Critical Hits: What's Best?

[zlorf]

I thought players enjoy rolling dice. Have a different colour dice allocated for confirming crits that they roll at the same time as there attacks.

Z

Every unnecessary roll is an unwelcome intrusion on my time. More importantly, every unnecessary game mechanic is a parasite, sucking the fun out of gaming.

 

[Dinkeldog]

I like the 3.x system. Didn't seem all that complicated to me. But then my favorite crit system was Rolemaster.

You mean Gimpmaster? Simpler works better for me. Also, with my circle of friends, gratuitous gory descriptions are completely unwelcome.

However, I'd imagine that it wouldn't be difficult to make a crit system that will ensure that by 2nd level no character has all limbs and sensory organs intact. If that makes you happy, go for it!

 

[Creamsteak]

I will say, I somewhat like the confirmation roll... but I also like the 4e proposed mechanic. Max on nat-20 sounds good. I'd consider including a secondary mechanic where you need to confirm to do some random crit effect (rake the eyes, impale a hand or foot, etc).

 

[Ahglock]

I'd prefer one core system with a few options that work of the core system. They want to go with 20 max damage, fine. Optional rule 1, must beat AC by 5 in order to get crit. Option rule 2, a crit grants a free attack roll n top of the max damage, a crit there does not grant yet another a free attack, option 3 blah blah, I'm just making crap up on the fly for all of these as placeholder examples.

 

[Benimoto]

I voted other because I'm not sure there is a "best". It depends on what you want critical hits to do in your game. In any case, I appreciate the logic behind the 4e crit system, but I'll miss the confirmation roll and how it rewarded optimizing your to-hit numbers.

 

[Doug McCrae]

However, I'd imagine that it wouldn't be difficult to make a crit system that will ensure that by 2nd level no character has all limbs and sensory organs intact.

Sounds like a great pirate simulator.

 

[Dausuul]

I also favor the 4E approach. Confirmation rolls make the math nice, but in practice I don't find they add anything to the game. And max damage instead of double damage means that a) a crit is always solid damage, and b) crits aren't such a wild card in combat.

As far as the question of low-level characters critting as often as high-level characters, I suspect high-level characters will get abilities that boost their crit damage. They won't crit any more often, but when they do, it'll hurt more.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Torn Asunder: Critical Hits. . . more or less. More, really.

Anyway, I would go with either option 1 or option 3, with the addition of critical effects and fumbles. Actually, that's what I already do.

 

[simply not edible]

Maximized damage on a 20; I'm all for.

Get it? For? 4?

...

Okay, I'll stop now.

 

[Vegepygmy]

Every unnecessary roll is an unwelcome intrusion on my time.

I have to say that this point of view baffles me. Every roll in D&D is "unnecessary." The entire game is "unnecessary." We play it for the fun of playing itself, not to get somewhere fast. I mean, if you really want to cut down on the "unnecessary" die-rolling, we can simply devise a chart that compares relative power levels and yields a percentage chance of victory for either side, roll one d100, and be done with it!

When did all you "Speed D&D" players infiltrate my hobby?

Slow down, I say! Take more than 12 hours of real-world time to gain an experience level.
Get to know your 5th-level character a little before advancing him to 6th level. Allow yourself an extra 5 seconds to confirm your critical hit rather than give every Tom, Dick, and Harry the same 1-in-20 chance of landing his best possible blow (regardless of whether his target's armor is made of papier-mache or six-inch thick steel plate).

God, I feel old. You young whippersnappers with your "iPods," and your "Wii consoles," and your "1st-to-20th in a year" characters...