Hey everyone,
I'm in a bit of a rules debate with my GM and group and would love some input. It's about how the Axe critical specialization interacts with the Swipe feat—specifically, whether it can trigger twice (once from each target) if both are critically hit.
Here's the situation: I use Swipe with a melee axe against two adjacent enemies (let's call them A and B), and I score a critical hit on both. The axe's critical specialization says:
Choose one creature adjacent to the initial target and within reach. If its AC is lower than your attack roll result for the critical hit, you deal damage to that creature equal to the result of the weapon damage die you rolled [...]
So the question is: since both A and B were critically hit by the same Swipe, can I apply the axe crit effect from A to B and from B to A?
My understanding is that even though Swipe is a single Strike, the attack roll is resolved separately against each target. For example, given AC differences, the same roll can result in different outcomes—hit, miss, or crit—against each enemy. That means each enemy is effectively the “initial target” of their own critical hit resolution. And since they’re adjacent to each other, each could also be eligible as the "creature adjacent to the initial target."
Additionally, there’s nothing in the rules for Swipe that would prevent both critical specialization effects from triggering independently with other weapon groups. For example, if you score a critical hit with a War Flail (Also has the Sweep Trait), both targets could potentially be knocked prone. This makes it hard to see why Axes would be treated differently, especially since the interaction seems consistent with how other weapon group specializations function with Swipe.
To me, this feels like a valid and flavorful synergy between Swipe and axe crits. Honestly, the first thing I imagined when reading Swipe was someone swinging a big axe in a wide arc, so it just makes thematic sense.
Has anyone seen a dev clarification on this, or had a similar situation at your table?
Thanks!