Critical hit

Critical hits are a combat mechanic that guarantee a successful hit with a small chance.

Base Mechanics
To-hit rolls use a roll on a 1d20 dice, if the result is equal to or greater than 20, the hit will be a crit. Crits dealt with melee weapons ignore the DV and, if the source of the damage is the player, the AV of the target for the first penetration. Subsequent penetrations do not ignore AV but still benefit from a +1 bonus to PV. Crits with ranged weapons merely increase the PV of the shot by 2.

Melee critical hits also cause a splatter of blood, however this does not actually cause any damage and is not the same as a bleeding effect.

Modifiers

 * Melee weapon types each have a special effect when dealing critical hits. These effects apply even if the attacker does not have the related weapon skill:
 * Short Blades will cause bleeding, dealing 0-1 damage per turn to the target
 * Axes will cleave armor, reducing the AV of the target
 * Cudgels daze enemies, lowering their agility, intelligence, and move speed, and setting them up for a potential stun if they are critical hit a second time.
 * Long Blades get a +2 bonus to penetration (even if this would exceed the weapon's penetration cap)
 * The tinkering mod masterwork reduces the 1d20 roll needed to achieve a critical hit by 1. With no other modifiers, this enables scoring a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20, for a total critical hit chance of 10%.
 * Weak Spotter also reduces the 1d20 roll needed to achieve a critical hit by 1. With no other modifiers, this enables scoring a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20, for a total critical hit chance of 10%. When combined with masterwork, this results in a total critical hit chance of 15%.
 * Beacon Fire requires the target to be flaming, luminous or phosphorescent, but guarantees a critical hit with rifles or bows when used
 * Dead Shot doubles the PV bonus of crits made with pistols from +2 PV to +4 PV
 * Ruin of House Isner receives an additional +4 to its PV on crits, and automatically crits on the last shot of a full magazine