Critical Hits - The critical hit tables are a remnant of really the first fantasy RPG we played, Middle Earth Role-Playing System. Otherwise known as MERPS. We always enjoyed the extra bit of humor the critical tables can lend to a game.

This is how we've worked it into any d20 game we play. Criticals work as they do in any normal d20 setting. That is, on a threat roll, the attacker rolls again. If their second roll is also a hit, they do critical damage. However, we play that if your threat roll was a natural 20, and then on your critical check roll you roll another natural 20, then you roll a percentage on a critical table that's specific to the type of damage your weapon does. If it's piercing, you roll on the piercing table. Pretty straightforward. The critical tables can be seen here.

However, this isn't simply a one-sided affair. We also play with fumbles. A fumble occurs when someone rolls a 1 on their attack roll. In addition to this being a miss, the guilty party also has a chance that they will seriously hurt themselves. After all, most people are running about with sharp, pointy objects. There's always a chance they're going to put someone's eye out. It's just not always who they intend. Therefore, like criticals, the rolled 1 is followed by another roll. If this also turns up a 1, then the person must roll a percentage on the fumble table that is appropriate, and apply its affects. The fumble tables can be found here.

A few things of note, however. One extremely important point to be made is that it's obvious the results of a critical roll may not always apply given the situation. The critical tables should not be thought of as an end-all be-all result. In fact, it is far more appropriate to call them guidelines. Even when a critical result is obtained, DM inventiveness is HIGHLY encouraged to mold the results to the situation. Another point to mention is that the critical tables might give very different results based on the armor a character is wearing. Such as, helmets, and arm or leg greaves. Unlike in normal DnD, where these things do not matter so much because your breastplate apparently protects you from all hits everywhere, it is in a player's interest to specify what kinds of armor they have donned. Lastly, I'd like to note that the Spell Failure (fumble) table is not used much, if at all, in any d20 game we've played, and it is merely included for the sake of completeness.

Last but not least, we must all thank Steve-O for his efforts to adapt and utilize this system so that we all may benefit from his greatness.