King of Nowhere
2020-03-27, 12:26 PM
I have seen the optional rule table for called shots for pathfinder (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/called-shots/), and it intrigued me.
the mechanic as presented is extremely limited: you have to take a full round action and the chance of inflicting a severe penalty is low. not worth the effort. at best, you could take the related feats, in which case it would become just another combat style. saving throw DC scales with to-hit bonus, so passing a saving throw to mitigate the damage is nigh impossible past level 5.
However, what I like about that table is the fluff.
combat is all done in abstract. you hit threee times, deal 65 damage. you take 40 damage. you still are on positive hp, so nothing to worry about. I feel that "you took a severe blow to your arm, now you have a small penalty on using it" or "your strike to the head leaves the opponent dazed, he clearly has troubles focusing" is much more immersive. And it's not just a description thing. my dm tried to describe fights, but it got stale pretty quickly. if there was some mechanical effect to go with the description, however...
So I am considering the idea of applying some random effect from called shots at every round a character is dealt significant damage. not once every attack, as that would favor builds with many attacks. Say, every time you lose 10% of your maximum hp in a round, or 20%. the effect would be rolled at random; easy shots are more likely, challenging shots are less likely.
Now, there are many mechanical challenges to applying this thing. the main one is that it may improve area effects for wizards by also adding random debuffs. Easy solutions: spells don't cause called shots. after all, a fireball does not break your arm or sever your neck. Exceptions can be made for specific spells with specific effect - for example, a force orb deals bludgeoning damage, so it could result in called shot damage.
Alternatively, as sound damage can deafen you and acid can get into your eyes, say that elemental damage can trigger called shot depending on its type, but only if the saving throw fails by 10 or more. this will allow some cool effects to happen while keeping it rare enough that it won't affect balance too much.
another difficulty would be coming up with a sane DC for the saving throws.
but anyway, all those mechanical difficulties can be solved with some tinkering. let's assume that they are solved.
I am thinking that this mechanism could make combat more alive. it would especially help differentiate fights. taking damage would be a different experience depending on the effects you roll. I plan to try it the next time I DM (which won't be before several months in any case, anyway)
Major criticism involves fights going too swingy (which I don't think is a real concern, as all debuffs are minor unless you are taking tons of damage; and in that case, the fight is going poorly anyway. fights would be a bit more swingy, but not too much), or getting too complicated if you have to roll random debuffs virtually after every turn, and keep track of them.
I wanted to ask your opinion. Do you think the reward is worth the cost? is there anyone who tried something similar, and if so, how did it go?
the mechanic as presented is extremely limited: you have to take a full round action and the chance of inflicting a severe penalty is low. not worth the effort. at best, you could take the related feats, in which case it would become just another combat style. saving throw DC scales with to-hit bonus, so passing a saving throw to mitigate the damage is nigh impossible past level 5.
However, what I like about that table is the fluff.
combat is all done in abstract. you hit threee times, deal 65 damage. you take 40 damage. you still are on positive hp, so nothing to worry about. I feel that "you took a severe blow to your arm, now you have a small penalty on using it" or "your strike to the head leaves the opponent dazed, he clearly has troubles focusing" is much more immersive. And it's not just a description thing. my dm tried to describe fights, but it got stale pretty quickly. if there was some mechanical effect to go with the description, however...
So I am considering the idea of applying some random effect from called shots at every round a character is dealt significant damage. not once every attack, as that would favor builds with many attacks. Say, every time you lose 10% of your maximum hp in a round, or 20%. the effect would be rolled at random; easy shots are more likely, challenging shots are less likely.
Now, there are many mechanical challenges to applying this thing. the main one is that it may improve area effects for wizards by also adding random debuffs. Easy solutions: spells don't cause called shots. after all, a fireball does not break your arm or sever your neck. Exceptions can be made for specific spells with specific effect - for example, a force orb deals bludgeoning damage, so it could result in called shot damage.
Alternatively, as sound damage can deafen you and acid can get into your eyes, say that elemental damage can trigger called shot depending on its type, but only if the saving throw fails by 10 or more. this will allow some cool effects to happen while keeping it rare enough that it won't affect balance too much.
another difficulty would be coming up with a sane DC for the saving throws.
but anyway, all those mechanical difficulties can be solved with some tinkering. let's assume that they are solved.
I am thinking that this mechanism could make combat more alive. it would especially help differentiate fights. taking damage would be a different experience depending on the effects you roll. I plan to try it the next time I DM (which won't be before several months in any case, anyway)
Major criticism involves fights going too swingy (which I don't think is a real concern, as all debuffs are minor unless you are taking tons of damage; and in that case, the fight is going poorly anyway. fights would be a bit more swingy, but not too much), or getting too complicated if you have to roll random debuffs virtually after every turn, and keep track of them.
I wanted to ask your opinion. Do you think the reward is worth the cost? is there anyone who tried something similar, and if so, how did it go?