House Rules Workshop: Optional Critical Hit

[Akirapryde]

Before we go in to the details of these optional rules, it must be pointed out that these are optional rules. If you wish to ignore this rule or fail to actively choose an optional rule, the default is the Core Rule Standard.

Based off of repeated concerns regarding the danger of Critical Hits within the Core Rules, I have been doing some research in to alternative rules that could be used in replace of the current rules. It is very important to understand that these rules ONLY apply to melee weapons.

If you wish to use any of these rules, you must declare it prior to the beginning of the game. The optional rules will only apply to damage dealt to your character during the game in which you have declared it. You may choose to drop the optional rule or change to another after or before the game. However, once the game begins you are locked in on the selection (or lack there of) that you have made. It is important to note that your declaration does not effect any other character within the game!

Option One:
Active Defense Rule

Parry
You may choose to parry a successful non-critical hit, or unconfirmed critical hit. Because of the nature of an Active Defense, you must declare the parry as the attack is being rolled. You do not have complete the parry if the attack fails to score a hit. You can not declare a parry after damage has been rolled.

To complete a parry, you must roll an attack role using a melee weapon. Use all applicable modifies to your attack roll that the situation requires. If your parry roll ties or beats the incoming attack roll, the parry is successful. If your parry roll is less than the incoming attack roll, than the hit is successful. If you successfully parry an incoming attack, the damage of that attack is reduced by half (rounded up)

To successful parry, you must expand a move action. You may expand your next upcoming move action. This move action will affect your next round actions.

Block
You may choose to block a successful confirmed critical hit. Because dodge is a fundamental part of melee training, you do not have to declare a block before the critical is rolled.

To complete a block, you must roll an attack role using a melee weapon. Use all applicable modifies to your attack roll that the situation requires. If your block roll ties or beats the incoming attack roll, the block is successful. If your block roll is less than the incoming attack roll, than the critical hit is successful, and damage is applied normally to wounds. If you successfully block an incoming attack, the damage of that attack is reduced by half (rounded up), and applied to vitality.

To successful block, you must have and expand an attack action in the round that the critical was rolled. You cannot expand an attack action in this manner if you have used all your attack actions in this round.

Option Two:
Double Damage Rule

Upon completing a successful confirmed critical hit against your character, the damage is NOT dealt to your character's wounds. Instead the damage is doubled and applied to your vitality.

End Options

This is an open thread/discussion. All suggestions and changes will be edited within this post and the contributor will be given credit for what they added to this topic.

Anyone can post ideas, suggestions or comments to this thread.