Critical hits and effects

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Well, first, if my character has -for example- a flaming longsword and scores a critical hit, is the 1d6 fire damage multiplied?

Second, would it be a good idea to change a little bit critical hits so that they become more realistic?
That is, every critical hit caused by a slashing or piercing weapon inflicts a bleeding wound, making the target loose 1 Hit Point or so per round (for rounds equal to the weapon's modifier).
And, every critical hit caused by a bludgeoning weapon has a chance (don't know how much yet) of stunning the target(for rounds equal to the weapon's multiplier).
What do you say?

 

Flaming is not multiplied, but added as usually.
There's the flaming burst (I think it's named) that adds +1d10 extra damage on critical hits. This means that a critical hit with a flaming burst weapon deals +1d6 +1d10 fire damage (not just 1d10).

There are magical abilities you can add to weapons to produce the effects you're looking for. I think they've left it out of critical hits to keep it simple.

 

I think it's a great idea! Combat can often be a little bit unreal... But can you explain a little bit more about it?

 

In second edition there is a players option book named combat & tactics where a critical hit table is used. Basicly if you hit an opponent with a die roll of 18-20 AND have a five point difference with your need-to-hit-roll (if you need a roll of 18 to hit you can't score a critical against that creature, but if you need a 13 to hit the creature you can score a critical with a roll of 18 and up). Then the opponent must save vs. death or possibibly suffer extra consequences. These can vary from a bleeding wound to decapitation of body parts. Our group is playing with this book for several years now and love it when we can use the critical hits!

 

What about weapons who both deal piercing and bludgeoning damage? And are you playing with a system who is based on damaged body parts? I think it would make the game more realistic...

 

If you want more realism, try another gaming system. Rolemaster is much more detail oriented and the critical hit/miss tables are an absolute blast to use.

I have played in D&D campaigns where the DM used the Rolemaster crit tables and that added a nice flavor to the game. Though I must say I hated rolling a natural one. There was always the chance that I missed so badly, I'd knock myself out!