D&D 5E How fantastic are natural 1's?

[Jack Daniel]

I don't even use critical hits, let alone critical fumbles. Perish the thought of a mechanic that turns otherwise tonally grounded campaigns into sudden Benny Hill sketches.

 

[DND_Reborn]

The "other rule" is that you don't need to roll unless the outcome is uncertain. That's in the core description of gameplay, in the basic rules document. If your modifier is within 1 point of the DC, then you don't need to roll, because the outcome isn't uncertain.

You might want to rethink that. The "rule" is if the DM calls for a roll, you roll. Period. Why? Because there may be factors you, as a player, are unaware of. What your modifier is really is not an issue.

At my table we call rolling max damage (regardless of the to-hit roll) a "ghetto crit".

Yeah, real nice comment. Thanks for being a bit offensive.

Anyway, I'm done with this thread. Been there. Done that.

 

[Nefermandias]

Sigh... there is a variant rule (DMG p. 239)

View attachment 129434
... which is what I was talking about.

This is no other rule that says if your modifier is high enough, you don't need to roll when otherwise a roll is called for. Sure, in some cases it might become academic, but nothing else says anything like, "If the DC is equal to your modifier to the roll minus 1, do not roll the 20 as your success is automatic."

Ah, that's what you're talking about. Makes sense now. I'm sorry.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

You might want to rethink that. The "rule" is if the DM calls for a roll, you roll. Period. Why? Because there may be factors you, as a player, are unaware of. What your modifier is really is not an issue.

The rule is that the DM doesn't call for a roll unless the outcome is uncertain. If the modifier is within one point of the DC, then you don't roll, because that is the mathematical definition of uncertainty under this system.

The only two relevant factors, when determining uncertainty, are the die modifier and the DC. As a player, you may not necessarily be aware of either value. As such, you should roll when the DM tells you to roll, and trust that the DM knows what they're doing. If the DM proves that they're incompetent, then feel free to complain until they get better, or find a better DM.