Critical hits, critical fails and wounds:

Basics: Critical hits are especially good hits. With every shot, every punch, every attack, there is a chance to land such a critical hit.
The chance to hit critically, can be influenced by perks, traits, certain types of attacks or even the choice of weapon, but corresponds always at least to the characters Luck stat. A roll succeeds, when the player rolls on or below the tested stat (i.e. when, with a pistol shot on which the character has
an effective value of 55 on handguns, the dice show less than 56).

If the character from this example has a luck stat of 5 and nothing that changes the chance for a critical hit, the shot is considered a critical hit, when the dice show 5 or less. Of course, in this case it's important where the hit was made. If the hit is critical, the master decides
what that hit means. The same applies to critical fails. In the following lists you'll find examples made by the authors, for what those could mean.

Critical hits with projectile weapons:

A critical hit with a projectile weapon ignores armor and does twice the amount of damage. It also causes a wound.

Wounds by projectile weapons:

The following lists are only recommendations. You as master can decide yourself, what a critical hit means. Wounds are special damages with further effects, apart from the one time loss of hit points. Starting with severe blood loss, that can quickly lead to death, if no one takes medical care of it, to wounds that more or less permanently influence some stats (missing fingers for example might lessen agility or handicap technical skills, wounds to the head might do the same to charisma, intelligence or perception, etc.)
Thanks to modern medicine, every wound can be healed. Some easier than others.

OPTIONAL: Furthermore, the authors have listed 20 wounds here (including the not listed hit to the weapon). If you manage a critical hit with an unaimed hit, you can also grab a D20 and roll one of the wounds out of this list, with 20 being a hit on the weapon.

Wounds to the head:

1.) Due to a grazing shot, the character looses an ear. This might explain minor damage. Advisable would be a simple test on body control. Unless the ear can be reattached, a permanent handicap on some social skills might be called for. If the inner ear is involved, a handicap on Agility and bodily skills would be advisable, too.

2.) The character is hit in an eye, but thanks to some miracle, the bullet does not penetrate deeper. To be used with high damage. The character could loose some points to Perception and a handicapped test on body control would make sense as well, to see if he looses consciousness.

3.) The skull stops the bullet. The character looses consciousness (if he survives at all) and if he does survive, it would make sense to deny him a point in Perception and Intelligence each, at least until the trauma had a chance to heal.

4.) If the damage is especially minor, just give the character a mean scar, maybe because the bullet grazed by his cheek.

5.) For especially horrible damage, the hit has gone into the neck. If the character survives he's knocked out and looses 2 D6 hit points each round due to blood loss.

Wounds to the torso:

6.) Punctured lung. The character can't run anymore. Even walking is difficult. First of, a slightly handicapped test on body control to check if he looses consciousness. Does he remain in the fight, his movement is reduced by 0.5 cm per action point.

7.) Hit to the abdomen: strongly handicapped test on body control as to whether or not the character blacks out. The character can neither go prone nor crouch, since both movements cause to much pain. As a permanent effect, you can put that character on a special diet and give an intolerance for example to alcohol.

8.) Broken rib. Like with the punctured lung, the character can't run anymore. They can still walk however and the body control test is a simple test.

9.) Hit to the shoulder. The gun shot wound everyone wishes for. A through and through bullet wound. All use of the corresponding arm are handicapped by 10 points until the wound has been attended to. If the arm is used to reload, reloading costs one AP more.

10.) Crotch/genitals. For the shooter a big grin, for the person hit an immediate, automatic knock out. For the foreseeable future running is impossible. Getting children as well. Peeing causes enormous amounts of pain. In total, life will suck, but one saves money, since one won't visit the
Cat's Paw as often. And the local girls choir might re joice over the potential new member.

Wounds to the arms

11.) Through the bone, broken bone. The arm hangs in an unnatural angle on the side. Until treated and healed, that arm can't be used.

12.) Hit to a finger, finger gone or hit through the palm of the hand. All tests having to do with fine motor skills are handicapped. Is the missing finger the index finger, the middle finger must be used to to pull the trigger: -20 on all shots until the character had a chance to learn and get used to the new handling.

13.) Amputation of the hand or forearm. The hand or rather, parts of the forearm are missing completely. Very handicapped test on body control to see if the character is knocked out. Until a tourniquet is applied, the character experiences heavy blood loss: 1 D10 damage every round.

14.) Grazing shot/shot into the muscles. Handicap of 10 to all tests with this arm. The easiest imaginable hit.

Wounds to the legs

15.) Hit to the muscles. The character can't run anymore. Normal walking moves 0.5 cm less per action point. Jumping and similar actions are impossible, pending the judgment of the master.

16.) Broken bone. Similar to the broken arm. Running is, of course, impossible. As is jumping. Movement per action point is reduced to half.

17.) Kneecap shattered. Running is of course impossible, as is jumping. Movement per action point is reduced to half. The difference to the normal broken bone lies with the long term impairment. The kneecap must be replaced with an artificial one or an outside prosthesis must be applied to the knee. Only few doctors in the wasteland have both the know how and the resources to manage the complete replacement.

18.) Amputation of the foot or lower leg. The foot or rather part of the lower leg are missing completely. Heavily handicapped test on body control to see if the character looses consciousness. Until a tourniquet is applied, severe blood loss: 1 D10 damage per round.
Every kind of movement except crawling or support oneself somewhere are completely impossible.

19.) Hit to the hip; shattered hip. The character can neither jump nor run. Normal movement is reduced by 1 cm per action point. The severeness of the necessary treatment places this wound somewhere between the shattered kneecap and the normal broken bone.

Critical hits in close combat:

In close combat, too, a critical hit does double the damage and ignores the armor of the hit person. For the wounds however, it must me differentiated what kind of weapon caused the wounds: blades do different kinds of wounds than blunt weapons.

Here, too, wounds are special injuries, that have further effects, in addition to the damage in hit points. Those additional effects may impair various stats of the wounded. The following list are simply suggestions. You as master can decide yourself, what a critical hit means.

Thanks to modern medicine, every wound can be healed. Some easier than others.

OPTIONAL: Furthermore, the authors have compiled 20 wounds here. If you manage a critical hit with an unaimed attack, you could take a D20 and roll one of the wounds out of this list.

(The following list often contains two separate descriptions or at least separate effects of the described wound. The one marked with (C) for cut means a wound inflicted by a bladed weapon, the one marked with (T) for thrust means a wound inflicted by a blunt weapon. There is no
differentiation made between unarmed and armed close combat weapons: a spiked knuckle duster is as much a blade as a combat knife, a sledge hammer as blunt as a fist).

Wounds to the head

1.) The character looses an ear. This could explain minor damage. A simple test on body control would be advisable: if the test is failed, the shock handicaps for the rest of the fight. If the ear can't be sewed back or replaced, a handicap on certain social skills would be fitting. If the inner ear has
been affected as well, that handicap applies to Agility and bodily skills, as well.

2.) The character is hit at an eye. To be used with major damage. The character could loose some points on Perception.
(T): The eye swells shut. Perception loss until it is healed.
(C): The eye itself is damaged. Permanent perception loss, maybe an ugly scar where it once was. A prosthesis is of course possible (glass eyes or cybernetic implants are available in the wasteland, the latter however mostly only in Vault-City or with the Brotherhood of Steel and extremely costly).
But there is still the eye patch from the pirate costume...

3.) Hit to the forehead.
(T): To be used with major damage. The character must perform a test on body control, that is handicapped by twice the amount of damage taken, to check if he looses consciousness. If he fails, the blackout lasts for 1 D3 rounds.
(C): To be used with minor damage. The character receives an ugly, bleeding gash along his forehead, but the skull itself has prevented the blade from entering the head and doing major damage.

4.) Wound to the cheek or chin:
(T): The character must perform a test on body control that is handicapped by 25 points. If the test succeeds, he only suffers the damage taken. If the test fails, he's numbed for the next round. All his attacks and parries until the end of the next round are handicapped by 20 points.
(C): The character receives a dashing scar. That's it.

5.) Hit to the neck:

(T): The character has major problems breathing. He must perform a test on body control that is handicapped by 30 points, to check if he blacks out. If the damage taken was more than 10 hit points, the larynx is crushed. If he doesn't get help from a doctor or medic within the next 2 D6
rounds, he suffocates.
(C): The aorta has been ripped open. The character looses blood in great quantities. If the bleeding isn't stopped or slowed down within 7 rounds, he is dead. To slow it down a single stimpack injected close to the wound or a simple bandage is already enough.

Wounds to the torso

6.) Hit to the upper chest:
(T): The character exhales explosively and his lungs refuse to immediately fill again. With a passed test on body control all attacks and parries in this round are handicapped by 15 points. With a failed test, for 2 D6 rounds.
(C): Here we distinguish between a thrust and a swing. With a thrust, what happens is the same as with the corresponding gun shot wound: punctured lung. The character can't run anymore. Even walking is hard. First of, a slightly handicapped test on body control, to see if he blacks out. If he remains in the fight, his movement is reduced by 0.5 cm per AP.
With a swing only the actual damage is taken.

7.) Hit to the abdomen. Test on body control to check if the character blacks out.
(T): If the attack did more damage, than the character has points on strength, the character will have problems with his digestion in the near term and bending down or stooping will hurt for a short while. If the attack did less damage, the abdominal muscles prevented the above.
(C): The character can neither crouch nor go prone, since both hurt too much. As a permanent effect, you can put that character on a special diet and give an intolerance for example to alcohol.

8.) Broken rib. Like with the punctured lung, the character can't run anymore. He can still walk however and the test on body control is a simple test.

9.) Hit to the shoulder. All usage of the corresponding arm are handicapped by 10 until someone took medical care of it. If the arm is used to reload, reloading costs one AP more.

10.) Crotch/genitals. For the shooter a big grin, for the hit an immediate, automatic knock out. For the foreseeable future running is impossible. Getting children as well. Peeing causes enormous amounts of pain. In total, life will suck, but one saves money, since one won't visit the Cat's Paw as often. And the local girls choir might rejoice over the potential new member.

Wounds to the arms

11.) Broken bone. The arm hangs to the side in an unnatural angle. Until it is treated and had a chance to heal, it can't be used.
(C): With an especially strong attack the character must perform a test on luck to check if the arm was amputated at this point.

12.) Hit to a finger, finger one or hit on/through the palm of the hand. All tests having to do with fine motor skills are handicapped. If the missing finger is the index finger, another finger must be used to fire guns. -20 on all shots until the character had a chance to relearn.

13.) Hand or lower arm amputation. The hand or rather parts of the lower arm are completely gone. Strongly handicapped test on body control to check if the character looses consciousness. Until a tourniquet is applied, the character suffers severe bloodloss: 1 D10 damage per round.

14.) Hit to the muscles. 10 points of handicap to all tests with this arm. The simplest, imaginable hit.

Wounds to the legs

15.) Hit to the muscles. The character can't run anymore. Normal walking gains 0.5 cm less per action point. Jumping and similar actions are, pending a ruling by the master, impossible or strongly handicapped.

16.) Broken bone, similar to the broken arm. Running is of course impossible, as is jumping. Movement per action point is reduced to half.

17.) Shattered kneecap. Running is of course impossible, as is jumping. Movement per action point is reduced by half. The difference to the normal broken bone lies with the long term impairment. The kneecap must be replaced with an artificial one or an outside prosthesis must be applied to the knee. Only few doctors in the wasteland have both the know how and the resources to manage the complete replacement.

18.) Hit to the foot/lower leg.
(T): The character goes down. Hard. A test on body control that is eased by 20 points, to check if he can stand up normally or has to lift himself for twice the amount of AP that would normally cost (usually, that would be 8 AP). While he lies all parries are impossible.
(C): Amputation of the foot/lower leg. The foot or part of the lower leg are completely gone.
Strongly handicapped test on body control to check if the character blacks out. Until a tourniquet is applied, blood loss wreaks 1 D10 damage each round. All forms of movement except crawling or leaning against something are impossible.

19.) Hit to the hip, hip is shattered. The character can neither run nor jump. Normal movement is reduced by 1 cm per action point. The severity of the treatment lies somewhere between a normal broken bone and a shattered kneecap.

Critical fails with projectile weapons:

Basically, a critical fail means, that you not only don't hit, but something horrible happens to either the shooter or the weapon.
The following lists some examples for critical fails. What exactly happens is not decided by a roll, but by the master.

This also depends heavily on the weapon used. Example 2 would not work with a weapon that has only one shot. Likewise, examples 3 and 4 work only with weapons using gunpowder. That your bow and arrow or plasma rifle develops a feed jam is rather difficult to imagine.

1. The shooter jerks the trigger and the recoil let's him drop his weapon.
   The character must pick the weapon up from the floor for 2 AP.
2. The weapon develops a feed jam.
   The shooter must fix the jam for 4 action points.
3. The percussion cap of the cartridge is flawed and the bullet won't fly.
   The shooter must cycle the gun by hand. Depending on the gun and a ruling of the master,
   this costs 1 to 3 AP.
4. The cartridge is loaded to hot and the gun is damaged during shooting.
   The gun is unusable and must be repaired. Please look up the needed workshop class in the
   list “gun smiting II – self built weapons”. If several classes are given, take the “biggest” one.