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

[BryonD]

But the way the mechanic is currently written, against a high AC opponent, any blow the farmer lands is a devastating blow. There's no middle ground. If your only chance to hit is a natural 20, and you automatically critical on it, you can't score a 'glancing' blow against a high AC hero. Mind you, the farmer's 7 hp is likely to be a mere scratch or dent in any case against a high AC hero.

Pinotage

Which is a part of why I think the 4E crit determination part sucks.

 

[Lord Mhoram]

Not entirely true, as magic weapons give extra bonus on crits as well, but yes it does sound like certain powers will have crit abilities.

Absolutely - I was mostly talking about the trend of "less Christmas Tree, move character ability" and that the crit stuff seems to be doing a similar thing.

 

[BryonD]

I am a bit confused, this thread has gone on 10 pages and on every second or third page there is a post stating basically that the design and development article highlights the baseline crit mechanic...that is built upon through weapon qualities {like the pick}, class abilities {like the Paladin Smite}, and possibly character level....

Yes, the baseline crit mechanic appears boring. How the additional goodies stack on top of it? I think I will reserve my final judgement for later.

However, I like that the crit damage is somewhat normalized as I have had both PCs and NPCs slaughtered out fo hand due to a crit... and no matter what, its not too fun to watch combat from the sidelines after round 1...

and.. hey Mourn... I agree with you too!
{don't fall out of your chair }

I don 't understand how your reply responds to what you quoted. Heck, I didn't even say the thing you are complaining about people saying.

 

[BryonD]

Can we have a discussion where someone does not try to redefine a common term like math?

Any addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division of numbers, no matter how many variables are involved, is math. 1 + 1 = 2... that's math. 1d8+3... that's math.

OK. chuckle. It isn't math that requires more than 0.5 sec of thought.

Why does "doing math" need to be removed from crits when it is staying for so may other things?

People aren't saying the 3e crit system is hard. They're saying it ISN'T FUN.

Can you point me to any thread before this article where people were saying that the 3X crit system was not fun? Any thread at all. It has become like a political or religious thing. It was completely off the radar a day ago, but WotC said it, I believe it, that settles it.
It'll happen again in a week or two. WotC will decree that some other part of 3X sucked and suddenly a camp of myrmidons will start singing "amen, I always thought just that."

All that aside, they are (suddenly) saying that it isn't fun because it is too hard.

3.X crits are a hell of a lot more fun that "ho hum" another 20 I get the same result I get 5% of the other times. And yeah, that is a subjective position. But you are not going to convince me that tic tac toe is more fun than chess because it it easier and faster either. And for the "price" of 0.5 sec of "MATH!!!" combined with 15 to 20 seconds of ADDED fun in the excitement of the the confirmation roll (which me and my players always find fun, regardless of the outcome ::shock:: -not all players are constrained to fun only in success at every single detail) is a great deal. To me it sucks that this great innovation will be sacrificed on the altar of simplification.

 

[Remathilis]

What prize do you win if you roll a threat, and then fail the confirmation roll?

rolling laughter from your peers.

 

[Sir Brennen]

Which is a part of why I think the 4E crit determination part sucks.

Because the rules should be written for the farmer vs. epic warrior scenarios, and not for the majority of combat cases :\

Seriously, who cares if the farmer who can only hit on a 20 also crits? It's not like he's going to survive more than a single round of combat anyway, with a better than even chance that he won't even win initiative to get to try to make that 95% likely to miss attack. It's simply irrelevant to the vast majority (and I'm inclined to say "all") combat encounters players will participate in.

I really don't think there's going to be many "can only be hit on a 20" situations in the new edition, if characters stick to what they're good at, i.e. their class specific powers.

 

[Professor Phobos]

I don't play D&D 3rd partly because unnecessary crap like the confirmation role. There's no way I would have ever started a thread on the subject, because I didn't care. D&D 4th has my interest precisely because they're cutting down on the cruft. Every dice role that does not absolutely, positively have to occur is an unwelcome intrusion on my time.

 

[BryonD]

Because the rules should be written for the farmer vs. epic warrior scenarios, and not for the majority of combat cases :\

No, because the system fails to take skill into account in any way when it determines whether a crit happens. In the majority of combat cases there will be big differences in how likely various attackers are to hit various targets. That a crit system completely fails to capture this is a shame.

 

[BryonD]

I don't play D&D 3rd partly because unnecessary crap like the confirmation role. There's no way I would have ever started a thread on the subject, because I didn't care. D&D 4th has my interest precisely because they're cutting down on the cruft. Every dice role that does not absolutely, positively have to occur is an unwelcome intrusion on my time.

What game do you currently play?
What dice roles ARE absolutely, positively required?

Adding better tactics and a richer simulation, as well as increased drama is something I look for chance to spend my time on.

 

[Professor Phobos]

What game do you currently play?
What dice roles ARE absolutely, positively required?

At the moment I'm playing Wild Talents, which uses the "One Roll Engine" (predictably, very few rolls...)

Adding better tactics and a richer simulation, as well as increased drama is something I look for chance to spend my time on.

I could not care less about tactics or simulation. I am a story-first sort of person. Dice are only great for the tension of randomness and the unpredictability they lend to drama. At all other times, they'd better stay out of my way.

Admittedly I am willing to compromise since most of my players enjoy a bit more rolling and tactics than I do.