Sword, Vorpal: Similar but superior to a sword of sharpness, a vorpal weapon has a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls. Check the table below to determine whether an attack roll is good enough to sever the neck/head of the opponent:


Opponent is
Modified score
to sever*


normal/armored
20-23

larger than man-sized
21-23

solid metal or stone
22-23

* Considering only the sword's bonus of +3.

Note that many creatures have no heads or can change their form and, therefore, cannot suffer decapitation. There are also creatures that have heads but will not necessarily be killed by decapitation (among these are dopplegangers, elementals, and golems).

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