Help a noobie understand critical hits

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by sjmdw45

I sense that the OP's concern is primarily about not wanting to kill a PC accidentally, the way that an AD&D housecat will murder a 1st level wizard if you run it by its MM stats. Imagine the poor DM muttering to himself, "I was just trying to introduce a potential familiar for you, not a deadly combat encounter!"

There is no such thing as accidental death in these situations. If you go into combat you are choosing to risk your life. If the GM presents you with opportunity or occasion for combat they are presenting you with the chance of endangering yourself. If you want to have zero chance of death, don't fight.

The game mechanics of GURPS is consistent with this. The chance of death may be small. But it always remains possible that you'll make that bad dice roll and your character will die.

For me, at least, this is a feature. On one hand, it gives players an incentive not to settle every situation by drawing a gun or throwing a punch. On the other hand, since players know they are risking their characters' lives, it makes the choice to go into a fight a dramatic one, like Hector going out onto the fields of Troy to face the enraged Achilles. It's the chance that their character won't come back that gives players skin in the game.

And now, to argue against myself, I'm surprised no one has suggested to Klink the standard answer of many GURPS players who disagree with that sort of logic: fudge the dice rolls. If you're the GM, and you have a chance to roll the dice, and one outcome would kill the character—roll behind a GM screen and lie about the outcome. That's a lot simpler than making up different rules.