Only thing I'd say on this as, a player/GM, is that unless you are running something like a level-0 meatgrinder or a Traveller 'you never lived long enough to become an actual characer'... what I'm saying is that once you get to level 1, in my mind you are already a damn hero (or villain) and while it is realistic that you get that one blow that slips through the armor....
We're fighting griffons and 10^3 cubes of acid jello. Portions of realism are a bit out the window.
Death on crits is fine for Mooks and even Meatier mooks, but I think for PCs and most leaders/big bads it isn't fun gameplay. I'll agree its realistic, but that's more realism than I'd want in my game. They don't need to be HP sponges, bad decisons should cost them their lives, but even a 1% chance of catching a lucky sniper shot is extremely high lethality even in the real world.
Or I guess if I want to refine that down further:
If its quick, abstracted combat (like OSR stuff) high lethality is fine because that wizard fucked up, got into melee, and probably was going to die anyway. They just died quicker.
If I'm rolling a d100 and modifying that roll, that doesn't sound like quick abstracted combat.
again, just my two cents.
Crits are a 1 in 100 chance to activate, then your hit-chance to crit (even lower odds). Also, resurrection is a turn-long spell for any healer. You can get dropped and get back up the next round... except if you're playing a Risen.
Also, monsters follow similar rules, but have bigger HP pools than players to compensate. Crits are supposed to be extremely deadly by design in my system. You have a 1/100 chance and then you have to confirm it.
Crits in my system are a game-changing experience, due to their rarity.
Fortunately, in my world, Levels are -not- what you think they are. They're actual, real tangible things that people know about (called the Legends System - Implemented by the most powerful deity in the universe there to stop other gods from just randomly empowering people into juggernauts, demons making deals, and faeries swindling people). The average person starts at level 1. Everyone knows the way to get stronger in the world is to slay other creatures, spread your name, and accomplish powerful deeds. The issue is - though everyone has the same starting point, not everyone wants to go out and risk life and limb for power.
As I describe on my gear page:
"Gear is important in this world. All beings, no matter who or what they are, are inherently magical. Given form and substance through imagination, legends, fantasy, and/or power derived from their parents. While many would try to argue that anyone can poison a sword and use it to deliver poison, they would find that this is, in fact, not feasible. Most legends of poisoned weapons in fantasy are related to daggers, knives, or drinks and the world follows this rule.
Trying to apply real world physics or common sense to Avalon does not work in a lot of cases. This is a world where falling from any height into water will cushion one’s fall, the three second rule is real, and so on. Unless an ability or weapon ability states they can explicitly do something, they cannot. Yes, this does mean things like plate-bikinis are feasible, impractically large weapons can be wielded (even if they provide no extra benefits), and so on.
When it comes to a character’s gear, they decide how it looks, as long as it falls into the following categories (as per masteries and defensive abilities). These objects have the following qualities that can be chosen from their masteries (including dual-wielding)."
Calling a 1 in 100 chance high lethality is pretty disingenuous, combined with the fact you have to confirm a strike on someone. In a d20 system, sure, this might be a valid argument, but when it comes to the odds in D100, it's much, much lower.
