D&D (2024) A realization about Monster Crits and Death Saves

[OB1]

I'm going to repeat a question I posted on a separate thread: why do we assume monster don't crit? We know PCs do, but the playtest doesn't mention monsters one way or another. Until we get UA for monsters, I'm making no assumptions.

CRITICAL HITS
Weapons and Unarmed Strikes* have a special
feature for player characters: Critical Hits. If a
player character rolls a 20 for an attack roll
with a Weapon or an Unarmed Strike, the attack
is also a Critical Hit, which means it deals extra
damage to the target; you roll the damage dice
of the Weapon or Unarmed Strike a second time
and add the second roll as extra damage to the
target.

 

[prabe]

I'm going to repeat a question I posted on a separate thread: why do we assume monster don't crit? We know PCs do, but the playtest doesn't mention monsters one way or another. Until we get UA for monsters, I'm making no assumptions.

People are reading the text under "Critical Hits" where it says they're "a special feature for player characters" and interpreting that to mean they're not a special feature for monsters and/or NPCs. It's a reasonable inference--but I'll grant, it's an inference.

 

[Oofta]

CRITICAL HITS
Weapons and Unarmed Strikes* have a special
feature for player characters: Critical Hits. If a
player character rolls a 20 for an attack roll
with a Weapon or an Unarmed Strike, the attack
is also a Critical Hit, which means it deals extra
damage to the target; you roll the damage dice
of the Weapon or Unarmed Strike a second time
and add the second roll as extra damage to the
target.

Right. It talks about what happens when PCs crit. It says nothing about monsters one way or another.

 

[Oofta]

People are reading the text under "Critical Hits" where it says they're "a special feature for player characters" and interpreting that to mean they're not a special feature for monsters and/or NPCs. It's a reasonable inference--but I'll grant, it's an inference.

I think they could just leaving the door open for other options. We simply don't know yet.

 

[OB1]

I think they could just leaving the door open for other options. We simply don't know yet.

It's true we don't know yet, but it does replace this text from the PHB.

Critical Hits​

When you score a critical hit, you get to roll extra dice for the attack’s damage against the target. Roll all of the attack’s damage dice twice and add them together. Then add any relevant modifiers as normal. To speed up play, you can roll all the damage dice at once.

For example, if you score a critical hit with a dagger, roll 2d4

for the damage, rather than 1d4

, and then add your relevant ability modifier. If the attack involves other damage dice, such as from the rogue’s Sneak Attack feature, you roll those dice twice as well.

There is no mention of critical hits in the MM. So at this point, if you're using monsters from the MM or MotM for playtesting, that is the rule that would be used.

I wouldn't be surprised if some monsters got special abilities in the new MM that key off critical hits (specific beating general), but I also wouldn't be surprised if they don't. CritHits are too random to be a reliable factor in monster CR, and in two playtest sessions I've discovered that I don't miss them at all. I much prefer what MotM and BAM are doing with monsters in general, and expect that design trend to continue in the new MM.

 

[Oofta]

It's true we don't know yet, but it does replace this text from the PHB.

There is no mention of critical hits in the MM. So at this point, if you're using monsters from the MM or MotM for playtesting, that is the rule that would be used.

I wouldn't be surprised if some monsters got special abilities in the new MM that key off critical hits (specific beating general), but I also wouldn't be surprised if they don't. CritHits are too random to be a reliable factor in monster CR, and in two playtest sessions I've discovered that I don't miss them at all. I much prefer what MotM and BAM are doing with monsters in general, and expect that design trend to continue in the new MM.

Time will tell, the info on crits for monsters could be in the DMG. Or maybe they won't get crits and I'll house rule them back in.

 

[the Jester]

This seems to be intentional. For better or worse, the trend seems to be moving away from character death being a consequence of bad luck or planning, and more toward it being a storytelling element under the full control of the player.

Is that good or bad? Hard to say. I suspect that if you ask that question here on ENWorld, you'll get at least four different answers.

Depends on your playstyle, for sure.

 

[the Jester]

Man, if they give every monster something like the Hackmaster version of owlbears' "on a crit, it rips your arm off and walks away to feast on it" kind of thing, I'd change my tune. But I'll be shocked to see it.

On the other hand, if they drop the "two failed death saves on a crit" thing, then by God, I hope they add an optional "coup de grace" maneuver in the DMG right next to disarms and climbing onto a Huge creature and stuff.

If monster crits are replaced by something like "This monster can do a double damage attack once per combat"... that's pretty damn lackluster, and will be massively disappointing to me.

 

[Mistwell]

This seems to be intentional. For better or worse, the trend seems to be moving away from character death being a consequence of bad luck or planning, and more toward it being a storytelling element under the full control of the player.

Is that good or bad? Hard to say. I suspect that if you ask that question here on ENWorld, you'll get at least four different answers.

The game is full of spells to bring you back from death. It was always in the control of the DM to make sure death was not permanent.

 

[Mistwell]

I'm going to repeat a question I posted on a separate thread: why do we assume monster don't crit? We know PCs do, but the playtest doesn't mention monsters one way or another. Until we get UA for monsters, I'm making no assumptions.

Because we watched the video of Crawford introducing this playtest and he says outright that is the current intent and plan open for playtesting. The current plan is that monsters use more recharge abilities to compensate for not critting.

Here he is saying it, at 53:39: