage, which I am okay with; other times they want to do something like trip or disrupt the monster they're fighting. I've found that it gives a lot more flavor to combat when the player gets to decide how their big moments go down, and the choice between say knocking down a monster that is using a mind-control power and outright killing it is an interesting one.

I'd be curious if anybody else has taken ideas from DCC into OD&D, or any similar systems for freeform critical hits anyone has used.

I am not familiar with the Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG (I haven't look at it yet) I agree that is a great idea and I like how you have implemented it. I have used the you roll a 20 roll again and if you get a second twenty then it is a kill. But I like what you have done better and you are right more flavor but no additional roll and no tables to consult.

My next game is this Sat coming up (7/23/2016) and I am going to implement this and give it a spin.