D&D 5E Critical Hits Appears to be Next in D&D Archive

[Majoru Oakheart]

Finally, did critical hits really need fixing? Really?

The new system won't be "broken" or anything. It'll be faster, yes, and simpler, but not better.

Yes. Faster and simpler IS better. It needed fixing because it added a lot of complications for new players, it added slowdown to the game, it added HUGE swing damage to the game making it so that one crit ended a battle one way or another, and they didn't happen often enough to be cool. In exchange they dealt with a corner case that rarely happened: fighting enemies who needed natural 20s to hit you.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I have heard rumors that one of the design philosophies of 4e is that fun should never be defined as a negative. For instance:

"It was fun this round that I hit because most rounds I don't."
"Against most enemies I'm useless but against undead I rule. This battle was so much fun."
"I almost never crit, so the one time I do is awesome."

are all examples of defining fun with a negative. In other words, you feel good because normally you feel bad. You won't see this happen in 4e very often if at all.

If that is true, and they stick to it, then I'm completely sold on 4e right now, no need to see anything else.

 

[Beckett]

What are crits like in Hackmaster?


glass.

First, pull out your d1000...

Yes, 3d10.

I don't remember exactly, but that roll determines location. Then iirc, it's an exploding d8 for crit severity. Cross reference severity and location on the chart for weapon type to find your result, from boring damage multiplication to broken bones, bleeding wounds and ability damage.

Hackmaster makes critical hits an Event. Whether it's one you want to do every time a 20 comes up is up to you.

 

[Lackhand]

I love the 20 = double damage randomness - especially when it splatters PCs. But then again, I love dangerous, crazed combat that could lead to death at any turn.

When a 3D6 attack suddenly becomes 34 damage and the demon standing in front of you gets his head lopped off, that is an awesome moment. Last year, we ended a tournament with a massive crit on a dragon that got the table howling with excitement. At the Gateway convention, we lost two heroes to evil elves with great crits with both swords which left the table gasping when the 5 PCs suddenly become 3 PCs in one round. My group still laughs about the TPK thanks to goblins in the darkness getting 4 crits in a single round...and then 3 more crits on the next party who were also a TPK.

But sadly, awesome moments must be sacrificed on the Altar of Balance to make sure little Timmy doesn't keep crying when his character dies.

Too bad we just can't crit Timmy.

Ahh, snark.
But yeah, crits are awesome.

Hey, I wonder what neat /day and /encounter powers fighters get -- and whether any get triggered on crits?

 

[Wormwood]

Too bad we just can't crit Timmy.

That's because strawmen are constructs.

You may be able to crit them in 4e, so rejoice.

 

[Voss]

Ahh, snark.
But yeah, crits are awesome.

Hey, I wonder what neat /day and /encounter powers fighters get -- and whether any get triggered on crits?

A 5% chance to use one of your precious, precious powers in a round? That... isn't good. I'd much rather have ones I choose to use. And can crit with

 

[Kraydak]

Given their opinion of massive damage spikes (warranted!) I think we won't be seeing any CL d6 damage spells, but rather things like 3d6+3*CL. This will also avoid crit AoE carnage, an issue that has been brought up in the past.

Given the tiny boost that maxing damage gives to most weapons (wheeeee, I critted with a dagger, I get to max a whole d4, joy!) I expect secondary effects tied to crits to be important. I can counter this speculation by noting that non-damage effects will pretty much have to be small, short duration buffs/debuffs, which are more of a pain to handle than crit confirmation rolls can possibly be.

The "every hit is a crit" problem that arises when you remove the confirmation roll should be resolved, and probably will be. Given the goal of encounters will many opponents, nearly doubling the offensive output of weenies vs. AC focused defenders can make the latter virtually unviable (and if the weenies have secondary effects tied to their crits, forget about it). Fixing it without complicating matters greatly isn't too hard though, for example:
Nat 20 hits AC: max damage+secondary effects
Nat 20 misses AC, hits Reflex: normal hit
Nat 20 misses reflex: minimum damage hit.

 

[Scribble]

Ahh, snark.
But yeah, crits are awesome.

Hey, I wonder what neat /day and /encounter powers fighters get -- and whether any get triggered on crits?

My guess is there are probably more then a few... I mean if just certain weapons get more power on crits, there have to be special powers that do as well... We already know about the Cleric one...

 

[Abstraction]

Anyone notice the weight in pounds? If this carries into the PHB, it looks like no revamp of the encumbrance rules at all.

 

[LEHaskell]

That's because strawmen are constructs.

You may be able to crit them in 4e, so rejoice.

I SOOOOOO wish we could give posts thumbs-up, like on boardgamegeek!