I loved
@dnd4vr 's critical hit idea on Page 1 here (
Level Up - Changes to Crit and auto-success). No new maths for the second roll. But the statistical chance scales nicely with baseline chance to hit, and so also with AC (skillful attackers and unarmoured foes lead to more crits/damage). So this also effectively means AC as DR (or at least crit reduction). And we are all used used to rolling 2x d20 now.
It stuck in my head so I thought I would give it a go. Possibly a step too far for A5E but fun to explore:
Always roll 2 dice:
- 1st is standard attack roll
- If hit and 2nd roll same or higher, then critical hit
- If miss and 2nd roll same or lower, then critical fumble (e.g. concede opportunity attack)
- For Advantage, the 2nd roll is also a 2nd chance at a hit (+3rd, 4th roll if stacking)
- For Disadvantage, 2nd roll also needs to hit (+3rd, 4th roll if stacking)
What's also nice is that natural 1s and 20s are still important:
- 1 on 1st roll always a miss
- 20 on the 1st roll always a hit
- If 1st roll missed, 1 on the 2nd roll always a fumble (maybe a super fumble)
- if 1st roll hit, 20 on the 2nd roll always a crit (maybe a super crit - max damage)
Add as someone else said, there's design space for getting the same roll on both dice:
- If a hit, maybe damage target's armour/weapon/shield (-1)
- If a miss, maybe damage your own weapon (-1)
Biggest mechanical consideration is that it means more crits (>1/8 of all attacks at the most common combat difficulty) but that also gives the "DR" element (AC's effect on crit chance) more impact in that range. More damage is fine with me (I think many agree that there are too many HP at high level) but easily compensated (e.g. adding Constitution score to HP should protect low level adventures and beasties, or a bit of a rethink about what is eligible for doubled dice such as smites and other extra dice).
Anyway, I thought it was fun, thought I would share