ELH Feat Query - Keen Strike

[loviatarfrostbringer]

If you had the epic Keen Strike feat, by the description your unarmed attacks are considered slashing attacks that crit on 19-20. Since you have to have Improved Crit on your UA Strike, shouldn't you UA crit on 18-20? (crit only on 20 normally...then 19-20 w/ Improved Crit, then Keen making it 18-20). r would you crit on 17-20? (keen strike making your base UA crit range 19-20, then Imp Crit making it 17-20).

Your insights please?

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I think that it's supposed to work like a keen weapon you have improved critical with: both double your threat range, and tow doubles are a triple, so 18-20.

 

[Bloodstone]

IMO the threat range should be 17-20.

Keen Strike makes your unarmed strike change to Slashing damage and threaten on a 19-20.

Improved Crit (Unarmed Strike) would then double that to 17-20.

I think...

 

[novyet]

The threat range would be 18-20, keen strike and improved critical improve only the original threat range of 20, each feat (in this case) improves the range by 1.

 

[comrade raoul]

I don't know if it's that clear. You could read Keen Strike as saying something to the effect of "your unarmed strike becomes sharp, like a sword." This would change the base threat range to 19-20/x2, and the Improved Critical version to 17-20/x2. But you could also read Keen Strike as saying something to the effect of "your unarmed strike delivers slashing damage and benefits from something like a constant keen edge spell," which makes the 18-20/x2 (with Improved Critical) more plausible. Personally, I favor the latter -- Keen Strike isn't all that powerful in itself, but the vorpal version it's a prerequisite for certainly is, which gives us a good balance reason to prefer smaller threat range for unarmed attacks.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Keen Strike makes your anarmed strike a slashing keen weapon. So the same rules apply here as with a slashing keen longsword (or any other weapon) you have improved critical with apply: the base threat range doesn't change, and the effective range is tripled (two doublings).

 

[mkletch]

Two doubles are a triple. If you have Keen Strike and Improved Critical, that triples the threat range, from 20, to 18-20.

Imagine if you did have true doubling. A keen rapier with improved critical would have a threat range of 8-20! That would be sick.

Check the appendix of the PHB. It should be the section right after rounding fractions. In fact, the example may be exactly this.

-Fletch!