How do YOU crit?

[Herzog]

sorry, but I have to ask:
What's the fun of not being able to hit something?
I mean, I get not missing on a 1. If you are really good, and you need to roll -20 to miss, missing because 'it's a natural 1' sometimes sucks.

But come on. If my DM would say (or if I would find out because of other people's rolls): you need to roll a 25 on that d20! tough luck! I would quit the game. Because, appearantly, I'm not supposed to be doing anything useful with my character.

 

[anest1s]

sorry, but I have to ask:
What's the fun of not being able to hit something?
I mean, I get not missing on a 1. If you are really good, and you need to roll -20 to miss, missing because 'it's a natural 1' sometimes sucks.

But come on. If my DM would say (or if I would find out because of other people's rolls): you need to roll a 25 on that d20! tough luck! I would quit the game. Because, appearantly, I'm not supposed to be doing anything useful with my character.

If your attack bonus represents how good you and your weapon are in fighting, and the numbers between 1-20 how good you happen to hit, then why not miss on 1 and always hit on 20?

Maybe you were extremely unlucky even though you are a great warrior, and something happened and you missed that goblin. Or maybe you are a weak peasant, and you managed to hit the dragon- just because of pure luck.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

For over 20 years, up until we started playing 3E we were using a critical chart of some kind or other. The earliest of them were adapted from Arduin Grimoire critical charts and over time they were rewritten and repeatedly reduced in severity. I think we just came to view it as... unheroic for our PC's to sustain permanent mutilations, though it was always fun to INFLICT the gore upon the enemy.

For 3E we ran it by the book: threat roll, confirmation roll, damage ROLLED twice with applicable modifiers, not multiplied, and then any additional damage added to that (sneak attack).

Running older editions again now and essentially using 3E's approach: 20, confirmation roll, damage rolled twice - not multiplied. However, I, the DM, may declare that other effects for either criticals or fumbles may also be achieved, whether due to circumstances of the combat, or individual attempts at special results.