Called shots

[steveflam]

Hey wow thanks for taking an interest in my thread.
Personally it deoends on each DM as each DM has their own "house rules" and this should be discussed with She or he as it may. I personally would allow it but with a difficulty factor such as in 2nd Edition , maybe even harder as characters in 3.5 are much more powerful than in 2.0

[Ail]

Hey wow thanks for taking an interest in my thread.
Personally it deoends on each DM as each DM has their own "house rules" and this should be discussed with She or he as it may. I personally would allow it but with a difficulty factor such as in 2nd Edition , maybe even harder as characters in 3.5 are much more powerful than in 2.0

In a way this thread reminds me of the one about staking a vampire during a fight. Iirc, there was also an increase to AC of the hear in that situation, but I think it's a very old thread and I don't remember the details anymore.

Still, I also would apply AC corrections due to size and such.

Funny how my group forgot about called shots since we moved to 3.x

[Glim]

I like to use the system found in Mongoose Publishing's the Quintessential fighter. It revolves around trading in critical hits for special flashy called shots (the head, the arm, etc), which they list in the book.

Each of these called shots has a description that lists the effects and the prerequisites of the 'caller'.

Basically you have to score a threat against the opponent, and you deal damage worth of one attack. You don't roll to confirm the crit, nor do you double your damage if it's succesful, but instead you 'call the shot' (ie. to the arm), then roll for another attack, and if that's succesful, the opponent suffers the penalties given in each 'shot' description (in the case of the arm a -4 to attack, the hand gets disarmed automatically and the attack only deals 1d4 damage). In order to make this called shot, the 'caller' needs a base attack bonus of at least 2.

Of course it doesn't have to be just the attacker that calls the shots ( ), the DM could use it too for cool-to-watch effects.

[Ail]

I like to use the system found in Mongoose Publishing's the Quintessential fighter. It revolves around trading in critical hits for special flashy called shots (the head, the arm, etc), which they list in the book.

Each of these called shots has a description that lists the effects and the prerequisites of the 'caller'.

Basically you have to score a threat against the opponent, and you deal damage worth of one attack. You don't roll to confirm the crit, nor do you double your damage if it's succesful, but instead you 'call the shot' (ie. to the arm), then roll for another attack, and if that's succesful, the opponent suffers the penalties given in each 'shot' description (in the case of the arm a -4 to attack, the hand gets disarmed automatically and the attack only deals 1d4 damage). In order to make this called shot, the 'caller' needs a base attack bonus of at least 2.

Of course it doesn't have to be just the attacker that calls the shots ( ), the DM could use it too for cool-to-watch effects.

That seems an elegant way to do it.

[Jester of the FoS]

Agreed. A choice between double damage or status effects. Could be handy.

[steveflam]

Indeed!

[Jester of the FoS]

So, some rough rules (for those of use without said book):

Threat is scored and instead of confirming a critical the attacker instead opts to attack a limb. They must now roll another hit at the same AC, or possibly higher for a smaller body part such as the head or an eye. -2 for limbs, -4 for organs would be appropriate.

A successful hit would do regular damage. A reflex save would be needed to avoid dropping anything held in the struck limb or falling prone if struck in the leg. The attack could also cause blindness, deafness or daze the victim for 1d4 rounds (eye, ear, head respectively).
If the limb suffers damage equal to 25% of the total maximum hit points it has been mangled and the condition is permanent until healed.

Slightly deadly, but if you can quarter a thing’s hit points in a single blow it likely wouldn’t last much longer anyway.

* * *

Also remember the sunder and disarm rules from the PHB. Striking a weapon or shattering an instrument is not a called shot.

[steveflam]

Very interesting yet Id make it a bit tougher as you are trying to be precise, make sense? Especially in the heat of battle maybe -4 and -6 ,,,,

[Jester of the FoS]

Well, precice in that you want to thwack that part of the body with your sword instead of that part. Finesse might only enter into it if a rapier were involved and not, say, a greataxe.

[steveflam]

yeah

[Mangrum]

If you're trying to knock an item out of an enemy's hand, that's a disarm attempt. If you're trying to destroy an item the enemy's carrying, that's a sunder attempt. If you're trying to bypass armor, that's called beating the foe's armored AC. If you're trying for a one-shot kill, that's s coup de gras.

[Luke Fleeman]

An option:

Make a hit chart of sorts to roll on. If a person wants to do a called shot, they may take, say a -2 or -4 to the attack. When they roll on the hit chart, they may modify their roll by that many points.

Otherwise, look at the 3.5 sunder rules or grapple rules for attackign objects. They are used ot resolve very specific location strikes, so that may be a way to go.

That being said, beware: if you let them call shots, and they hit necks or whatnot, then expect them to want extra damage, etc.

[steveflam]

Yeah thanks

[wolfgang_fener]

If you're trying to bypass armor, that's called beating the foe's armored AC. .

Usually, yes.

But if the fool in plate mail doesn't wear an helmet, I say that's stryking the fool on his bare head .

Of course it should not be easy but maybe easier than to strike through a thick metal breast plate.

[Ail]

If you're trying to knock an item out of an enemy's hand, that's a disarm attempt. If you're trying to destroy an item the enemy's carrying, that's a sunder attempt. If you're trying to bypass armor, that's called beating the foe's armored AC. If you're trying for a one-shot kill, that's s coup de gras.

John, sorry to pick at you, but a 'coup de gras' would be a 'blow of fat', or something like that what you mean is a 'coup de grace', a mercy blow.

It's just that coup de gras was too funny to pass, don't take it badly.

Alex