Sultans of Smack

[CRGreathouse]

This is from memory, so I could be wrong: Power Critical makes your next attack an automatic critical threat. It says that if you hit with your attack, it's a critical, which is exactly the same thing.

Why, have you found another bug/error in my spreadsheet?

Perhaps. You're telling me two different things, and I don't know what's right.

If PC makes any hit into a crit, your spreadsheet is correct and the average damage is as you figured it.

If PC makes any hit into a threat, your spreadsheet is incorrect and your average damage is wrong.

Your sheet says the chance for crit with Power Critical is 95%, assuming auto-crit. Auto-threat would make the chance 90.25%.

How does Power Crit work, exactly?

 

[SpikeyFreak]

LOL, okay, I guess I wasn't very clear.

The rule: You roll. If you hit, its a critical.

That's what I meant, even though that isn't exaclty what those words I wrote say.

--Illogical Spikey

 

[Jairami]

I believe that is incorrect. The way I read the feat was, it automatically makes one attack per day at your choice a critical threat before you make the attack roll. You then roll to see if you hit, if you do, it is a threat and you have to roll again as normal to confirm the critical.

At least that's how I understood it. It basically gives you a threat range of 2-20 for one swing. You still have to hit with the threat and then confirm it for it to be a critical hit.

Then again, I could be looney.

 

[SpikeyFreak]

I believe that is incorrect. The way I read the feat was, it automatically makes one attack per day at your choice a critical threat before you make the attack roll. You then roll to see if you hit, if you do, it is a threat and you have to roll again as normal to confirm the critical.

At least that's how I understood it. It basically gives you a threat range of 2-20 for one swing. You still have to hit with the threat and then confirm it for it to be a critical hit.

Then again, I could be looney.

Hmm, that's not the way I read it. That would make my calculation a little off.

You are saying you get an automatic threat. I thought it said automatic critical. Too bad I don't have the book here.

Also, I just realized that there are some easy, although not to realistic, ways of making Mr. Frenzy do a lot more damage. Toss in a mercurial greatsword and get an incantrix to cast a 7 times empowered bulls strength and you get about +8 str and A LOT more damage on the first power critical attack. Then toss on the ever-present rhino hide armor and haste for a partial charge with that power critical, and you get 1 attack that auto-crits (I think) and has a mult of x5.

That one attack does an average of 437 points of damage aginst everything all the way up to AC 32.

Ick.

--Unrealistic Spikey

 

[ruleslawyer]

Jairami and CRGreathouse are correct.

Relevant portion of Power Critical:

Once per day, you can declare a single melee attack with your chosen weapon to be an automatic threat before you make the attack roll. If the attack is successful, you roll to confirm the critical...

Good smack anyway. BTW, Spikey: Why a 20th-level character as opposed to a 16th? Just curious...

Oh, and you have the wrong number of attacks for this guy. He gets six attacks per round: four iterative, one at his highest attack bonus (frenzy) and one more at his highest attack bonus (speed weapon). Unless, of course, you're assuming that the speed property doesn't stack with frenzy. But in that case, why give him a speed weapon in the first place?

 

[gnfnrf]

Power Critical is an automatic threat, not an automatic critical. The wording of the feat leaves no doubt on this.

... single melee attack with your chosen kind of weapon to be an automatic threat before you make the attack roll ... you roll to confirm the critical...

--
gnfnrf

 

[SpikeyFreak]

Jairami and CRGreathouse are correct.

Relevant portion of Power Critical:


Good smack anyway.

BTW, Spikey: Why a 20th-level character as opposed to a 16th? Just curious...

Well, mostly because I was doing the whole thing from memory, and couldn't remember the requirements for the PrC. If you can do it with a 6th level barb, throw in 4 levels of fighter for lots more feats and weapon spec.

Oh, and you have the wrong number of attacks for this guy. He gets six attacks per round: four iterative, one at his highest attack bonus (frenzy) and one more at his highest attack bonus (speed weapon). Unless, of course, you're assuming that the speed property doesn't stack with frenzy. But in that case, why give him a speed weapon in the first place?

Well, that's what I get for doing it from memory. Gees that makes it a scarey character. Make the weapon a +5 Keen Flameburst Ice Burst Merc Greatsword and it gets VERY scarey.

--Over-the-Top Spikey

 

[jontherev]

By request here's my Fang of Lolth smackdown.

1 Rogue
2 Rogue
3 Rogue
4 Rogue
5 Rogue
6 Rogue
7 Rogue (qualify for
8 Fang of Lolth1
9 FoL2
10 FoL3
11 FoL4
12 FoL5
13 FoL6
14 FoL7
15 FoL8
16 FoL9
17 Fighter1
18 Fighter2
19 Ninja1
20 Assassin1

By 20th level, you are a death machine. A total of +9d6 sneak attack dice. BAB of +13 (not so hot). But who cares? That's easily overcome by these feats: Weapon Finesse (weapon of choice), Weapon Focus (same weapon), Expert Tactician, and by 18th level, you'll also have MultiDexterity, MultiAttack, and MultiTwoWeaponFighting (IF your DM allows these to be selected as fighter feats...if not that makes this smackdown a bit less nasty).

Let's see. 1 bite attack. 5 offhand attacks (normal offhand, and 4 spider legs). 3 primary hand attacks. 1 attack from Expert Tactician. 1 more attack if Hasted. Now, if you also took normal Ambidexterity, TWF, and Improved TWF, that another attack with your normal offhand. That's a possible of...12 attacks in one round if hasted, and 9 of those attacks are at the highest bonus!!! Now, if you have LOTS of money, add 6 weapons of speed for another 6 attacks. That's a possible 18 attacks. If you had a ring of blinking, you'd still hit with roughly 14 or 15 of them. So, assuming all were sneak attacks, that is a total of +162d6 if all attacks landed. Ouch. Plus weapon damage and all that good stuff. So, just from sneak attack damage alone, you have an average of 567...441 while blinking.

 

[Jairami]

That's just dirty!

Primary, Primary, Primary, Primary, Primary, Off-hand, Off-hand, Bite, Additional limbs x4.... And all with sneak attacks while blinking. Bad rev! Bad!

I love it.

Hey? When did smackdowns start becoming 20th level affairs? At 20th level you usually are retired, if not sooner. No time to enjoy the smackiness.

Still, very nice. Very nice.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Power Critical is an automatic threat, not an automatic critical.

In that case, the average damages become:

AC	Total Damage
10	556.985
11	556.985
12	556.985
13	556.985
14	551.655
15	546.325
16	540.995
17	535.665
18	530.335
19	519.675
20	509.015
21	498.355
22	487.695
23	477.035
24	461.045
25	445.055
26	429.065
27	412.05
28	395.445
29	362.235
30	329.845
31	298.275
32	270.805
33	244.155
34	218.325
35	193.315
36	169.125
37	149.035
38	129.765
39	111.315
40	93.685