As critical feats trigger any time you crit, these feats are much more attractive to weapons with a threat range of 18-20 than they are for weapons that do huge damage but only on a 20.
Critical Feats
Critical feats modify the effects of a critical hit by inflicting an additional condition on the victim of the critical hit.
Characters without the Critical Mastery feat can only apply the effects of one critical feat to an individual critical hit. Characters with multiple critical feats can decide which feat to apply after the critical hit has been confirmed.
The suggestion I'm asking for feedback on would make the Critical Feats a little more attractive for any weapon, regardless of its threat range.
Critical Feats
Critical feats modify the effects of a critical hit by inflicting additional conditions on the victim of the critical hit. Characters without the Critical Mastery feat apply a number of effects equal to their weapon's critical multiplier -1 to the target of the critical hit. Characters with multiple critical feats can decide which feat to apply after the critical hit has been confirmed.
For example, a character crits on a foe with a weapon with a x3 critical multiplier, he would then apply any 2 critical feats to the critical hit once it has been confirmed. The same critical feat cannot be applied more than once per critical hit.
And Critical Mastery would look like this:
Critical Mastery (Combat)
Your critical hits cause further effects than normal.
Prerequisites: Critical Focus, any two critical feats, 14th-level fighter.
Benefit: When you score a critical hit, you can apply the effects of a number of critical feats equal to the critical multiplier of your weapon.
Normal: You can only apply the effects of a number of critical
feats equal to the weapon's critical multiplier -1.
What does everyone think? Does this seem balanced?
I don't think it looks that bad but I think I'd have to see it in use to make a proper assumption. I'm playing a pretty devastating Fighter with the Vital Strike tree, Improved Critical, Critical Mastery, Bleeding Critical, Stunning Critical, and Deadly Stroke. I threaten on a 15-20 and anyone that I confirm on takes a crap load of damage +2d6 bleed damage +1 point of Con bleed and their stunned 1d4 rounds.
Oh I still think it favors a large threat range, and the build you describe there would still work exactly the same way and it's a devastating combo you've got there.
Part of me though, has just always, always loved the x4 crit weapons like the scythe and the critical feats just don't mesh very well with them as is. I think this house rule shows the big crit weapons just a little bit more love without breaking anything in the process. Well, that's my goal at least. Whether or not I achieved it may well be up for debate.
What seems to work so far at our table is:
18-20: +2 to saving throw of critted target
19-20: No modifier.
20: -2 to S.T
Oh I still think it favors a large threat range, and the build you describe there would still work exactly the same way and it's a devastating combo you've got there.
Part of me though, has just always, always loved the x4 crit weapons like the scythe and the critical feats just don't mesh very well with them as is. I think this house rule shows the big crit weapons just a little bit more love without breaking anything in the process. Well, that's my goal at least. Whether or not I achieved it may well be up for debate.
I do have to agree with you. It would give players with a higher crit multiplier more of a reason to take critical feats. I might honestly try this in a campaign I'm about to start and since it's just a house rule that's being tested we can revert back to the original way if we don't like it. I'm not sure if it will be too much in my game or not because it's set in a home-brewed steampunk style world and the firearms have a x4 critical and then I added an exotic weapon called the Executioner's Axe which has a 19-20x4 critical (like the Greathorn Hammer, which is debated whether or not that's a typo).