Sneak Attack : Do Not Maximize

[Prestidigitalis]

I believe you are confusing your group's culture ("general recommendation") with the game's rules.

The "group" to which I refer comprises several groups and also the vast horde of commentors in the year-long threads about grind. And while I say this based on my memory of events and not from a specific reference, I believe a number of the creators of 4e have recommended rolling attack and damage at the same time. I don't think they would have done so if it would constitute a violation of the rules.

However, the string of inferences required to support my earlier formulation of an answer to the OP's question is longer and shakier than the ideal, so I withdraw it.

 

[Vael]

That certainly changes things. Fortunately, I only ruled against this on one roll - and while he would have killed the bad guy, the bad guy dropped two turns later before he had a chance to go again.

I'm running Encounters too, and a first round crit from Eldeth (the dwarven slayer) one-shotted a Kobold a few weeks ago.

Now, I'm pretty sure of this, but just to clarify ... Power Strike dice are maxed too?

 

[DracoSuave]

I'm running Encounters too, and a first round crit from Eldeth (the dwarven slayer) one-shotted a Kobold a few weeks ago.

Now, I'm pretty sure of this, but just to clarify ... Power Strike dice are maxed too?

Absolutely.

 

[Shin Okada]

IIRC many designers and writers in WotC (or working for WotC) have indeed recommended to roll attack roll and damage roll simultaneously, to make the game faster.

But that is irrelevant to this issue. Normal damage dice (either [W]s or XdXs defined by powers) are maximized anyway. So, after rolling those dice simultaneously, you ignore the damage dice which you have just rolled, if the attack die indicate the attack is crit. (And you also ignore the damage dice if the attack is miss and don't cause half damage, the target is a minion, etc.).

 

[DracoSuave]

I don't think they would have done so if it would constitute a violation of the rules.

To address this, like any convention made to speed things up:

It is applicable to most situations where you're rolling attacks and damage, and a generally good idea. Especially with things like area attacks, where you roll damage once.

However, there are certain situations where it's a bad idea, like where you're making multiple melee/ranged attacks and you want to see where the chips fall before you assign hunter's quarry damage.

It's merely a convenience, and when it becomes inconvenient and/or makes the rules impossible to adjudicate it should be discarded without any afterthought. And when it doesn't, whatever, it's a convenience, go right ahead.