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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stalker0" data-source="post: 3975274" data-attributes="member: 5889">Variants like this require two things:1) That the player knows the AC of the thing he's fighting, and that is often not the case. Further, even if the dm allows it, he then has to tell you the AC of the creature, and you have to remember it. Sounds so simple, but oh how often players and dms alike forget these simple numbers.2) You then have to calculate the difference between your attack roll and damage roll, then mentally add that to your damage for that roll. Again, sounds so simple, most people can do it. But some people still have problems with it.This thread reminds me so much of the early Star Wars SAGA threads. In that system, 20's also crit and even provide x2 damage!! The exact same arguments came up. Here are the counterpoints to some of the arguments I've seen.1) People crit at the same rate even if one has a +20 to attack and the other a -20!! True, but they likely don't do the same damage. If we take the assumption that powers add extra dice in the mix (which is a reasonable assumption though certainly not a proven one), then higher level character do bigger damage on crits. Further, let's consider that at 10th level, 3 damage isn't much. So if a mook hits you for 3 more damage, as far as flavor goes, do you really notice? However, if another 10th level guy hits you for +20 damage, you will notice.Finally, this rule actually helps make mooks a bit scarier. One of the "issues" with dnd (not for everyone, but at least a significant portion) is that past a certain point mooks become irrelevant. They can't hit, don't do any damage, and die too quickly to be a threat. With the crit rule, mooks get a little extra damage 5% of the time, whereas in the current system that's .25% of the time. That combined with a few other rules we haven't seen will likely make mooks more threatening.2) Crits don't seem very exciting now!At first glance, I agree with this. +3 damage or so isn't anything to write home about. However, we've only see the tip of the iceberg. If magic weapons give bigger crits, if powers get crit bonuses, if certain weapons get cooler with crits, then suddenly its a brand new ballgame.3) Crits aren't special anymore, they happen too often.Something I've never considered before is how often do crits normally happen in 3e? I've never really thought about it, my initial feeling is that most crits chances I've seen have turned out to be failed confirmations, but you can't really go with the gut because people have skewed memories.However, 4e will also have fewer attacks judging by what I've seen so far. A 6th level fighter gets 2 attacks per round, so that's 2 crit possibilities every time (though his second attack has far less chance to confirm). A 6th level 4e fighter will likely have one attack. So in some ways this helps balance the math. I'm confident we will see crits more often in 4e, but perhaps not to the level some people have feared.</blockquote>

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