Severed Heads and Broken Blades

Let's be honest: If you stick to the core rules of either D&D or Pathfinder, critical hits and fumbles (critical failures, as Pathfinder calls them) are dull. You get to multiply damage on a critical hit, but that's it. In Pathfinder, a critical failure on an attack is just another miss, and D&D 5E doesn't even mention fumbles. Where's the fun in that?

A critical hit or a fumble is an extraordinary event. It's something for a player to savor and a moment for the DM/GM to work up to add a bit of excitement to the game. Personally, I have always considered them to be important parts of RPG combat.

With that in mind, we present a compact, but flavorful system for critical hits and fumbles called Severed Heads and Broken Blades. It includes a total of over 100 different critical hit results and roughly 100 different fumble results that vary by severity and frequency. Maybe you'll get the drop on your foe and a bonus to your next attack - or maybe you'll cut off its head and kill it instantly (if it only has one head, that is). Or maybe you'll lose your grip on your weapon - or maybe you'll deal a severe wound to an ally!

Severed Heads and Broken Blades is guaranteed compatible with Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Pathfinder 1st Edition and Pathfinder 2nd Edition.