Has anyone tried it this way? A couple in my group want to it this way in order to speed up the game. We've already done away with Crit Confirmations. The only things that wouldn't be maxed out would be precision damage and possibly special weapons properties, though that one's up for grabs.
So, anyone done this? How has it worked out for you?
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I'm pretty sure this is how it's done in 5th ed, and it's fine.
I would say a strong no.
It's fine on characters that rely mostly on static damage modifiers, but on characters that roll for a lot of dice for damage it could be a big problem.
As mentioned, a magus that crits with their shocking grasp is getting a huge damage upgrade. Instead of rolling 10d6 that would end up with 20d6 maximized, for 120 damage.
Now if you want to amend your rule and say that weapon damage dice are maximized, that would be fine. At best you get something like 4d6 for 24 damage. That's a much less big deal.
I also have to say I think it's a bad idea to remove the confirmation rolls, but it is your game.
Thanks for the input, Claxon. I hadn't even thought about spells. This requires a slight rethink.
I thought it was maximising instead of double dice, not both?!
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We tried something like this and it did not break the game, although we had already taken spell crits out of the game. Of course, this does make the game a bit more dangerous...mostly for the players.
For each 20 rolled, one toss of the weapon damage would be maximized. So:
- Roll a 20 without a critical hit = Maxamum normal damage
- Roll a 20 and confirm with a roll other than 20 = Maximum normal damage + roll damage from the critical
- Roll a 20 and confirm with a 20 = Maximum normal damage + Maximum damage for one toss of the critical damage
None of the players were using a weapon with a x3 or x4 critical multiplier, but if they had I would have let them roll an additional time for each 20 they rolled aftr the first critical confirmation.
Thanks, everyone! You've given me some great ideas to talk to my players over about this issue.
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I'm pretty sure this is how it's done in 5th ed, and it's fine.
It is automatic confirm. You roll damage DICE twice (and any weapon dice added on from features, like sneak attack, are also rolled twice), but only add modifiers once. I think the playtest had max damage on thr first dice then you roll and additional dice equal to your weapon's base. This didn't make it into the final product.
Also, I would also like to voice my disagreement on max crit damage. Mostly because it would hurt PC's more than anyone else, and it will be instagibs left and right. Particularly at 1st, which can very reasonably result in an instant kill from a battleaxe without even modifiers. Not something to put in.
Maximized crits means a lot of instant kills, even (or especially) at high level. Take a careful look at the attacks (how well they hit) and their damage and then what will happen if everything is maximized.
I would put forth a vote against that change, as well. When you're looking at making that change, you have to adjust damage across the board. I've co-created a system where crits = max damage, but there are major considerations in scaling that make it work that way.
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I personally use a rule that one weapon damage die is maxed for each 20 rolled on the attack and confirmation roll.
E.G.:
20 to hit, non-20 to confirm-
Longsword: 1d8+8+Bonuses
Greatsword: 3d6+6+Bonuses
Scythe: 7d4+4+Bonuses
20 to hit, 20 to confirm-
Longsword: 16+Bonuses
Greatsword: 2d6+12+Bonuses
Scythe: 6d4+8+Bonuses
I don't personally allow extra rolls to max more dice, but exploding 20s could certainly be a thing if you prefer.
The best way to get my players to drop their idea of doing this is to tell them it applies to them, as well. They wanted to use a crit/fumble chart really badly, but I told them if the bad guys were subject to it so were they. They hushed.
Keep in mind that if you do away with critical multipliers, that it makes weapons with 18-20/X2 modifiers much more powerful than X3 or X4 weapons. (They always were more powerful, but still, it breaks that gap even more.)
I'd recommend that you don't allow a "maximum damage" thing on a simple confirmation.
How TOZ said you should do it would perhaps be the most fair, in that you'd require 2 critical threats (and then a confirm) for maximum damage on an attack.
With critical decks, we allow one card if the critical is confirmed, and if the critical is doubly threatened (and then confirmed), two cards are drawn, and they take the "best" effect.
There's also allowing critical effects to apply to saving throws, where we allow the roll of a 1 on a saving throw (with a subsequent failed save) to allow the spell effect to critical; the same rule for confirming criticals above works for this two (in that 2 1's and then a failed save afterward results in drawing 2 critical cards, and taking the "best" effect).
Darksol, maximized damage deals less than double or triple damage.
That being said, you do need to figure something out for the higher multiplier weapons. Or turn everything into 20/x2 or 19-20x2
I know that, but again, it makes 18-20/X2 weapons more powerful, since the ideal of damage being maximized instead of having multipliers means you're having weapons with 20, 19-20, and 18-20. There's no "X2" or "X3" or "X4," there's only the threat range. Therefore, weapons with the better threat ranges will always be superior. (In my opinion, they always were, but it still bridges the gap.)