Having already done the Firearms rules, as well as Optics and Ammo Types I think covering Armor and Injury was a logical extension to the topic and a good place to round off these series of articles.

Something of note regarding my system/setting is that humans are squishy and fragile, your average person in terms of hit point value is 1d6, a trained soldier or athletic person is in range of 2d6 to 3d6 hit points, while an exceptional peak human is in 4d6 range hit point range.

In short much of this article is to expand on the lethality of the system and as well options to curb it.

Critical Hit Tables⌗

Taking after but expanding on some of my design inspiration, I made some critical hit tables, these tables replace traditional critical hit damage, (which either multiplied the damage or the total damage number) these tables incur an injury instead.

As well the tables broken up by Damage type though follow a general them, 1-10 being simply nothing, you get the auto-hit of the critical but nothing extra, while 11-20+ are an increasing scale of injury, anything over 20 being instant death.

One thing of note: I made Charisma the modifier for these tables for 3 reasons. -

  1. The table that inspired these critical tables did the same thing and for the following reasons.
  2. Charisma in many OSR systems is often presented a soft-luck stat, being used in places where the players skill plays no factor but their mere presence might.
  3. Many old School systems fail to give Charisma more things to do. I don’t care much for social skills as a mechanic, so modifying Morale and Reaction tables are good starts for Charisma as is this.

Ballistic Critical Hit Table (d20 + Charisma modifier)⌗

Roll Effect
11 Grazing shot: -1 to all actions for 1d4 rounds
12 Arm wound: -2 to attack rolls and ability checks with that arm
13 Leg wound: Movement speed reduced by half
14 Hand shot: -4 to manipulate objects or make attacks with that hand, drops held item
15 Shoulder hit: Saving throw to Drop held item, -2 to attacks with that arm
16 Gut shot: -2 to all actions, 1 point of bleeding damage per round
17 Painful groin hit: Stunned for 1d4 rounds, -4 to all actions for 1 hour
18 Upper-Chest shot (d6): 1-4: Lung puncture, -4 to all STR or CON checks 5-6: Heart wound, death in 1d4 rounds without immediate medical attention
19 Neck Shot (d6): 1-3: Carotid arteries hit, 1d6 bleed loss per turn 4-5: Damaged trachea, can’t breathe 6: Damaged spine, instant death
20 Headshot (d6): 1-2: Grazed skull, stunned for 1d6 rounds 3-4: Eye shot, permanent blindness in one eye 5-6: Brain hit, instant death
21+ Instant Death

Stabbing Critical Hit Table (d20 + Charisma modifier)⌗

Roll Effect
11 Grazed side: -1 to all actions for 1d4 rounds
12 Arm puncture: -2 to attack rolls and ability checks with that arm
13 Thigh stab: Movement speed reduced by half
14 Hand pierced: -4 to manipulate objects or make attacks with that hand
15 Deep shoulder wound: Drop held item, -3 to attacks with that arm
16 Gut puncture: -2 to all actions, 1d4 points of bleeding damage per round
17 Lung puncture: -4 on all physical actions, 1 point of bleeding damage per round
18 Kidney stab: Stunned for 1 round, -4 to all actions for 1 hour, 1d6 bleeding damage per round
19 Eye injury (d6): 1-3: Permanent -2 to ranged attacks and Perception checks 4-6: Eye destroyed, permanent -4 to ranged attacks and Perception checks
20 Heart nick: Unconscious, death in 1d4 rounds without immediate medical attention
21+ Heart Stab: Instant death

Slashing Critical Hit Table (d20 + Charisma modifier)⌗

Roll Effect
11 Shallow cut: -1 to all actions for 1d4 rounds
12 Arm slash: -2 to attack rolls and ability checks with that arm
13 Hamstring cut: Movement speed reduced by half
14 Hand gash: -4 to manipulate objects or make attacks with that hand
15 Shoulder slice: Saving throw Drop held item, -3 to attacks with that arm
16 Abdominal cut: -2 to all actions, 1d4 points of bleeding damage per round
17 Chest gash: -3 to all physical actions, 1d4 bleeding damage per round
18 Facial wound (d6): 1-3: -2 to all Charisma-based checks 4-5: -4 to all Charisma-based checks 6: -4 to all Charisma-based checks, blinded in one eye
19 Throat slash: Cannot speak, 1d8 bleeding damage per round
20 Disemboweled: Incapacitated, death in 1d6 rounds without immediate medical attention
21+ Decapitated: Instant Death

Bludgeoning Critical Hit Table (d20 + Charisma modifier)⌗

Roll Effect
11 Bruising blow: -1 to all actions for 1d2 rounds
12 Arm contusion: -2 to attack rolls and ability checks with that arm
13 Leg bash: Movement speed reduced by half
14 Hand smash: -2 to manipulate objects or make attacks with that hand
15 Shoulder impact: -4 to attacks with that arm
16 Solar plexus hit: Stunned for 1 round, -2 to all actions for 1d6 rounds
17 Chest crush: -3 to all physical actions, 1d4 damage to AC (armor or natural)
18 Concussion (d6): 1-2: -2 to all mental ability checks for 1d4 hours 3-4: -4 to all mental ability checks for 1d4 days 5-6: Permanent -2 to all mental ability checks
19 Knee shatter: Fall prone, movement speed reduced to 5 feet, cannot stand without aid
20 Skull fracture: Unconscious, permanent -2 to Intelligence if survived
21+ Skull Smashed: Instant Death

Severe Limb Damage Rule⌗

When a critical hit result indicates potential for severe limb damage (such as severing):

  1. Determine the attacker’s Strength (STR) modifier.
  2. Roll a d8.
  3. If the d8 roll is equal to or less than the attacker’s STR modifier, the limb is severed.

Example: An attacker with +3 STR has a 3 in 8 chance of severing a limb when the critical hit table calls for a severity check.

Body Armor System⌗

The crux of this article, body armor. I had to chew on this concept for awhile as to balance between not making it too complicated nor making it as simple as just any AC mechanic, I believe this strikes okay balance between depth and complexity and offers players some actual tangible choices beyond just selecting the best AC possible, more so do to the Weight-Slot mechanic discussed in the prior article.

Key bullet points:

  1. Armor Class: Armor class embodies the how hard it is to hit or hurt a target outright, this stat starts at 9 and is modified by DEX + armor.
  2. Damage Resistance: Applies to oncoming damage and reduces it by the number value. e.g DR 4 would reduce an attack of 6 damage to merely 2.
  3. Weight Slots: The weight value of any given item as represented as slots, characters can carry a number of weight slots equal to their STR + CON score.
  4. Armor Dice: Armor Dice embody active or proactive protection, such as a force field or point defense system or active tank armor, they are dice that are rolled against and reduce oncoming damage. Armor Dice are often reserved for advanced or supernatural defenses.

Armor Levels⌗

Level Description Examples
I Soft armor, protects against most handgun rounds Kevlar vest
II Improved soft armor, protects against higher velocity handgun rounds Enhanced Kevlar vest
III Hard plates, protects against rifle rounds Ceramic or polyethylene plates
IV Advanced hard plates, protects against armor-piercing rifle rounds Composite ceramic/polyethylene plates

Armor Types⌗

Soft Armor⌗

Type AC Bonus DR Weight Slots Stealth Penalty
Concealed Vest (I) +1 1 1 0
Light Vest (II) +2 2 2 0
Heavy Vest (II+) +2 3 3 -1

Plate Carriers⌗

Type AC Bonus DR Weight Slots Stealth Penalty
Partial (Front) +1 * 2 -1
Full (Front/Back) +2 * 3 -2
  • DR depends on the plates inserted

Plates⌗

Type DR Weight Slots Additional AC
III Steel 4 2 0
III Ceramic 4 1 +1
III+ Polyethylene 5 1 +1
IV Composite 6 2 +2

Armor Configurations⌗

  1. Basic Soft Armor: Choose any Soft Armor type.
  2. Plate Carrier + Plates:
    • Choose a Plate Carrier
    • Add 1-2 Plates (Front only or Front/Back)
    • Add AC Bonus from carrier and Additional AC from plates
    • Use DR from plates
  3. Composite Protection:
    • Choose a Soft Armor type
    • Add a Plate Carrier
    • Add 1-2 Plates
    • Use highest AC among components + 1
    • Use combined DR of all components
    • Use all penalties among components

Special Rules⌗

  1. Layering: When using composite protection, Add all Weight Slots value together
  2. Weak Points: On a critical hit or called shot, ignore the DR from plates if hitting an unprotected area.
  3. Directional Attacks: Like weak points, attacking from a flank or rear halves the DR value (rounded down) for unprotected side.
  4. (Optional) Durability: At the end of any battle roll a d6, on on a 1-2 the armor’s DR is reduced by -1, this repeats until the armor is destroyed.

Splinter Thy Gear⌗

Many OSR systems feature a very fun rule to handle equipment durability as well, called Splinter Thy Shield where the player may declare before taking a critical or normal attack to negate the critical or reduce the damage of the normal attack by sacrificing their shield.

In the same vain, Splinter Thy Gear is an optional rule where the players may choose to sacrifice their equipment in order to negate damage, acting as a sort of voluntary durability mechanic.

  1. The Player may sacrifice a piece of equipment; Armor or Weapon, to negate taking a critical strike (still take normal damage however)
  2. The player may reduce oncoming damage relative to the weight slot of the weapon or DR of the armor (1d6 per point of DR) or (1d4 per weight slot of weapon)
  3. The player may only do this one per Turn in combat for either action.