This page provides a quick overview of how the game is played, both the basic D&D mechanics and also the extra game mechanics that the DM has created over the course of the series. Crit Juice plays a version of 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Each mechanic is labeled "base" (a part of the regular D&D 4th edition rules) or "new" (something the DM and/or players created for Crit Juice).

  • Achievement - (new) a brilliant creation of America's DM. David Crennen created a list of things that players and/or player characters can accomplish that would "unlock" an achievement. Each achievement is named, and comes with some bonus in-game benefit that the receiving player can turn in at his choice. You can read the list of Achievements. Achievements were introduced in Prologue 1.
  • Action - (base) The game mechanics things a character can do on its turn, which generally either move at least one character or require a roll of a d20. Running, climbing, jumping, and burrowing are all examples of move actions. Swinging a great spear, throwing a dope magic missile, yanking someone with lightning, and intimidating an enemy into surrendering are all examples of standard actions. Each character gets one move and one standard action on its turn. There is also a possibility that a character can get one additional bonus action on its turn, from a power, an item, or an achievement card. Wolf's Disrupting Strike, Dar'Jjeeki's Seed of Chaos ("Make it count!"), an opportunity attack, and the extra move from the "Get Out of There!" Achievement card are all examples of bonus actions.
  • Attack - (base) a player chooses a type of attack power available to his character, rolls a d20, and adds the attack bonus from the attack he chose, unless it the roll is a 1 (critical fail) or a 20 (critical hit). The attack will hit the target if the number is equal or greater to the target's applicable defense.
  • Attribute - (base) The most basic "stats" of a D&D character: Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma. Each character has all six attributes, and each attribute starts with a score of 3 - 18. Various things like magic items, gaining levels, or even the race of the character (for example, Dar'Jjeeki has a 20 Charisma because he's a hengeyokai, which gives him +2 to that attribute) can modify the attribute scores throughout the game. The attribute score determines a modifier (positive or negative) that is added to a d20 roll that uses that attribute.
  • Check - (base) Roll a d20, add the character's applicable attribute modifier, and compare it to a target number. If the total meets or exceeds that target number, the action was successful.
  • Critical Fail - (new) a player rolls a 1 on an attack roll. The attack misses and the player draws a "Crit Fail card." Crit Fails were introduced in Prologue 2.
  • Critical Hit - (new) a player rolls a 20 on an attack roll. The attack hits and the player draws a "Crit card." Crits were introduced in Prologue 3.
  • Defense - (base) Every character (PC, NPC and monster) in the game has four defenses: Armor Class (AC), Reflex, Will, and Fortitude. Every attack is opposed to a particular type of defense. Wolf shooting an arrow, for instance, usually goes against the target's AC, while Arience attempting to hypnotize someone goes against the target's Will.
  • DM - (base) Dungeon Master; the person who writes and presents the frame story/adventure, as well as running all the non-player characters (NPCs)
  • Double d20s - (new) The players like to roll more dice when there's particular tension on the outcome, especially when players are opposed. So, for opposed rolls, each player rolls 2d20, adds the result on each die together, and whoever has the higher total wins. This was heard first in Episode 3, when Arience and Dar'Jjeeki were vying to see who the Princess would join on horseback.
  • Drink - (new) a player takes a drink as dictated by a Drinking God rule. This drink can either be a sip, a gulp, or, in some cases, completely finishing an entire drink. The Golden Rules of drinking were introduced in Prologue 1, but the concept of "Drinking Gods" and rolling a random number of additional drinking rules for each session was introduced in Episode 1.
  • Encounter - (base) One fight, from when the players roll initiative to when the DM tells them they're out of combat (or when they all sing "Loot that body!")
  • “Gaul Fall” - Whenever you drop dice you drink. Established Episode 15, eventually added to the Drinking God rule permanently when only 1 rule is rolled.
  • Level - (base) As characters in Crit Juice continue their adventures, they gain experience and will occasionally gain levels. Each level provides more hit points and more powers to the character.
  • Power - (base) An ability that the character can use. There are four types of powers: at-will (the character can do these every turn), encounter (the character can do these only once per encounter), daily (the character can only do these once and then must take an extended rest to regain the use of the power), and utility (usually these are effectively encounter powers).
  • Princess Points - (new) The group's major NPC, Princess Camellia, gives in-game bonuses to adjacent characters, but the extent and type of bonus is determined by how many Princess Points that character has earned. Princess Points are earned by impressing or pleasing Camellia in some way. There is also the possibility that Camellia will fall in love with the first character to earn a certain number of Princess Points and possibly marry that character, imparting a claim to the throne of the Holy City of Mariposa. This mechanic was introduced in Episode 1. There is also a Log of Princess Points.
  • Roll initiative - (base) roll a d20 die, add the character's initiative modifier. The characters act in descending order.
  • Round - (base) during an encounter, each player, NPC and enemy gets one turn.
  • Session - (base) One time that the group of friends gather together to play. Each session of Crit Juice contains many encounters. It is recorded, and then in editing the session is split into multiple podcast episodes.
  • Shankill Butchers Drinking Contest - (new) In-game test of trust, engaged with the murderers in the Snooty Fox. Each character has to outdrink his/her Shankill Butcher counterpart. As a mechanic, each player rolls an endurance check and has to meet or exceed the Shankill Butcher's target number (18). Each player is allowed as many re-rolls as needed, but every roll of the die (including the initial roll) requires that the player takes a drink. As with any ability check, the players are able to assist each other (but they have to drink when they assist). The players are so drunk that most of them confuse "assist" with "insist." Appears in Episode 3.
  • Skills and skill checks - (base) There are 17 skills in D&D. Some examples that come into play in Crit Juice quite often are: arcana, bluff, diplomacy, intimidate, perception and thievery. These 17 skills are areas where characters may have special training and so get a bonus to do an action or realize something. Each skill is based on an attribute. When the DM calls for a skill check, the player rolls a d20 and adds the attribute modifier and one half the character's level to the result; if the character is trained in the skill, the player also adds 5 to the result.
  • Turn - (base) A unit of game time. Each character in a combat encounter takes turns in initiative order, and on his/her turn can do a move action and a standard action each turn.
  • VOTE: Is Dovana telling the truth, or is she going to betray Gub to the Yakuza? - (new) In Episode 5, Crit Juice's DM invited the listeners to vote to determine whether the key NPC Dovana was genuinely trying to help Gub and his companions, or whether she was conducting an elaborate ruse to bring him to the Yakuza and turn him in for the bounty.

From here, you can return to the Table of Contents.