D&D (2024) Just make critical do double damage. Period.

[GMMichael]

Plus, the current rule is needlessly complicated. . .
Thoughts?

1) This is the unspoken mantra of 5e.
2) It's also how they're going to make you buy 6e.

 

[Parmandur]

On a more serious note, the existing critical rules turn a flat damage statistical spread into and advantageous bell curve that feeds further into the gambling sensation through more rolling.

 

[Lanefan]

On a more serious note, the existing critical rules turn a flat damage statistical spread into and advantageous bell curve that feeds further into the gambling sensation through more rolling.

Well, it is at its core a game of luck......

 

[MGibster]

I have to admit, I prefer the max damage on a crit option. It just works. Simple and straightforward.

I prefer to multiply the damage by two, but I think I'd be perfectly happy with maximum damage instead. You're right, it's simple and it works, plus it's still exciting to roll a crit. As a bonus, you don't have the disappointment of rolling extremely low damage. It's no run rolling a crit and then rolling the lowest amount of damage possible.

 

[Parmandur]

I prefer to multiply the damage by two, but I think I'd be perfectly happy with maximum damage instead. You're right, it's simple and it works, plus it's still exciting to roll a crit. As a bonus, you don't have the disappointment of rolling extremely low damage. It's no run rolling a crit and then rolling the lowest amount of damage possible.

Rolling fewer dice is less fun than rolling and getting a double number, and both are less fun that rolling even more dice.

 

[Azzy]

Nah, I actually like the current method.

 

[Bedrockgames]

So I threw out a casual suggestion that was not exactly original, and in exchange got a lot of great ideas and points. I feel like I got a lot more than I paid for! @James Gasik in particular offers a lot to chew on. I still think my (again, wholly unoriginal) suggestion is better than status quo, but nearly so good as many of the other ideas that are being floated.

In terms of reward schedules, I do think that critical successes should feel impactful. I also think that critical failures should be hard-coded into the game. You folks are offering much better ideas than I did for how to make that impact felt, while @James Gasik reminds us that, as always, the design consequences might be more than we initially assume (e.g. the impact of this rule change on the DM end of things).

Critical fumbles don't get enough love. And crazy critical results don't either. I knew a lot of GMs who would kludge role master critical tables to their D&D campaigns

 

[aco175]

I guess doubling the normal rolled damage works the same as dealing max normal damage in the long-term. I'm not sure about doubling max normal damage. Feels a bit too much.

I have been giving the players an option when the roll a crit to do normal crit like in the book, gain an extra attack, or disengage for free. I also have a red mark I put on the table near the mini for when the monster is about half killed and I put it on the monster when it is about 1 hit from death. Most of the time the players just take the normal crit and roll dice. Sometimes an extra attack is best when they can see the monster only needs one hit to kill it and I have only seen the free disengage used a few times.

 

[Charlaquin]

4e came along and tried to simplify the process by turning crits into max damage. Well that was easy, but players stopped feeling super excited about crits in of themselves, unless you were chucking out a high damage move; many players were happy for the auto hit, especially when using a power that completely wrecked an encounter in other ways ("yes, nat 20, the BBEG is dominated/stunned for 1 turn, let's clean house, boys!").

Err… That was all crits did by themselves but basically every magic weapon had an effect that triggered on a crit.

 

[Charlaquin]

Except my wife, the rest of my players are young kids. They know, take the dice sides, divide by 2 and add .5 is the average roll.

So for the player, they roll their damage dice, and decide if they want to roll a second set (add another XdN) or just double what they rolled. They do the math and if over the average they just double it and if half or less, they roll a second set.

This works for players a couple years younger and older than 10. The youngest take a little while sometime, but faster all the time.

Neat! If my back of the napkin math is right, that makes the average crit damage 5.5 on 1d4, 7.75 on 1d6, 10 on 1d8, 12.25 on 1d12, and 15.5 on 2d6.