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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pawned79" data-source="post: 2138404" data-attributes="member: 9284">I have included quotes from the text at the end of this post.I have change my mind. I have yet to talk to my friend about it, but I will inform him of my decision as to why I changed my mind. Text presented on p114 of the PHB 3.5 trumps sidebars present on pages p140 and p306 of the PHB 3.5. The only conflict between these three quotes is on p306 in the phrase “Any extra damage dice...” as apposed to the text on p114 that states “Extra damage over and above a weapon’s normal damage...” Since p114 trumps p306, we can safely ignore the reference to the word “dice.” This leaves the all-inclusive-statement “Extra damage over and above a weapon’s normal damage...” Now, my focus initially in this discussion was in the concept of “normal damage.” I was ignoring the statement on p114 that states “...(using all applicable modifiers on each roll)...” Power Attack is clearly an “applicable modifier.” I would like to note that the definition of modifier on p310 of the PHB 3.5 counts as a sidebar. There may be another definition of modifier in the text that trumps it. Modifier is not listed in the index, and I am too lazy to flip through the entire PHB 3.5 to see if there is one. I don’t think anyone would disagree with the definition of modifier presented on p310 of the PHB 3.5 though.Anyway, long story longer, Power Attack is a modifier, and I believe an “applicable modifier” at that. Those scoring a critical hit while using the Power Attack feat should consider themselves lucky and reap the benefits that my friend and I calculated previously.As a side note, initially it was not our intention to prove our point with the mathematics we presented earlier. In fact, we didn’t care about proving it at all. We had started crunching the numbers for the two arguments and found them interesting. Again, our initial decision was based off of the phrase “normal damage.” I found some of the comments in response to our post to be rude, and I took offense to them. Impassioned by my upset state, I decided to prove our critics wrong. My more-thorough look at the rules actually drove me to the current conclusion; the conclusion of our critics. Nevertheless, I still find said responses to unwarranted.QUOTE p310 PHB 3.5modifier: Any bonus or penalty applying to a die roll. A positive modifier is a bonus, and a negative modifier is a penalty. Modifiers from the same source do not stack, and modifiers with specific descriptors generally do not stack with others of the same type. If more than one modifier of a type is present, only the best bonus or worst penalty in the grouping applies. Bonuses or penalties that do not have descriptors stack with those that do.QUOTE p114 PHB 3.5Critical: The entry in this column notes how the weapon is used with the rules for critical hits. When your character scores a critical hit, roll the damage two, three, or four times, as indicated by its critical multiplier (using all applicable modifiers on each roll), and add all the results together.Exception: Extra damage over and above a weapon’s normal damage, such as that dealt by a sneak attack or the special ability of a flaming sword, is not multiplied when you score a critical hit.QUOTE p140  PHB 3.5A critical hit means that you roll your damage more than once, with all your usual bonuses, and add the rolls together. Unless otherwise specified, the threat range for a critical hit on an attack roll is 20, and the multiplier is x2.Exception: Extra damage over and above a weapon’s normal damage, such as that dealt by a sneak attack or the special ability of a flaming sword, is not multiplied when you score a critical hit.QUOTE p306 PHB 3.5critical hit (crit): A hit that strikes a vital area and therefore deals double damage or more. To score a critical hit, an attacker must first score a threat (usually a natural 20 on an attack roll) and then succeed on a critical roll (just like another attack roll). Critical hit damage is usually double damage, which means rolling damage twice, just as if the attacker had actually hit the defender two times. (Any extra damage dice, such as from a rogue’s sneak attack, are not rolled multiple times, but are added to the total at the end of the calculation.)</blockquote>

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