OSR: Critical Hit Tables + Revised Healing and Armor rules

source unknown

Critical Hit Rules:

If you make an attack against an enemy and roll a "20" on your d20 and do at least 1 point of damage, that counts as a Critical Hit.  For attacks that require a saving throw that does damage, only a roll of maximum damage counts as a critical hit.  This is the case for firearms mostly.   

If your opponent parries all the damage, reducing it to 0, or otherwise evades the attack that prevents you from landing a hit, it does not count.

Also, for the purposes of these tables, the Target is the term used to refer to the person getting hit, the Attacker to the person who made it.

Besides the damage they would ordinarily do, Critical Hits also inflict another effect, as determined by the relevant table below.

When a Critical Hit is rolled, roll on the relevant table based on the appropriate damage type:

Sharp Damage- Anything that rips, cuts or tears.  Teeth, knives, swords, spears, etc.

1d10
1- The Target is surprised and shocked by the skill of his opponent or the effectiveness of that attack and must succeed a COG save or become frightened of the Attacker. 
2- The Target must save or be disarmed, having it swatted out of his hand by the Attacker or simply dropping it.
3- The Target takes a minor injury that causes him to gain a -1d4 penalty to Attack, but not Defense rolls, until he gets a chance to bandage this wound and rest for at least 10 minutes.  Painkillers can immediately end this effect. 
4- The Target takes an injury to the face, losing 1d3 CHA.  The character must also immediately make a COG save.  On a failed save, the target is frightened of the Attacker. 
5- The Target takes an injury to the face and blood begins running into his eyes.  He makes all ranged attacks at disadvantage until he can bandage his wound or receives magical healing. 
6- The Target is rattled by the force of the blow and must save or lose his footing.  On a failed save, this gives the next attack against him advantage.
7- The Attacker rolls his damage di(c)e twice and adds the result together for total damage dealt.  Attack and damage modifiers are only added once.     
8- The Target suffers from a Persistent Wound, losing 1d4 HP a round until an action is taken to bandage the wound and staunch the bleeding.  The DC for this is 5+X, where X is the damage dealt. 
9- The Target is impaled or deeply pierced by the weapon, locking him and the Attacker into a deadly embrace.  The Attacker can deal damage equal to his base weapon on his turn as an action, or remove his weapon to give the Target a Persistent Wound.  
10- The Attacker rolls his damage di(c)e three times and adds the result together for total damage dealt.  Attack and damage modifiers are only added once.

Bludgeoning Damage- Anything that crushes, smashes or flattens.  Anything from a falling boulder to a warhammer to a fist. 

1d10
1- The Target is surprised and shocked by the skill of his opponent or the effectiveness of that attack and must succeed a COG save or become frightened of the Attacker. 
2- The Target must save or be disarmed, having it swatted out of his hand by the Attacker or simply dropping it.
3- The Target takes a blow to the head, disorienting them and causing them to make all checks and saves based on mental awareness or perception at disadvantage for 1 minute.  The character may make a new save on his turn to end this effect early, ending the effect on a successful save. 
4- The Target is rattled by the force of the blow and must save or be stunned for 1 minute.  Stunned characters can move but take no actions.  A stunned character may make a new save on his turn to avoid being stunned for another round, ending the effect on a successful save.
5- The Target must save or be knocked prone. 
6- The Target's armor takes damage, permanently reducing their FS by 1d4.  If an armor offers 0 additonal FS, it is destroyed. 
7- The Attacker rolls his damage di(c)e twice and adds the result together for total damage dealt.  Attack and damage modifiers are only added once.
8- The Target's weapon takes damage, permanently causing it to do -1d6 damage.  If a weapon does 0 damage, it is destroyed.    
9- The Target is throw 1d10+Enemy STR modifier feet backwards.  The Target must save or land prone.   
10- The Attacker rolls his damage di(c)e three times and adds the result together for total damage dealt.  Attack and damage modifiers are only added once.

Ballistic Damage- Guns, shrapnel and any other type of projectile that flies at high speeds that is not an arrow; arrows and slower projectiles count as sharp or bludgeoning, respectively.

1d10
1- The Target is surprised and shocked by the skill of his opponent or the effectiveness of that attack and must succeed a COG save or become frightened of the Attacker. 
2- The Target takes a crushing blow to his armor, not doing permanent damage but knocking him prone from the bruising force. 
3- The Target takes an injury to the face, causing blood to start flowing into his eyes.  The Target makes all ranged attacks at disadvantage until he can bandage his wound or receive melee healing. 
4- The Target's armor takes damage, permanently reducing their FS by 1d4.  If an armor offers 0 additonal FS, it is destroyed.
5- The Target takes some shrapnel to the face, causing an injury around his eye.  He is temporarily blinded in one eye, inflicting disadvantage on all checks and saves based on perception.  After the battle, the Target should save.  On a failed save, the eye is seriously injured, otherwise the injury was just close enough to scare, but not do permanent damage to the Target's eye. 
6- The Target takes an injury to his arms, causing him to make Attack rolls and rolls requiring precise movements at a -1d4 penalty until this injury can be bandaged and the character has rested for at least 10 minutes.  Painkillers immediately remove this effect. 
7- The Attacker rolls his damage di(c)e twice and adds the result together for total damage dealt.  Attack and damage modifiers are only added once.
8- The Target suffers from a Persistent Wound, losing 1d4 HP a round until an action is taken to bandage the wound and staunch the bleeding.  The DC for this is 5+X, where X is the damage dealt. 
9- The Target is stunned and frightened for 1 minute.  The noise and confusion of combat also causes him to become unnerved.  The character must save or run in a random direction, as long as it is away from the Attacker. 
10- The Attacker rolls his damage di(c)e three times and adds the result together for total damage dealt.  Attack and damage modifiers are only added once.

source unknown

New Healing Rules:

When you are dropped to 0 HP, you do not go into the negatives.  Healing items restore your HP starting from 0.

If you would take damage that pushes you below 0 HP, on the other hand, you must roll on the Horrible Wounds table. 

Horrible Wounds require X days to heal based on the result roll (min 1), with the number modified by the quality of medicine, if any, you have access to.  For example, an "8" on the Horrible Wounds table requires 8 days to heal.  If you go to a Hospital with a rating of 4, then that cuts the time down to 4.

If you don't rest for the required time, then you must make a CON save.  On a successful save, you receive a persistent injury that lasts for a number of days equal to the Horrible Wound.  Each day you are dropped to 0 HP or roll on the Horrible Wounds table you must save to see if your injury gets worse.  On a failed save, roll on the table below.  On a successful save, merely extend the duration of the injury by 1.

Things get Worse:

1d6
1- The injury persists for another 1d4 days. 
2- The injury persists for another 1d6 days.
3- The injury gets infected.
4- The injury leaves a scar, that permanently reduces an Ability score.
5- The injury becomes permanent.
6- The injury gets worse, roll again on the Horrible Wounds table, adding the previous result as if the character received a new injury in combat.

by DESPOP

New Armor Rules:

My Health System is divided into two types, sort of like Logan Knight's grit and flesh, mixed with stuff from Arnold K. and the Angry GM. 

Hit Points, or HP, starts at 1/3 of your CON score at level 1.  At level 2, your HP equals 1/2 your CON score.  At level 3, it equals your CON score.  HP is the 'Flesh' of Grit and Flesh.  It is your meaty bits.  If you take damage to your HP, you're being stabbed, shot or brutalized. 

Fighting Spirit, or FS, starts at whatever your class gives you.  For example, Fighting Men get +3 FS per level.  You get as much FS as your class gives you until you hit max level or your FS equals your total COG (Cognition) score.  FS is the 'Grit' of Grit and Flesh, it is the magical part of HP, your 'kung-fu' as Basic Red once described it.  If you take an injury to FS, in the fiction your character narrowly avoids being injured, dodges or tanks the hit without taking real damage. 

This is important, I promise. 

I am changing my Armor system again.  I know, you're all tired of it.  But Red Kangaroo was right when he pointed out the obvious problem.  And it turns out he was right.  For while the system worked at low levels, once you got to higher levels, it was too powerful.  Characters who couldn't do large amounts of damage were side-lined as they were wasting their turns smacking enemies with tons of armor and because of how Saving Throws could reduce the damage taken by firearms, anyone with good luck and decent armor made firearms do basically no damage.  So here we go again.

Armor now gives you extra FS. 

It still comes in Light, Medium and Heavy. 

Light Armor gives you +3 FS.  If worn, it takes up 4 inventory slots.   

Medium Armor gives you +4 FS.  If worn, it takes up 5 inventory slots.

Heavy Armor gives you +5 FS.  If worn, it takes up 6 inventory slots.

Shields give you +1 FS.  The rules for parrying damage with shields are unchanged. 

Helms give you +1 FS.  They give you advantage on all saves against being knocked unconscious.

by FeloniusMonk

OSR: Making Humans Weird

from here

Cacklecharm once said something very interesting about humans.  I forget exactly what post it was in (I lied, it's here), but it he said that he's fine with humans not having specific racial abilities in games like D&D, with them being the generic, assumed normal.  The special things about humans is that they are humans, inherently normal and understandable, a known quality already and unavoidably familiar to the players.  

I'm paraphrasing and being overly flowery, but that was the gist of his message.  Dwarves and Elves can be weird and strange, but humans should be different.  I disagreed with this perspective; I think that if humans were part of a world full of Wizards and Dragons, they would be different then the humans of our universe.  

So if you want to make your Humans weird, roll on the table below and see what you get.  

What is different about humans in this setting?

1d12
1- Humans are the oldest race.  All other races are descended from humans.  This may be common knowledge, disputed by some or all, or unknown.  How this happened can vary, from genetic engineering, last-ditch attempts by humans to save their species from extinction, half-breeds created when the race of genetically cultivated concubines' birth control stopped working after an apocalypse, etc. 
2- Humans are the race that discovered magic.  Magic works off of human principles and humans are innately better at it than most races, barring creatures which are innately magical, such as Spirits, Elves or Dragons.  For races without innate magic, they need some kind of "in" to use magic, such as making a pact with a Spirit, exposing themselves to Raw Chaos, throwing themselves into a Pool of Mother's Blood, etc.  The one exception is humans, who can do magic without use of these tricks.  Humans can still screw up their spells and must be trained, but they don't need an invitation to start learning magic.     
3- Humans can adapt to any environment over time, no matter how hostile.  This causes humans to change their phenotypical features based on where they live.  Human populations that live in hotter climates develop darker skin tones, humans that live in colder climates develop paler skin, humans that live underground will find their children start turning into Morlocks, etc. 
4- Human 1d3 (1= Males; 2= Females; 3= Both) go into heat during the full moon or at other pre-selected times.  In human settlements during this time, things get very interesting for a couple of hours, before everything goes back to normal.  Human culture has developed and altered around this specific biological quirk.  During other times of the month/year, it may be harder or impossible for humans to sire offspring.
5- Humans are the only race that can produce viable offspring with other races outside their race.  For all Half-X (Orc, Elf, Dragon) creatures, the other half is human.
6- Humans are the only race that reproduce via sexual intercourse.  All other species reproduce through some sort of magical ritual or mystical process.  These races might not have sex at all, or they might do it for purposes other than reproduction, such as maintaining intra-group harmony (see Bonobos). 
7- Humans have tails.  Bonus points if they're prehensile.  Even if they aren't used for anything, a human's tail can be used to judge their mood as it betrays their emotions.  Only an extremely disciplined human can control his tail. 
8- Humans transform into a different type of creature or have their personality or behavior altered by certain astronomical event, such as the phases of the Moon causing humans to devolve into a more primitive mindset.
9- Humans are the only ones who can domesticate animals.  All other races merely adopted animals humans already prepared for them.
10- Humans are the best horse-riders and have a natural bond with horses.  All other races either cannot ride horses due to physical considerations such as being too big, frightening horses with their smell, etc.  Other races may ride other beasts, but these are not as good as horses, or possess drawbacks that horses do not.  Riding giant wolves is badass, until you look into the cost of feeding them, etc. 
11- Humans are the only race that has dogs.  All dogs have a natural bond with humans and they are almost always friendly towards humans, barring unusual circumstances.
12- Humans have no creator God or central religion.  This is because, in ancient times at the beginning of the world, they joined their creator's chief servant in rebellion against him, overthrowing and destroying him.  Now either that traitorous servant or his successor(s) rule over the humans, either openly or in secret.  The latter fact is secret knowledge, hidden from almost all mortals.  For humans whom this is true, their dominant trait, the one their race is known for, is ambition.

from here

6, Extended:

Elves:

Elves exist at the conjunction point between animal, faerie and human.  They are alike all, but belong to none.  Elves are created through negotiations with representatives from the Animal Kings, the Faerie Courts and from the divine guardians of civilization and humanity.  This negotiation process typically takes between 10 months to 2 years and while it can be done individually, usually involves anywhere from 3 to 20 elves as well representative Spirits from the Animal Kingdoms and Faerie Courts.  The negotiators must balance the concerns of all parties, making concessions and demands as they see fit.  Only when all parties agree can a new Elf be created.  New Elves then emerge from under covers of leaves, wash up on the shores of creeks wrapped in aquatic plants, or are found half-buried in the mud of rice patties. 

Depending on which side received more concessions determines what kind of Elf is created.  High Elves emphasize their human side and can thus wield and wear iron without suffering any negative effects.  Wood Elves have their animal side emphasized, and can talk to certain types of beasts such as creeping things, birds, beasts of the field, etc, as if they shared a language.  Dark Elves have their Faerie side emphasized, so while they cannot use iron weapons or wear armor made of the same, but they start with the ability to cast spells. 

Dwarves:

Dwarves tell stories about their heroic ancestors to encourage reincarnation, or so they believe.  If enough Dwarves tell stories about a specific person, that will create a new Dwarf and allow that spirit to reincarnate, or so it is believed.  The new Dwarf will not necessarily have the strength or talents of the ancestor they might be a reincarnation of, but they usually share the same personality and temperment of the person the story is about. 

For example, if everyone tells the story of Tourmond Goblinbane, who was a ferocious warrior and a serial womanizer with a heart of gold, someone similar to that might one day stumble into town.  This new Dwarf might not have the skill at arms or in bed as the original Tourmond, but he might have other talents.  He will, however, share some of the sentiments and character of Tourmound, having a similar mix of honor, valor and lechery.

Additionally, some Dwarven folklore has been corrupted by myths, fantasy and legend that has slowly become accepted as fact over the generations.  As such, some of the ancestors who are supposedly reincarnating might not have ever existed in the first place.  This doesn't really bother anyone, if they even know such a thing is a possibility. 

Halflings:

Halflings are created from animals.  Halflings adopt animals and slowly civilize those beasts, teaching them how to wear clothes, cook and clean, maintain houses and use proper table manners.  Over a period of years or decades, depending on the animal, that animal becomes more and more human until it eventually gains the ability to shapeshift into a Halfling.  The reason why most Halflings are short is because they usually choose small herbivores or omnivores, which usually are the easiest to train.

All Halfings also have the ability to shapeshift back into their previous animal form.

by C. M. Koseman