Combat Penalties

Many critical strikes hamper the victim’s ability to fight or move by penalizing his attack rolls or reducing his movement rate. A character with reduced movement may not choose to charge, jog, run, sprint, or force-march in order to compensate. A character reduced to no movement may still drag himself along with an effective movement rating of 1 or ride a mount with difficulty.

A few critical strikes may prevent the victim from attacking at all; if this is the case, the character may not engage in spellcasting or performing any other actions except for using magical items or possibly using psionic powers that affect only his own body.

Knockdowns: Some critical strikes may inflict a knockdown on the victim. This is not an automatic result; the victim may still attempt a saving throw vs. death magic to remain on his feet.

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