There are a million ways to kill player characters, and a million more rule hacks to twist the blade in their guts. I love all these rules — anything to inject more chaos into the battle. If you can break bones or gouge eyes, even better.
Combat simulation varies by game, game master, and the players. Some like it gory, some like it Disney-ified, and some prefer to avoid it at all costs.
Gory, tactical, magical, or silly — I think one maxim supercedes them all:
Everyone’s got a battle plan until they catch a flail in the face.
To simulate that, I roll on this d10 table at the end of every combat round.
The Order Chaos of Battle
This table works well for any retro-clone or modern D&D. If you’re adding it to another system, you might need to adjust the saves to fit your game — feel free.
Whatever changes you need to make, consider these guidelines first:
Tell the players how this works
This is never a secret at my table. The players know what it is, the results they might get, and when it will happen.
Always roll at the end of the round
I do this for 2 reasons:
The events of the previous round will afford narrative justification for the die result. This builds continuity for the players and cranks up the tension for their characters in a logical way.
Players can’t ignore the action while they wait for their turn. Those folks leafing through rules for the perfect spell or scrolling Reddit just had their plans turned upside down.
Double down on duplicate results
If I roll the same result again, I make it bigger, louder, or just plain worse for the players. Increase the save difficulty, ranged effects, or magical side effects.
The fire’s out, but the smoke left behind is choking.
The ground is bloody slop, and so are you: don’t drop your weapon.
There’s no shot…and no time. Shoot, but a miss hits your ally instead.
I don’t get hung up on the details or physics of the result. And if players have a different interpretation, I invite them to “yes, and” the result. Typically, they make it way harder on themselves than I would have.
It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Then it’s really fun.
I’ve included a PDF version of this table you can download too.
Fight on, and watch your eye.
—Odinson.
This idea combined with another one I recently read brought me to think to an interesting add-on for my games... a post in the next future will explain it!
Thanks and may the fun be always at your table!
This is madness, but that is how a real fight would be. Thanks for sharing.