Once again I find myself responding to a D&D question that keeps showing up on Facebook. This one is about the idea of a Called Shots. This question is for 5e, but my advice applies to all editions.

As a GM, I consider the Called Shot to be a narrative tool.

Before I get into a long tangent, what the player is looking for with the Called Shot is a bonus. Instead of giving them a bonus, I have high damage mean the Called Shot happened narratively.

Imagine being in a game and the party is fighting some Orcs. One of the players, Todd says he wants to hit the Orc in the neck with his spear. Some GM has a penalty and bonus mechanism for the roll. This GM gives the attack Disadvantage but provides a bonus with 1d6 to damage. So he makes the attack, hits the neck, and then he rolls the worst: 2 damage.

Meanwhile, player Nick makes a normal attack, hits, and then rolls max damage of 10!

Well, where did Nick hit? It seems strange that he did 10 damage hitting some random part of the body while the Called Shot did 2 damage? After all, a hit to the neck should be severe. It asks, what is the point of hitting the neck?

It comes down to that D&D has never been a Called Shot system. The damage die system was always there to regulate the hits. A low damage roll is a poorly placed attack while the high rolls are hitting vials. Adding a Called Shot on top of the damage die system makes a decent system worst.

Okay, so on to the real reason I want to talk about Called Shots. There is a tendency for players always to be looking for more in-game power. They cannot help themselves. They’re drawn to it like gnats. And the system awards this mentality. There are levels to get, gold to claim, and magic items to find. Power, and power, and more power.

As a GM, your default view should be to limit power.

Players will always be asking for more power. I am suspicious of these requests. I feel I should not give them unless there is an incredibly compelling case to do so. In this area, I find myself saying “No” all the time.

On the flip side, I seek to say “Yes” to Heroic Deeds. If the Player wants to do something bold and brave, I look at it through the lens of how-to-allow-it. My default position is to view the Heroes as skilled and talented. It annoys me when a GM treats my Hero as an incompetent fool.

But back to request for more power. My advice falls in a tricky area. Ultimately, the Heroes needs to advance in power. They need to level, they need gold, and they need items. And the system itself recognizes these needs.

The Heroes get more powerful as they level. As GM, I do have gold and item for them to find. So in his way, they will be getting power.

However, the power I plan is never enough. The players are always going to be looking for more. They are going to search places I had not considered. They will take things I was not expecting. And like the murderous raccoons they are, they will steal power any chance they get.

The power I am talking about mostly manifests itself in the shape of little bonuses. They are a +1 here and a +1 there. For example, a +1 to AC, a +1 to hit, a +1 to damage, a +1, +1, +1. And all these little +1 add up. Soon they have +3 to hit and +6 to damage with all these little +1 running around.

And here is the crucial part to realize, all of these +1 do not come in the shape of items.

The players are also looking for bonuses in the narrative and rules ruling. Even within metagame areas, the players are pushing for another +1.

It is for this reason they are making the Called Shot. It is nothing more than another obvious ploy to get more power. They are hoping I will give a bonus to hit or to damage. Whatever shape the +1 comes, they will take it. And once I do give it, that is now in their pocket to use again in the future. In this campaign and the next one.

It is all over the game. It is all over the FB posts I read. Daily there are posts. My player wants to dip his claws in metal; he wants a bonus. My player killed this enemy and skinned it; she wants a +1 AC. My player did xyz… and they are asking for a reward.

The players are relentless. Again, I cannot blame them?

Many GM gives in. They are like Ophra handing out cars, “You get a +1! You get a +1. Everyone gets a +1!!!”

These GMs feel they are encouraging their players to roleplay and be creative. They are not.

All they are encouraging is the push for more +1s. For more greed. Asking for an advantage is not roleplaying but the endless pursuit of power.

My advice is to deny this bonuses. Your default should be, “No.” Because, on occasion, you will say “Yes.” There will be times it makes sense. The player asks, and you think, “Yeah a +1 here does make sense.”

The GM is his worst enemy. We want them to have fun. But the reality is limitations, challenges, and denying is the pathway to having fun. If you always give the players what they want, they will stop having fun. It is human nature.

As an afterthought, once I do give out the +1, I then go back and think about the impact it has on the world. For a perfect example, was when I made the Basilisk monster give +1 leather armor. It changed my world.

So I am happy to hear my players make Called Shots. It helps with the narration for big hits, but I generally do not award them with a bonus. Because on the rare occasion, I do.