Sneak Attack Damage and Critical Hits

[robsenworldaccount]

NERDZ!

just puttin that out there.

=)

 

[Istar]

NERDZ!

just puttin that out there.

=)

Aha... now that is funny.

Cause you just made yourself a "GREATER NERDZ" by coming on here and posting that

 

[Saeviomagy]

I'm sure there was an official wotc response that explicitly stated that SA dice were maximised, but danged if I can find where...

 

[Nail]

@ Istar: <chuckle>

I'm sure there was an official wotc response that explicitly stated that SA dice were maximised, but danged if I can find where...

....yeah. I looked for that too, but couldn't find it readily. I thought the FAQ contained that gem.....

 

[NMcCoy]

This is a very frequently asked and sometimes debated question, but the general consensus seems to be: you maximize all dice that aren't gained because of the crit itself, and that includes Sneak Attack et al.

If in doubt, think of it this way: What makes crits more fun for the rogue, maximizing his d4 on a crit or his d4+2d6?

 

[Doctor Proctor]

This is a very frequently asked and sometimes debated question, but the general consensus seems to be: you maximize all dice that aren't gained because of the crit itself, and that includes Sneak Attack et al.

If in doubt, think of it this way: What makes crits more fun for the rogue, maximizing his d4 on a crit or his d4+2d6?

The bolded portion is the part that I think is most relevant here. The best way to think of it is that if the extra damage is gained because of the crit, then it must be roll. If it's part of the attack, then it's maximized. Hunter's Quarry, Sneak Attack, Curse, etc...all of these are a part of normal attacks, not critical hits. Therefore, they should be maximized.

As another example, say you're charging someone while wearing a Horned Helm. Every time you charge you would deal the damage from your weapon, plus extra damage from the Horned Helm, correct? So that damage is a part of the attack now, not something extra you tack on like Quarry (which you have to say you're using). Now, if you crit on that charge, wouldn't maximize the d6's from the Horned Helm? It's was a part of the attack prior to determining the hit roll, since you add the damage on a charge. So you would have to maximize it and then you would add additional dice from a magic weapon or high crit property.

Now, that's a more clear cut case because the damage was added because of the attack type, and therefore it's technically there prior to the roll (meaning, you know it will be applied if there's a hit). Hunter's Quarry and SA are both choices that the player makes when they apply them, but really, it's not very different. If a Ranger is attacking his Quarry, it's assumed that HQ will apply if he hits. If a Rogue has CA and is attacking a target, it's assume that SA will be added if he hits. Given that, why then should it be treated any different than the Horned Helm example above?

 

[Whorobi]

Confirmed on Twitter

This was confirmed by Mike Mearls of WOTC on twitter:

https://twitter.com/mikemearls/status/2134206722

 

[Plaguescarred]

The Player's Handbook FAQ also clarify that most extra damage are always maximized on a Critical Hit, since they are dice you'd have rolled anyway. Only the dice rolled because you scored a Critical Hit are not maximized. ex. Devastating Critical.

Which dice do I maximize when scoring a critical hit?
Only the dice you would normally roll to calculate damage are maximized. If another bonus (like from a weapon or feat) causes you to roll extra damage dice when scoring a critical hit, those dice are rolled as normal.