Blood Sports

Combat can be a little dull from time to time, especially when there isn’t a lot thematically or mechanically going on. The rounds can start to drag and it becomes hard as a DM to continue to create awesome mental images of a raging fight, when it’s just roll after roll.

In an attempt to spice things up slightly, I have implemented a system in my games to try to create further interest and add mechanical fun to regular combats. It’s a simple system that can be imposed both on the players and the NPC’s and doesn’t add any real additional work to the group. I call it the Called Shot Method.

The system works as follows, if you’re fighting a Bugbear with the standard 16AC and you are able to roll 5 over his AC, you can call wher on his body you would like to strike. Then based on the damage rolled, from lowest to max, the severity of the effects is calculated.  If you rolled a 5 or 6 on a D6 then the effect may be crippling. If you rolled a 1 it may just have grazed the intended target.

Let me show you a few examples:

So Player A has rolled a total of 22 to hit, and has called to try to hit the arm holding the bugbears current weapon. He then rolled a 5 on his D6 mace which being almost max damage, hits the bug bear with full force on the wrist, causing him to drop his weapon.

Or Player B is fighting a large enraged Ettin. The player rolls a total of 23 to hit and calls to strike at the Ettins right knee. He then rolls a 6 on this D6 spear. The spear head is driven straight into the side of the Ettins knee and has crippled the Giants movement ability. The Ettin can now only move 20ft per round (instead of the usual 40ft).

Lastly Player C is fighting an orc and has rolled a total of 18. He or she then calls to aim at the shoulder. Player C then rolls a 1 on their D10, “the war hammer strikes the shoulder, but grazes off almost harmlessly. Perhaps another strike at the shoulder will cause a dislocation”

This approach can help to create more entertaining combats with players being able to add additional strategies and tactics. It also allows the DM to potentially throw a few more enemies against the PC’s, as they can be disabled or crippled to help turn the tide of battle.

I’m looking forward to adding a number of new and fun topics over the next few weeks and would love any feedback you may have.