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There's been a lot of discussion about critical hits and tweaking them.
Here's my suggestion (originally posted in another thread):
Natural 20: Regardless of whether you confirm the critical or not, you get your LVL*1/2 bonus to damage. If your confirmation roll succeeds, you do not multiply this bonus damage -- it is simply added to the final result. This would make natural 20 feel more significant at higher levels -- whether your actually "crit" or not.
NOTE: This could also apply to Skill Checks, too -- you would add 1/2*LVL to the end result (which would affect such skills as Craft, Perform or Profession, at least)?
Another suggestion:
Natural 20: Instead of applying any "level-based" bonus damage, each weapon could have 'Qualities' that would grant "special" effects on natural 20, such as Stunning with bludgeoning weapons? (NOTE: In Warhammer FRP every weapon has Traits/Qualities that, for example, occasionally let you stun your opponent or roll twice for damage and pick the better result). Maybe you could even improve these Qualities with Feats, such as taking 'Stunning Strike' (+4 to FORT DCs against Stunning when you're using a weapon that has this quality)? Piercing Weapons might have 'Bleeding' (which would stack with the rogue's ability), and 2-H weapons might do 1 point of CON damage. And so on.
Thoughts?
I think it sounds a lot like people would then be arguing over what weapons have quality X rather than Y, or was does a salad fork do X when the peasant's pitchfork and trident not do X. Well, there are all manner of experts and 'experts' who are going to argue those points. Which would just add another level of frustration for me, as GM.
Ooh, brain snap! Instead of flat bonuses to weapons, make them qualities that can be assigned to masterworks for +X gold. That way the person who thinks the serrated edges on his longsword should cause bleeding on a 20 can get their effect, and the person who thinks that it should reduce STR by slashing muscles gets their effect.
OR: Allow fighter bonus feats that do this stuff. Maybe a serrated weapon can do either of these things, but you have to be trained to activate it.
OR: Combat feats that represent 'styles' that enable these abilities
OR: Some combination of the above.
I know I'm thinking a combination of masterwork weapons in combo with fighting style feats (Combat Feats) that enable more than one type of bonus. This way, the user can change types of weapons without the need to get an entirely new feat.