- The attack drops the target to 0 hp. In this case, ignore critical results as appropriate since the target is out of the fight anyway.
- The attack roll beats the AC by 5 or more.
- The target fails hir Saving Throw by 5 or more.
- The attacker can call a shot for a critical hit by accepting a -5 penalty to hir attack roll
If ze designates a hit location, the critical roll will result in the next result less than or equal to the rolled number that targets the appropriate limb.
Otherwise, the critical roll determines the hit location.
Roll d% and consult the appropriate Critical chart for the damage type. On an F+ severity, use the same result on both the 'E' column and the 'A' or 'B' secondary column.
The severity of the Critical depends on the amount of damage:
Table: Critical Severity by Damage
If the attacker is smaller than the target, shift the Critical Level up one row for each size category difference to a minimum of 'A.'
If the attacker is larger than the target, shift the Critical Level down one row for each size category difference to a maximum of 'J.'
Critical Results
The critical charts result in a number of different effects. Remember to divide all dice penalties expressed in d100 terms by 5 to get their d20 equivalents.
- Wounds Some critical results indicate bone fractures or breaks, muscle or nerve damage, burns, and other types of wound. The target gains the Wounded condition and must receive healing appropriate to the type of injury, (e.g., a Light Bone Healing spell) with its severity indicated by the wound penalty.
- Bleeding The target continues to lose X hit points at the end of each turn until the wound is bound (with a healer's or herbalist's kit) or ze receives the appropriate magical healing. (e.g., a Flowstop spell)
Some creatures are immune to bleeding.
- Breakage In addition to the target's damage, one item at the appropriate hit location takes equal damage from the blow. If this breaks the item, it may cause additional effects.
- Fatigue The target suffers a penalty from excessive exertion or stress. This penalty remains until ze takes a Short Rest or receives magical healing.
Some creatures are immune to fatigue.
- Grapple On a critical table, a grapple result indicates the target is partially subdued with the grapple. It lists a penalty ze takes to all actions until ze breaks free.
- Hits This represents extra damage dealt by the Critical Strike. It's expressed in hit points and can be quite high for severe results.
- Penalties Some criticals result in a wound penalty. This affects all appropriate actions. See 'Wounds,' above.
A wound penalty of -10 or more means a character is having serious problems. If a wound penalty is -20 or more, the character is in serious distress and risks making the wound worse any time ze acts or moves. If a character suffers a wound penalty of -40, ze's dying.
- Staggered The target is knocked off balance. On hir next turn, the target can either move or take an action but not both.
- Prone The target is knocked off hir feet. Ze lands on the ground and must either fight from prone or stand up on hir next turn.
- Knocked Back Powerful blows may knock a target away from the attacker. The number of feet the target is pushed is indicated in the result. Unless indicated, this may or may not cause the target to wind up prone, as dictated by circumstances.
- Stun The target is disoriented by the blow. Ze can still act, but ze suffers a penalty to all actions ze takes.
A stun penalty of -5 means the target is dizzy and unstable. At -10, ze is struggling to control hir body. With a -15 penalty, the victim is having trouble standing and is nearly at the attacker's mercy. (i.e., 'Finish him!')
Some creatures are immune to stun.
Note that all penalties stack.
For example, Jozan bashes an evil cultist with his mace for 8 points of damage. It handily drops the cultist to 0 hp, so the result is a Critical Strike of 'D' severity. Jozan's player rolls d% and gets 27. We consult the Krush critical chart: "Strike to the belly makes foe regurgitate last meal." The cultist gets sick and collapses.
Alhandra casts Smite Undead II, then chops at a ghoul with her longsword and rolls 19 to hit against AC 12. A Critical Strike! She rolls low for 6 points of damage, a 'C' Slash critical, but she makes 78 on her d% roll. The critical chart reads "Hard chop cracks sternum." It deals 12 extra damage, 2 bleed / turn, a -4 injury penalty from the broken bone, a -2 fatigue penalty, stagger, and 5' knock back. The spell effect adds a 'B' Holy critical, which reads "Tiny balls of light radiate out from the blow, burning radiating lines across foe's chest." This adds 34 extra damage, stunned for one turn at -10, knocked down, staggered, and a breakage roll for the ghoul's armor or weapon.
The final blow deals 52 points of damage with a broken bone, inflicts 2 bleed / turn and -6 in ongoing penalties, staggers, knocks down, and knocks back the ghoul 5 feet, and stuns it for one turn at a -10 penalty. If the ghoul were wearing a breastplate, it'd be toast. That ghoul is more than dead.
Mialee casts Ray of Frost on a goblin brute, rolling 23 against the foe's AC 16. A Critical Strike! She maxes the damage for 8 points, a 'C' critical, and since she's one size category larger than the goblin, it bumps up to a 'D' critical. Mialee rolls 94 on d%! "Foe's legs are engulfed in cold. Frost crisscrosses foe's extremities. Core temperature drops. In 9 rounds, foe dies." The hit results in death, deals an extra 3 damage, causes a -8 wound penalty from frostbite, stuns the target for 3 turns at a -10 penalty, and then the target remains stunned for 6 turns with a -5 penalty. After that, the death timer trips and the foe dies. Unless this brute is a whole lot of trouble, ze's pretty much down for the count.
An enemy priest casts Sacred Flame on Kal, who flubs his Dexterity save with a 6 against DC 13. He takes 2 points of damage, an 'A' Holy critical. The DM rolls 61 on d%: "Strike to the shoulder sends burning pain running down foe's arm to fingertips." The spell deals 14 extra damage and inflicts a -10 stun for 1 turn. Kal groans as the spell wreaks its terrible effect for 16 points of damage and goes on the defensive for a turn to quaff a potion.
Lidda foot pads behind a half-orc guard and whacks him in the head with her sap, going for a Subdual Critical. Even with the -5 penalty to hir attack, she still hits the unsuspecting foe for a Critical Strike. With Sneak Attack, she rolls 10 points of damage: a 'D' Critical. However, since Lidda is a small creature and the half-orc is Medium-sized, her Critical severity is reduced by one level to 'C.' She rolls 42 on d% and consults the chart. The highest Head result up to 42 is 20: "Hard bonk to head causes foe to bite tongue and mouth fills with blood. Foe is unable to speak or scream for 2 rounds." The critical deals 4 extra damage and stuns the guard for one turn at a -5 penalty. Disoriented as he is, Lidda should be able to finish knocking the guard out before he can recover his voice.
Ember is trying to subdue her foe, a gnome infiltrator, before he can get away. She goes for a Grappling Critical. It's close, but she still manages to hit with a -5 to her attack roll: a Critical Strike. She rolls low for 2 damage, an 'A' critical, but since she's larger than the gnome, it bumps the level up to 'B.' She rolls d% for 66. "You tackle foe around waist, overwhelming him." It inflicts 10 extra damage, yields a -20 grapple result, stuns the target with a -15 penalty, staggers hir, and knocks hir back 5 feet. Good grapple, Ember!
*Critical Table results from Rolemaster Unified Core Law, S. Charlton and P. Fenlon, 2023 by Iron Crown Enterprises Ltd.