Question Regarding the "Critical Hit Deck" when being mixed up with Gunslingers

[Clovis15]

This question regards this product:

http://paizo.com/products/btpy872f?GameMastery-Critical-Hit-Deck

A GM I know is getting ready to force the Game Mastery Critical Hit Deck on everyone in the group, the problem is that I play a gunslinger. He's originally started by saying following the exact wording of the cards is exactly how they're meant to be used. The problem is that the cards generally talking about rolling 2x damage, or in some cases only 1x damage, on a critical and gaining some sort of status defect along with it. I pointed out that this is essentially a massive [expletive] penalty on my character because my guns do 4x damage on a critical, and this would be stripping many of the perks from my character on a critical with rewards that do not justify what I'd lose - since he is insisting that the cards saying 1 or 2x damage means that's exactly what Paizo wants them to do - when I'd still have to be reloading my gun every other turn as well. I am arguing that these cards - as proved by the introductory text in their included rules - were only ever intended for someone who was wielding a 2x damage weapon, and that using them in relation to a character with a 4x weapon is just damage castration. He finally accepted that they were written assuming that everyone always has 2x weapons and then blamed me for playing a gunslinger, at which point I stopped him by pointing out there are many non expanded book weapons that already naturally have higher critical ranges. Anyways, this leads us to the current problem as he wants to run the deck no matter what, what would an equivalent scaled range be on someone who's weapon rolls 4x on critical. Some of the cards mention 1x and an effect, but the effect was never written assuming you'd be giving up 3 dice of damage - instead of just one - to get that effect. Some mention rolling 3x - with no tacked on effect - as if it was an extra special critical, when that too would still be a penalty to a character who otherwise does 4x every single critical.

He agreed immediately that any card that says 2x would probably really be 4x for a Gunslinger. The disagreement comes in on how to handle cards that say 1x and 3x. Would you make it be 5x when the card says 3x, or 6x? WOuld you roll 2x or 3x on a card that says 1x (on the basis that the perks on the cards were never assuming they'd cost someone 75% of their damage total)?

Or are the cards meant to be taken hyper literally, meaning I have just permanently lost 2x to 3x my critical damage every time I roll a 20 because the GM found a deck of cards at the gameshop that I soon may want to burn?

[Malafaxous]

Here is how I handle it:

If the crit says normal damage, then it is handled as one crit multiplier less (x2 becomes x1, x4 becomes x3). Double crit is normal crit for the weapon. x3 crit is one crit up from the normal crit (x3 becomes x4, x4 becomes x5...)

But I am my groups GM... so it is my house rule.

[Bardic Dave]

Exhibit A: http://paizo.com/image/content/GameMastery/PZO3001_53.jpeg

Exhibit B: http://paizo.com/image/content/GameMastery/PZO3001_57.jpeg

I think B is the better option, but talk it over with your GM.

[Clovis15]

Malafaxous wrote:

Here is how I handle it:

If the crit says normal damage, then it is handled as one crit multiplier less (x2 becomes x1, x4 becomes x3). Double crit is normal crit for the weapon. x3 crit is one crit up from the normal crit (x3 becomes x4, x4 becomes x5...)

But I am my groups GM... so it is my house rule.

That is pretty much word for word on what was probably going to be done in this group as well as things currently stand.

[Bardic Dave]

Clovis15 wrote:

Malafaxous wrote:

Here is how I handle it:

If the crit says normal damage, then it is handled as one crit multiplier less (x2 becomes x1, x4 becomes x3). Double crit is normal crit for the weapon. x3 crit is one crit up from the normal crit (x3 becomes x4, x4 becomes x5...)

But I am my groups GM... so it is my house rule.

That is pretty much word for word on what was probably going to be done in this group as well as things currently stand.

It's also effectively exactly what PAIZO suggests you do, under the optional rules for the critical hit deck.

[Loengrin]

Mmmh... The rule of the critical deck says you draw one card for a x2, two cards for a x3, 3 cards for a x4 etc. and stack the effect...
So while your damage may be lowered the disability will stack... :)

Or as already said use the Optional rules where you draw only one card and further the damage by the number of step appropriate... ;)

You and your GM should choose and clarify the rule for everyone...

[Bobson]

Critical Hit Deck wrote:

For weapons with critical multipliers of x3, the player draws two cards and chooses which effect to use (x4 weapons draw three cards).

So you'd draw three cards, and choose the most useful of them. Which admittedly is not as good as "Draw three play all" or "draw one and do x3 damage", but it's still pretty useful. And it fits the concept: Instead of saying "Guns are deadly, and I can shoot you so it really hurts", you say "Guns are precise, and I can shoot you to cripple your body with them."

[wraithstrike]

The crit deck is a gamble, sometimes you do end up doing less damage, but you end applying a status effect. One time I dazed a bone devil, and it saved the party. Even thought it could not fight back for 3 rounds we still could not kill it, but it was really hurt so it teleported away. That was one of those "bad dice" nights for the party.

[ossian666]

Your guns are blunt and piercing damage...so on a crit you should draw a card for the bludgeoning side and piercing side. Thats how I rationalized it for my players.