Combat Essentials #1 - Critical Matters

If David hadn't used this book . . . Goliath would have won.

Critical Matters

Criticals are great. Criticals are fun. Everyone loves getting a crit. However, crits can also be boring. They're just damage. Characters can't bleed to death or break a bone or lose a limb. They have no cinematic impact. They can never be spectacular.

No more.

Introducing Critical Matters, a complete Critical Effects system. We know you like to keep your game moving, but we also know you don't mind leaning forward in anticipation as you wait to see what the critical is. Would you rather say, "That twenty damage," or would you rather say:

"Blow to collarbone leaves foe with a bruise, a –2 penalty, and the need for strong drink."

"Point slides into upper abdomen, nicking several important organs and arteries. That’s the whole shooting match. Foe has 8 rounds to wonder how bad it is before he dies. Stunned for 7 rounds. Use the last one wisely."

"Neatly remove foe’s head. You have just enough time left in the attack to strike a pose."

"Thunk. Wait for the pain. Wait for it. There it is."

"Hack cuts foe’s neck. Doesn’t hit anything too major, but there’s a lot of blood. Foe is dazed for 1 round as he works out that he’s only bleeding every hour."

"Point slices foe’s spine. He collapses, paralyzed from the waist down. He nudges his legs, as if to restart them. Stunned for 1 round, dazed for 3 more. Bleed every round."

"Blow chips off a piece of the foe’s xiphoid process. The foe feels a slight discomfort under his sternum. Foe has 10 rounds of movement until death. Any round when he doesn’t move his chest doesn’t count. Every round where he moves causes increasing discomfort. –1 per round of movement."

"Pound foe in the stomach. Foe seems uninjured but foe receives a –1 penalty next round from the pain. The penalty increases one every round until it hits –10, then it drops one a round every round after that."

"Blow to foe’s spine causes a –2 penalty from the searing pain. If not magically healed, the foe will be able to predict rain."

"Blow is so devastating that foe’s arms are only technically still attached to his body."