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I've posted this suggestion before, and after having playtested it in my own campaign, I have to say it we all like it so much that I'm once again trying to "lobby" for it into PF RPG. I can't remember who originally posted this idea, but I think it really makes criticals a bit more meaningful and fun to everyone!
It's really quite simple: one multiplier (i.e. the "base" damage dice) is maximized, and the rest of the dice are rolled -- bonuses are added as in 3E/Beta.
Some examples:
* A character wielding a longsword (+5 damage bonus): 1D8 + 10 + 8 (max. damage) = 1D8 + 18 (instead of 2D8 + 10)
* A character wielding a greatsword (+8 damage bonus): 2D6 + 16 + 12 (max. damage) = 2D6 + 28 (instead of 4D6 + 16)
* A character wielding a greataxe (+3 damage bonus): 2D12 + 9 + 12 (max. damage) = 2D12 + 21 (instead of 3D12 + 9)
* A character wielding a scythe (+12 damage bonus): 4D4 + 48 + 8 (max. damage) = 4D4 + 56 (instead of 6D4 + 48)
It's a relatively small "tweak", at least at high levels, but it guarantees that you'll *always* inflict more damage than with a normal hit -- it's frustrating to get a critical with, say, a rogue in melee, and then roll something like 6 points of damage with your rapier or longsword (bonuses included) or something like 20 with your greatsword, even though your fighter has +7 damage bonus.
I don't think it would break the game, and at least my players seem to prefer this system over 3E/PF crits.
Thoughts?
it's an ok rule I guess, it wont upset balance too much in most cases, it does make some weapons a little better than others though.
A greatswords crit will on average gain a little damage on a falchion.
A falchion used to deal 10 damage on average before, a greatsword 14, now with this rule in place: falchion deals 13 damage on a crit, a great sword 19, a net gain of 2 points.
Likewise a greataxe will get relatively less gain. a greatsword crits twice as much and deals + 12 damage every time a great axe deals + 18/19 damage every crit (12 + 1d12).
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it's an ok rule I guess, it wont upset balance too much in most cases, it does make some weapons a little better than others though.
A greatswords crit will on average gain a little damage on a falchion.
A falchion used to deal 10 damage on average before, a greatsword 14, now with this rule in place: falchion deals 13 damage on a crit, a great sword 19, a net gain of 2 points.Likewise a greataxe will get relatively less gain. a greatsword crits twice as much and deals + 12 damage every time a great axe deals + 18/19 damage every crit (12 + 1d12).
Alright, using the same damage bonus (+10) for all of them:
* Bastard Sword (1-handed): crit damage 1D10 + 30 = avg. 35.5
* Falchion: crit damage 2D4 + 28 = avg. 32.5
* Greatsword: crit damage 2D6 + 32 = avg. 39
* Greataxe: crit damage 2D12 + 42 = avg. 55
* Scythe: crit damage 6D4 + 48 = avg. 63
Whereas the crits in 3E/PF would be:
* Bastard Sword (2-handed): crit damage 2D10 + 20 = avg. 31
* Falchion: crit damage 4D4 + 20 = avg. 30
* Greatsword: crit damage 4D6 + 20 = avg. 34
* Greataxe: crit damage 3D12 + 30 = avg. 49.5
* Scythe: crit damage 8D4 + 40 = avg. 60
Another problem is that this favors weapons with a high crit range over those with a high multiplier. Over the course of 20 attacks you can expect to gain 12 damage from this with a falchion, vs. only 3 from a scythe. Admittedly those are small numbers, and multipliers were already superior in the face of DR, but the new effect-on-crit feats are a big boost for the falchion camp.
Meh. I'd say leave it as a house rule.