Critical Misses
The 3.5 D&D rules changed the way critical hits are determined from the way AD&D 2.0 rules handled them. In 3.5, on a natural 20 you roll a second attack. If this second attack is successful you deal critical damage as defined in the Players Handbook.
It is less vague on Critical Misses. The rules stipulate that a natural “1″ is always a miss, but the rules do not cover what to do.
So, I’m implementing a house rule based on the critical hit rule for use during my DM sessions:
When a natural 1 is rolled, roll a second attack. If this second attack succeeds the natural one is considered a horrible miss, and no damage is dealt. However, if this second attack also fails to hit the target a critical miss has occurred.
The 2 PDFs linked provide tables for dealing with critical misses. The first “Critical Misses” is a percentage table for both melee and ranged attacks that details what happens. The second file “Critical Miss Tables” provides charts that may be needed when dealing with the results of a Critical Miss.
These tables are meant to provide some flavor to the game, and may not fit into every situation encountered.
I welcome feedback and/or play tested comments. These are a first draft and revisions are likely.
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