Out Now on the DMs Guild
Wintry Blast |
The 5e rules as written for criticals are, in my opinion, lacking. We've all had experiences where the fighter lands a crit on the creature, only to have their damage be less than a typical blow. We've also had the ho-humness of a natural 1 meaning nothing. Many of us DMs homebrew our own rules to help spice up the game in this area. Below are two tools and a couple mechanics I use that are straightforward, easy to implement, and fun.
It all starts with a couple resources from Nord Games. First, we have the Crit Hit Deck for Players. Follow that up with the Crit Fail Deck for Players, and you have everything you need. Easy, right? The rules are simple, when a player rolls a nat. 1 or a nat. 20, draw the appropriate card and use the mechanics for the type of attack made. For the crit hit deck, the types of attacks are slashing, piercing, bludgeoning and magic. For the fail deck, the attack types are melee, ranged, natural and magic. As with anything else, if you don't like the mechanic as presented, tweak it or draw a new card. Sometime the mechanic may not fit your situation exactly, and that is ok. Just roll with it. Both decks have cards of varying severity in them. The official rules suggest that you use different severity categories dependent on the average player level of your group. I throw caution to the wind and just mix them all together. This can result in some truly epic moments for the players. In one game, the fourth level druid wild shaped in an ape and punched a minotaur in the face, KOing it just in the nick of time. This was balanced out a few levels later when that same druid had a crit fail against a hydra at a very inopportune moment. Both situations were great fun and high drama. Moments the entire group remembers. Moments that would have been lost to the haze of memory if not for the flare brought by these crit deck mechanics. It's important to note that I do not use these decks against the players. Some of the crit hits are devastating (such as quadrupling damage, imposing severe conditions, and the like). I don't want a monster to outright kill a character due to the luck of the draw. Instead, this is how I hand crit hits and fails for monsters: Crit Hits: The monster deals crit damage as presented in the 5e rules (double all damage dice). The PC then needs to succeed on a DC 12 Con save or suffer one level of exhaustion. This can represent a cracked rib, bloody nose, or other ill-effect from the devastating blow. Crit Fails: The next attack against the monster is made at advantage. This can represent the monster losing its balance, exposing its flank, etc. I like this method, and I think my players do too, because all the drama is centered around the actions of the characters. The monsters crit fails and successes aren't meaningless, but they also don't drastically change the trajectory of the combat. I also like the using the exhaustion rules whenever possible. Too often a barbarian can just charge into combat and waylay until the dust settles. The occasional concussion blow from a crit can facilitate a change in tactics or offer some opportunity for roleplay. These decks are a go to item for every game I run. I can't recommend them enough. Looking for more great resources to enhance your game? Checkout the Toolkit page where I've listed some of my favorites. Both of these decks are among them!
0 Comments
|
AuthorD&D 5e enthusiast. Creator on DMsguild. Supporter of creators, content and good times. Follow me on Twitter @rjquestgiver Archives
July 2021
Categories |