First post with a question about the crit rule.

[Blacksheepcomedy]

I think if I had cheating player and optimized PC I'd find a way to get him alone rather than have entire group suffer.

 

[Ryujin]

I think if I had cheating player and optimized PC I'd find a way to get him alone rather than have entire group suffer.

The general way of handling him seemed to be adding a few extra creatures, just to keep him busy, them hedging him into a corner. This was just one specific incident that resulted in me needing to roll a 21 to hit, based on boosting the stats of the creature.

Now that I'm DMing him I deal with it by having creatures make their save, or just pasting him for high damage, whenever I see his "tell."

 

[Blacksheepcomedy]

I know this is a bit off topic now but has there been any out of game discussion about the problem? Isn't the rest of the party a bit frustrated by the conduct?

 

[Ryujin]

I know this is a bit off topic now but has there been any out of game discussion about the problem? Isn't the rest of the party a bit frustrated by the conduct?

Yes, we've discussed this many times. He's a good guy and makes good characters. He doesn't have to cheat, because his characters are that well thought out. Each of us have our own particular way to deal with it. Mine is to hammer him whenever he shows his "tell" (poker talk), which is to pick up his die so that he can 'look closely at it.' Whenever he does that, he's making up a number. It doesn't matter if he's just laid a -6 to hit down on the opposition; he gets the smack-down.

Other game masters have him targeted by "extra" opponents, that wouldn't normally appear in the encounter. He gets harassed and herded. That means the rest of us essentially have a normal encounter to ourselves.

He didn't even pick up on the joke, when we (and NPCs) started to refer to his Ranger as "The Demigod of Archers", making comments like, "SOME characters have to wait until 21st level, before they become Epic."

 

[Colmarr]

I don't think I've EVER seen a natural 20 that was not a crit.

The ranger interrupt that imposes -8 to hit can very easily turn a crit into a plain hit. Disruptive strike, I think it is.

But except for such powers, non-crit natural 20s are indeed very rare.

 

[pemerton]

Very cool, I fully understand the crit roll now. I'm sure that I will have more questions down the line but that one was written to sound as if there was still chance to not roll a crit, and while there is I can't imagine it happens often

I don't think I've EVER seen a natural 20 that was not a crit. The only time I can imagine it happening is when a feeble wizard (or the like) decides to take his unarmed opportunity attack, because "I might roll a 20."

I don't think I've ever had a natural 20 in my game that wasn't a crit. There was once a crit when the wizard PC needed to roll a 20 exactly to hit with an OA - not unarmed, but belting a passing gnoll with his Tome of Rejuvenating Flame.

I think according to the rules, using a magic Tome as an improvised melee weapon and critting with it does not trigger the extra crit damage, but at the time we forgot about that rule. As the Tome hit the gnoll it burst into flame, doing an extra 2d10 fire damage that was enough to kill the gnoll. I think to this date the wizard's ony melee kill, and perhaps his only melee hit!

 

[D'karr]

I think to this date the wizard's ony melee kill, and perhaps his only melee hit!

With a book nonetheless, that makes the kill totally appropriate.

 

[pemerton]

With a book nonetheless, that makes the kill totally appropriate.

It was a strangely memorable moment.