critical hits and auto-hit adjacent targets?

[brendan candries]

Is there a difference between dealing damage to an enemy, or an enemy taking damage from you?

Attack Results (PHB 276): ... When you hit, you usually deal damage ...

Damage (PHB 276): When you hit with an attack, you normally deal damage ...

Furious Smash: Deal damage equal to your Strength modifier ...

Cleave: an enemy other than the target adjacent to you takes damage equal to your Strength modifier.

Fiery Bolt: creatures adjacent to the target take 1d6 + Constitution damage

 

[Hypersmurf]

For what it's worth, I posed the Fiery Bolt question to CustServ:

Let's say a Warlock rolls a critical with Fiery Bolt. The Hit entry defines 3d6+Con to the target and 1d6+Con to adjacent creatures. The damage to the target is obviously maximized. The damage to adjacent creatures is part of the Hit entry that is a critical hit; is it also maximized? Do the primary and the adjacent creatures take the +1d6 damage if the Warlock is using a +1 implement?

Yes to both. This damage is all part of the initial effect, and the damage is rolled, so all the damage would be maximized with the additional +1d6.

In further discussion regarding some of the other scenarios, but this was the answer to the OP's question.

-Hyp.

 

[keterys]

On quick scan I believe that I agree with Hypersmurf on this issue - yes, it's a lot of damage to the adjacent targets, but you could always redesign/disallow the power (see Force Orb, for instance) if that really bothered you.

 

[Zsig]

On our last saturday night game, the exact same thing happened.

I ruled that the people adjacent to the target would take max damage (6+mods) but no extra damage from the critical (in that case +2d8).

The player didn't complain, although, the swordmage was right there adjacent to the target and also took the damage.

 

[Hypersmurf]

After consultation with the line developers, CustServ have reversed their stance on Fiery Bolts:

Thanks for your patients on this. The rules are not precise on this should be handled, I imagine that is why this question came up. The intent is that critical hits would and the benefits for them would only apply to the target you rolled to hit.

Fiery Bolt: The target of the power would be effected by the critical hit but all of the "splash" damage would not.
Furious Smash: You would add the extra critical dice to the damage for the attack but your allies attack would not be effected.
Cleave: Only the main target would take extra damage from the critical hit.

So the warlock would deal max damage, plus implement d6s, to his primary target, but the adjacent damage would not be maxed, nor would implement d6s apply to those adjacent creatures.

A Warlord with 16 Str and a +1 Greataxe who Crits with Furious Smash would deal 3 (Str) +1d6 (magic weapon) +1d12 (high crit) damage. (No +1 for enhancement, since there's no damage roll.)

And a Fighter who crits with Cleave still only deals his Str damage to the adjacent enemy.

-Hyp.