Topic: RM simplified but with Critical Tables

[Jorik]

I've been reading the RM Simplified rules from Express Additions #3 and was very suprised -- I liked it a lot!
Never occured to me it could be done.

BUT, from all the tables, the critical table is my group's favorite - we can live without the others but the critical tables are a must, otherwise the whole RM feel is lost for us.

So, I've been thinking of incorporating a critial assignment rule for the simplified combat rules in EA3 and wanted your opinion.  Instead of using the critical like effects in this article, the idea is this:
After you calculate the total damage you rolled (after subtracting the opponents AT from the total) you deliver a critical of increasing severity for each 10 points of total damage you delivered.
e.g. if you rolled a 36 total damage against a 16 AT wearing foe, you deliver 20 points of Hit damage and a B critical.
If your damage total is below 10 - no critical is delivered
10-20 Hits - A critical
20-30 Hits - B critical
30-40 Hits - C critical
and so on...

Didn't play test it yet - could be that a divider of 5 instead of 10 is required, otherwise D and E criticals will never happen, at least not to heavily armored foes.
I know this adds more rolls to the combat round but I think we can live with it - rolling dice is more fun then looking at tables anyway

Anyone has other ideas?
Roy.

P.S.
BTW, anyone knows how the original rule in the article is applied against Large and Super Large creatures (and other creatures with special crit rules)?

[Jorik]

Did some math using Excel to compare critical chance results to the Arms Law tables...
A division is 5 per critical severity is definitely the way to go -- a division of 10 is too light on the criticals.

So here's the damage total (after AT subtraction) and the critical deliverd:
Damage
1-5   No crit
6-10   A
11-15   B
16-20   C
21-25   D
26-30   E
31-35   F
36-40   G
and so on

Most Arms Law tables have a maximum of an E critical - so all critical above E should be treated as E - depends on the type of attack though.

What do you think?
Roy.

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

Are you using the Damage Dice to determine the hits delivers?

If so, why not just make it so that every additional die beyond the first gives +1 critical severity (i.e. 2 dice = "A" crit; 3 dice = "B" crit, etc...)

This keeps it simple and you will know if you have done a critical before rolling for damage.

[Jorik]

I am using the damage dice, and this idea was the first to come to my mind.  But using this idea, critical severity according to number of damage dice, it doesn't matter which Armor Type the target is wearing - only on how high you rolled on your attack roll.
This is why I came up with the above, to bring the AT back into the equation.
Or am I missing something?

[Rasyr-Mjolnir]

aha.... I understand now... I wasn't considering AT at all in the equation.