Hitting body parts [3.5]

[Teapot Salty]

Hey guys. So, players in my games always like to say things like: "I cut his arm off" Cool, really, but I mean, when they just make an attack roll and say that, it's just, well, no. I want this in my games, it's awesome, but how do I accommodate it? Have them declare: "I will attack the arm" and if they hit it (what's the ac?) and roll enough damage, they sever it? Thanks, and as always, go nuts.

[The Glyphstone]

I'd say 'special' hits like that only take effect if they do enough damage to kill the target. Otherwise you are in the realm of called shots, and there has never been a system that ever did called shots well. Right now they say 'I cut off his arm'; allow them that, and before long it'll be "I stab through their eye socket into their brain".

[TheCountAlucard]

Generally a specific body part is going to get 1-8 points of AC higher than the individual so targetted, because it's essentially using that character's AC, plus a different size modifier.

Also, be careful with this, however you end up doing it, because PCs targeting heads are going to make combat go a lot quicker.

Also also, at least in my games, I generally implement a sort of Gentleman's Agreement with this and other "tactics" ("scry-and-die," for instance), to reduce abuse; namely, if it's an option for player characters, it's an option for hostile NPCs as well.

EDIT: Yeah, for simplicity's sake, just go with what the eldritch abomination said.

[paperarmor]

I like to have my players take a -2 penalty for a called shot on an extremity. -4 for something like the eyes. and a -6 plus a Knowledge (anatomy) check for things not immediatly observable i.e. organs and other bits.

[ArqArturo]

Called shots don't work so well in D20, because the HP system is an arbitrary health system, in my opinion. However, if you keep track of several different body section it could be effective.

[ericgrau]

I'd say 'special' hits like that only take effect if they do enough damage to kill the target. Otherwise you are in the realm of called shots, and there has never been a system that ever did called shots well. Right now they say 'I cut off his arm'; allow them that, and before long it'll be "I stab through their eye socket into their brain".

This pretty much, and if someone loses his arm then he's probably incapacitated and dying anyway.

On top of only allowing it on a killing blow, I'd give it a -2 or greater penalty for wanting to be so selective. It's similar to taking a -4 to nonlethal in that the goal is not to kill the target but to impair him. Often he may die anyway, but perhaps with a called shot and quick healing he may be merely handicapped instead. If a player doesn't call a shot, you might also employ a random table to say where the final blow landed, or make it up on the fly since it doesn't really matter.

[Xerlith]

On the Pathfinder SRD there are pretty good rules (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/called-shots)for that.

[some guy]

I usually use Zak S' mechanic (http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.nl/2012/03/called-shot-mechanic.html) for this. Anounce what you want to happen and on what kind of range on a d20 (maximum 11-20) it happens, but you have an equal chance (maximum 1-10) of a nasty fumble (and I don't normally use fumbles in my game, so this hurts).

[Curmudgeon]

I want this in my games, it's awesome, but how do I accommodate it? Have them declare: "I will attack the arm" and if they hit it (what's the ac?) and roll enough damage, they sever it?
I seriously doubt you or your players would think it's awesome if every enemy did the same thing. What if a dozen archers try to slice off the PC's sword arm with broadhead arrows? At least one of them is going to succeed. It's completely unrealistic if this is a mechanism only available to the PCs, and never their enemies.

[snailgosh]

Similar to what Glyphstone said, in our group called shots are only utilized in killing blows.

If we hit a foe our DM describes our blow (usually the hits getting harder, the lower their HP gets) and if our hit would kill them, he has us describe how we did it