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'Usual' bonuses are anything you add to the roll.
Sometimes you multiply damage by some factor, such as on a critical hit. Roll the damage (with all modifiers) multiple times and total the results.
The entry in this column notes how the weapon is used with the rules for critical hits. When your character scores a critical hit, roll the damage two, three, or four times, as indicated by its critical multiplier (using all applicable modifiers on each roll), and add all the results together.
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Nefreet, he posted the question in the rules forum as well. He was directed to post here due to it being a PFS related post.
Chris, your GM was wrong about the effects not doubling on a crit. Unless specifically called out as not increasing on a crit, the effect does indeed double/triple/quadruple/quintuple based on what weapon/feat combo you are using. I recommend talking to the GM about it before your next game, and if he insists that he's right, ask the coordinator or local VO to speak with him. He may not realize the mistake he's making.
I have a Pummeling Style monk that turns enemies into red mist if it crits, due to the way my bonuses stack. 1d8+15 with 4 attacks turns into 8d8+120 if one of the 4 was a crit. Granted, that's only if I get a crit AND all 4 attacks hit. The character is a lot of fun, and it's funny that I happened to get a full crit after a monk NPC grappled me... Made my monkbarian angry, because he grappled me.
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Does anyone else find this a particularly odd interpretation of "Usual"? By this interpretation, say a character found a +4 belt of Might Strength in a scenario, which is better than their +2 belt, and so puts it on. Now said character gets a critical. So do I count the characters strength as having an enhancement bonus of +4 or +2, because it usually only has a +2, but today its wearing a new belt.
I don't see how you can reasonably say your magic enhancements don't apply, because then you could say no magic items apply, because you'd only have acquired them recently. Growing up you never had a magic sword, and it's only as an adult that you gained one, so you wouldn't usually have had that enhancement bonus, guess it doesn't apply on criticals.
About the only thing that doesn't multiply is Precision Damage, like Sneak Attacks and such.
Anything that does not multiply specifically says it doesn't. Otherwise the default is that it does.
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Well that's not correct (Edit: referring to Michael's post). And as for the nice folks in the rules forum directing you here, that wasn't correct either. Putting "PFS" in a rules question doesn't make it a PFS question. Crits work the same in PFS as they do in regular Pathfinder.
The allegation that VOs are discussing rules in the VO boards, getting them wrong, and then using their status as VOs to spread these wrong interpretations is troubling.
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Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Too many ppl plead the case of "My [PFS GM] runs [extreme rules interpretation]. I need [official PFS answer]. They won't listen otherwise!".
Rarely does the GM/VO in question ever show up, and if they do, there's often another side to the story that the OP left out. Sometimes the claimant doesn't even play PFS.
The side effects of this style of questioning can be damaging, as well. Most ppl reading the Rules Forum do not play PFS. When they see examples of extreme rules interpretations by PFS GMs, it only gives them a negative view of organized play.
Do rulings like this happen? Sure. Are GMs infallible? Absolutely not. But our response on the boards should not be to jump to conclusions and immediately condemn the unnamed.
It should be to answer the question, take the claim with a grain of salt, and move on.
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The allegation that VOs are discussing rules in the VO boards, getting them wrong, and then using their status as VOs to spread these wrong interpretations is troubling.
If my recollection is correct, I think they are trying to hash out the significance of the word "usual".
The rule doesn't say "multiply all static bonuses unless otherwise specified." So I can see where there could be this interpretation that says "usual" must mean something other than "any"
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I have been going by the rule of "If it doesn't say it doesn't multiply, then it multiplies" on crits, and will continue to do so until I see an official ruling that says otherwise.
That seems a safe bet to me. It's certainly not binding, but the FAQ for D&D 3.5e says:
What bonuses get multiplied when a character confirms a critical hit? Suppose a 10th-level barbarian with a Strength score of 18 confirms a critical hit while raging and using a +3 greataxe and a maximum Power Attack. How much damage does the barbarian deal? Can you even use the Power Attack feat while raging? What if the character is a paladin using the smite evil ability, a fighter with Weapon Specialization, or a rogue using a sneak attack?
It’s easiest to think of a confirmed critical hit as a number of hits equal to the weapon’s critical damage multiplier. The example character is using a greataxe, which has a critical multiplier of x3, so the damage for a confirmed critical is just like the damage for hitting the foe three times. The only damage that is not multiplied in this way is damage expressed in extra dice, such as for a rogue’s sneak attack (see page 123 in the Player’s Handbook).
The example character has a base attack bonus of +10, so the damage bonus for a “maximum power attack” is +10. (Yes, you can use Power Attack while raging. In fact, you can use just about any feat except Expertise while raging; see the section on rage in the barbarian class description in the Players’ Handbook.) The character’s Strength score increases to 22 while he rages, giving him a +6 damage bonus for Strength, which increases to +9 because a greataxe is a two-handed weapon. The greataxe’s +3 enhancement bonus also applies to damage, so the character’s total damage from one hit with the greataxe is 1d12+22 (10+9+3). A confirmed critical hit makes the damage 3d12+66, just as if you had rolled 1d12+22 three times.
As noted earlier, any damage expressed in extra points of damage is multiplied with a confirmed critical hit, so the extra damage from the smite evil ability or the Weapon Specialization feat is also multiplied. But damage expressed as extra dice does not increase, so a rogue doesn’t roll any extra sneak attack damage dice for a confirmed critical hit. However, some magic weapons that deal extra dice of damage do deal some extra damage on a confirmed critical hit, as noted in their descriptions. This ability is a special feature of these weapons.
You do not multiply damage that has already been multiplied. If the example character were striking a foe for double damage already, you would apply the extra (“doubled”) damage only once to the critical damage. For example, suppose the sample barbarian above is an azer, who deals fire damage along with his greataxe attack. The character’s total damage from one hit with the greataxe is 1d12+23 (10+9+3+1 fire). A confirmed critical hit would make the damage 3d12+69, just as if you had rolled 1d12+23 three times. But if the azer attacks a creature with the cold subtype, the fire damage is doubled, so the base damage for the attack is 1d12+24 (10+9+3+2 fire). The doubled damage is not applied to a confirmed critical hit; instead the total damage becomes 3d12+70 (1d12+23 three
times, plus one extra point for the “doubled” fire damage).Sharp readers may notice that two-handed weapons by their nature deal “multiplied” damage (Strength bonus x1.5), but this is not a true damage multiplier in the sense that the term is used in the D&D game. Thus, the extra damage from a two-handed weapon is multiplied for a confirmed critical hit.
Now, Power Attack works differently in PFRPG, but the damage should be treated the same way. Also, there are effects that do Precision Damage that don't get multiplied that aren't extra dice, but for the most part it seems clear that effects that add to damage should multiply.
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The allegation that VOs are discussing rules in the VO boards, getting them wrong, and then using their status as VOs to spread these wrong interpretations is troubling.
Such allegations are incorrect. My name is Ethan Cline and I am the VO/GM in question.
The resources I cited was a conversation from 3 years ago because I couldn't find anything else that stated otherwise. Largely the topic hasn't been clarified in my eyes.
Particularly from, as Chris as said, an Official.
At this point I am unsure of the rulings in either case and would also appreciate a final ruling or a link to a faq that is considered legal and accurate.
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Multiplying Damage
Sometimes you multiply damage by some factor, such as on a critical hit. Roll the damage (with all modifiers) multiple times and total the results.
My bold. Unless something is working with extra damage dice or says it doesn't multiply on a critical hit, it does (as in this exception):
Exception: Precision damage (such as from a rogue's sneak attack class feature) and additional damage dice from special weapon qualities (such as flaming) are not multiplied when you score a critical hit.
