D&D (2024) DM's no longer getting crits on PC's

[the Jester]

How do you all feel about the proposed change to crits affecting the PC's?
I know my players and I will not be following that bit of advice but I was curious about how everyone else feels about this.

I am not down with crits for pcs only. Equity or nothing.

 

[Zaukrie]

We can, and probably should, surprise the players with things other than randomly timed wads of damage.

The players surprise me with their choices often enough that those randomly timed wads of damage aren't really the major thrill of my game.

I am okay with that asymmetry - I can surprise them with things, they can surprise me with things, and not so much is going on that surprises both of us at the same time.

Then they need to give monsters more than claw, claw, bite ... Here's hoping.

 

[Older Beholder]

Coincidentally for my first campaign in 5E I didn’t use monster crits or crits for spells. (mostly due to misunderstanding the rules) It really didn’t effect things that much, although that campaign did end in a TPK.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Suddenly, every PC equipped with Adamantine Armor (a magic item by the way) cried out in indignation and rage at the same time.

 

[James Gasik]

Suddenly, every PC equipped with Adamantine Armor (a magic item by the way) cried out in indignation and rage at the same time.

I wonder how many of those there are out there. I've only seen one, and that's because the DM let them start with a magic item.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I wonder how many of those there are out there. I've only seen one, and that's because the DM let them start with a magic item.

Suddenly, one PC equipped with Adamantine Armor cried out in indignation and rage

 

[James Gasik]

Suddenly, one PC equipped with Adamantine Armor cried out in indignation and rage

Well that's fair, lol. Although I have noted something odd over the years, and I'm curious if it's just me. If a player is hit by an attack by another player (due to mind control or whatever), the chance for it to be a critical hit shoots way up for some reason.

 

[cbwjm]

While I do think I need to see the full rules on monsters to get a good understanding of monsters and crits, if it's just to recharge an ability and it still requires a 20 to be rolled, then that might as well just be a single use ability. Natural 20s aren't so common that you'd be seeing a lot of recharges.

 

[tetrasodium]

.

While I do think I need to see the full rules on monsters to get a good understanding of monsters and crits, if it's just to recharge an ability and it still requires a 20 to be rolled, then that might as well just be a single use ability. Natural 20s aren't so common that you'd be seeing a lot of recharges.

It's also possible that monsters "crit" their recharge on a wider range of rolls like 12 or 15 to 20 since it's a recharge mechanic. Sure you might not want the big bad dragon to recharge powerful abilities frequently but mook & minion type monsters regularly recharging an ability that gives them some meaningful value at a given niche even while not being especially dangerous is a different story

 

[CubicsRube]

I've been using fixed damage and no crits for a while with a caveat.

I have 4 types on enemies typically. A mook who has average HP and average damage, a tough who has max HP and average damage, and an elite who has average HP and max damage, and a boss who has max ho and max damage. It's enough variety so i can throw in enough mixes to keep people on their toes.

I don't do this for all foes, but for mundane ones like orcs it can add enough variety to keep things interesting.