D&D 4E Critical Hits in 4e

[Nebulous]

This is just rampant speculation, but do you think they'll change the way crits work? Given the focus on more movement in combat, and the special effects that certain weapons have, i was wondering if critical hits could have results other than "more damage." For instance, it might be a great deal of tactical fun to "push" an enemy back 5 feet, rather than inflicting the double damage (especially if it would knock them off a ledge). Maybe if a huge giant slams you, you're knocked 15 feet back. More likely though, moving enemies will be tied into character abilities and feats, or a special ability in the monster description.

 

[Dalberon]

Since they seem to be trying to streamline things, if they do make changes to critical hits I think they will be in the flavor you are describing (affecting where your mini is on the mat or causing a combat penalty).

I don't forsee hit location charts with specialized effects determined by where the hit was placed. I think the novelty of those wore out a while back (not to mention the extra paperwork to keep track of).

 

[Morrus]

I'm pretty sure from designer comments that crit confirmation rolls go.

I'd also guess from other comments (but would not be willing to wager on it) that crit ranges will be reduced (perhaps just on a 20?); and maybe a crit will have an effect rather than just do double damage.

But the only bit I am sure about (well, 90% sure) is that the confirmation roll is gone.

 

[Nebulous]

I'm pretty sure from designer comments that crit confirmation rolls go.

I'd also guess from other comments (but would not be willing to wager on it) that crit ranges will be reduced (perhaps just on a 20?); and maybe a crit will have an effect rather than just do double damage.

But the only bit I am sure about (well, 90% sure) is that the confirmation roll is gone.

That's how we houseruled 3.0 years ago; it was a bummer to roll that sexy 20 only to botch the confirmation. I THINK Star Wars Saga also ditched the confirmation. And i'm quite sure they won't add hit location charts, that just isn't D&D. Good for Warhammer, bad for D&D.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

I THINK Star Wars Saga also ditched the confirmation.

Yep.

All weapons are 20/x2 in SWSE.

There's a feat to turn a single weapon type (longswords, for instance) into 20/x3 weapons for you. There's a high-level Jedi Knight talent to turn lightsabers into 19-20/x2 weapons.

That's it on the critical front.

 

[Stalker0]

My guess is since they have mentioned that different weapons will do different things, so likely crits might work differently for different weapons.

A crit from an axe might do ability damage (or condition track stuff), spears might weaken armor for the rest of combat, etc.

 

[Kunimatyu]

Yep.

All weapons are 20/x2 in SWSE.

There's a feat to turn a single weapon type (longswords, for instance) into 20/x3 weapons for you. There's a high-level Jedi Knight talent to turn lightsabers into 19-20/x2 weapons.

That's it on the critical front.

Both the feat and the talent sound tailor-made for Fighters, though I expect to see feats that give you additional cool stuff on a crit, especially since now there's a guaranteed 5% change of a crit on every attack.

 

[Engilbrand]

Keep in mind the playtest report where the Cleric healed BECAUSE he got a crit. It's strange, though, that there was another playtest report involving goblins where a character was hit 2 or 3 times with a crit. Nothing special happened to him. Though they did specifically keep mentioning that the spear had a black point, so there may be items that automatically crit.