Critical poison

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Starship Cartographer
I thought I knew the answer to this, but then I couldn't find it, so here I am...

If a venomous monster hits you with a critical, are you facing double damage from the poison? If so, does this apply to both the primary and secondary effects?

Critical: The entry in this column notes how the weapon is
used with the rules for critical hits. When a critical hit is
scored, roll the damage with all modifiers two, three, or four
times, as indicated by its critical multiplier, and add all the
results together.

Exception: Bonus damage represented as extra dice, such as
from a sneak attack or a flaming sword, is not multiplied when a
critical hit is scored.
 
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It would make sense to double poison damage, since you are hitting a weak spot with it. I don't think it would count as bonus dice because it requires an additional die roll by the creature affected.
 

I would definitely think not. The poison isn't part of the attack, it's a "special effect that accompanies the attack", (per the DR section, DMG p. 74).
 

I would say no, you don't double the damage. Reading the criticals for weapons in the PHB, if you had a flaming sword that scored a critical the fire damage would only count once.

Also, with poison, even if it hits you with a non-critical hit the poison would have the same effect on you (and your inefftective immune system!) the very fact that it has entered your bloodstream is enough to cause the damage. Delivering it into a "vital" area wouldn't have much more of an effect, except to make the effects happen quicker (if it entered a major artery or something).

Just my opinion though...
 

It could be justified both ways - for instance, critical means that more of the crap was just pumped into your bloodstream than a normal dose - but from a strict rules standpoint, I believe it falls into the category of "Bonus damage represented as extra dice," and therefore not subject to critical doubling.
 
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Hmm, I'm surprised at these opinions because I'm fairly sure the consensus was exactly the opposite last time around. But if there aren't any written rules one way or the other, I guess it's up to me to decide.

The reasons (as best as I can recall) for doubling were that poisons do stat damage, which is damage just like hit points is (this is also why poison damage "stacks").

So level drain is doubled on a crit, the CON damage done by a wraith doubles, but poison does not?

I'm ok with that, I was just hoping there was a rule (or a FAQ entry, or even a Sage email) that I had missed.
 


Re: Citical poison

Ki Ryn said:
If a venomous monster hits you with a critical, are you facing double damage from the poison? If so, does this apply to both the primary and secondary effects?

From the FAQ...

If a melee attack causes a saving throw every time it
damages an opponent (a monster with a poisonous bite, for
example) and the attack is a confirmed critical hit, are two
saves rolled because there are two damage rolls?

&nbsp&nbsp&nbspA critical hit doesn’t deliver any extra poison; however,
there are special attacks that do have extra effects with critical
hits. These include energy drains, ability drains, and most kinds
of ability damage that are not dealt through poison. See the
introduction to the Monster Manual or Chapter 3 of the
DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide.
 


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