Pathfinder 1E Rules for Instant Death.

[Gfreak2x9]

In the Pathfinder RPG if you roll a 20 on a d20 and then confirm the critical with another 20 is that instant death? I have heard both yes and no answers to this question. Does anyone have the real answer?


Hello again its me from 2017! With my DMing experience we now have. I say that this is a very bad idea! Don't do that to the players!

 

[Alzrius]

In the Pathfinder RPG if you roll a 20 on a d20 and then confirm the critical with another 20 is that instant death? I have heard both yes and no answers to this question. Does anyone have the real answer?

The real answer is that no such rule appears in the Pathfinder Role-Playing Game, though it is a popular house rule.

 

[Cadence]

Sounds like something made-up/house-ruled that's not at all from the rules.

Nothing like that is mentioned on the section on critical hits http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/combat.html#_critical-hits
Even the massive damage optional rule gives you a saving throw http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/combat.html#_massive-damage

EDIT: Doh, too slow!

 

[delericho]

The real answer is that no such rule appears in the Pathfinder Role-Playing Game, though it is a popular house rule.

Exactly. I believe it may even be discussed (as an option) in the 3e DMG, but it's not an official rule there, either. I've also heard a variant where if you roll 20, confirm with a 20, then you roll a third time and if that's a hit then that's an insta-kill.

Personally, I'm not a fan of any of these.

 

[the Jester]

Generally, instant death rules are too swingy for most groups, as they are likely to take out pcs in the long run.

 

[Celebrim]

In the Pathfinder RPG if you roll a 20 on a d20 and then confirm the critical with another 20 is that instant death? I have heard both yes and no answers to this question. Does anyone have the real answer?

That is a house rule. It is not an official rule of the Pathfinder RPG, and I should say that even without knowing Pathfinder well I knew that was a house rule on the grounds that the designers of the Pathfinder RPG are usually quite competent.

I would strongly advice against adopting such a house rule, as it is far more detrimental to the PC's than it is to the NPC's (as for that matter are all critical hits). The problem is that the PC's are expected to dispatch 100's or 1000's of NPC's over the course of their career. So an 'instant death' of an NPC as a result of good luck by a PC doesn't really change much for the PC's who will mow through most enemies anyway. So, you saved a round or two of fighting by beating an NPC early.

But the NPC's usually need dispatch the PC party only once. PC's are subject to 100's if not 1000's of attacks in their career. If there is a 1:8000 chance an attack will kill them, then it's pretty much guaranteed that PC's will be instantly beheaded no save. If this occurs at an inopportune moment, it's permanent PC death no save allowed. Worse, if it occurs in an actually tense combat early on, it's possibly going to start a snowball that leads to a TPK.

I think that it is more than enough that a PC critical could lead to massive damage and a 'Save or Die' situation , and even that is an optional rule in Pathfinder.

 

[Alzrius]

Exactly. I believe it may even be discussed (as an option) in the 3e DMG, but it's not an official rule there, either. I've also heard a variant where if you roll 20, confirm with a 20, then you roll a third time and if that's a hit then that's an insta-kill.

My current group used that house rule for a long time before abolishing it during the switch to Pathfinder. I've seen it happen only twice since (when we get two nat 20's for a hit and a crit, we'll roll a third time just for fun), and even though it's not an insta-kill any more, it's still accompanied by a lot of whooping and hollering.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Is it in the rules? No.

But as a houserule, it's a pretty reliable marker for a good DM*.

*or GM. Whatever.

 

[Jester David]

I've seen something similar where if you confirm with a 20 you roll again and if the third roll is also a hit it's an instant kill. Which is *slightly* less swingy.

 

[Noir le Lotus]

In the Pathfinder RPG if you roll a 20 on a d20 and then confirm the critical with another 20 is that instant death? I have heard both yes and no answers to this question. Does anyone have the real answer?

It was an optional rule that appeared in the 3rd edition DMG. I don't think it appears in Pathfinder.