The "called shot" problem

One of the things that D&D tries very hard to do is make combat both interesting and accurate. So if you wanted to strike a person's hand or wrist or even their helmet specifically, you should be able to, right? You might even grab the rules sheet and call this "a ranged disarm" -- as this forum suggests -- which means a -4 penalty and allow a ranged disarm attempt. Or what if you want to hit that little green gem in the monster's forehead?

Well, issues with this problem are several and well-noted.

Suggestions on this thread included a "called critical" where the attempt is to make a "critical strike" (how D&D handles damage to weak areas). The attack would be aimed at a particular portion of the body. If its critical, they hit that part.

One suggestion was "unless you're using another option, your character is already trying to do that and on a crit he succeeds."

Related:

• A variation on "power attack" using dexterity.
• Free vs. swift actions (also)