Critical Hit with Negative Damage Bonus


Rules Questions

Dark Archive

What is the damage when a creature confirms a critical hit and their damage is 1d4-2? 2d4-4? 2d4-2?


You are suppose to roll the damage with all modifiers twice.

So it'd be (1d4-2) + (1d4-2), meaning a minimum of 2 nonlethal damage and a maximum of 4.

However that is stupid, and I'd probably go with 2d4-2 as a houserule.


According to the rules

Archives of Nethys wrote:


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.

Note: When you multiply damage more than once, each multiplier works off the original, unmultiplied damage. So if you are asked to double the damage twice, the end result is three times the normal damage.

Exception: Extra damage dice over and above a weapon’s normal damage are never multiplied.

So for a x2 critical multiplier:

1d4-2? Anything between 2 nonlethal and 4
2d4-4? Anything between 2 nonlethal and 8
2d4-2? Anything between 2 nonlethal and 12


Minimum Damage wrote:
If penalties reduce the damage result to less than 1, a hit still deals 1 point of nonlethal damage (see Nonlethal Damage).

(1d4-2) doubled is min 1 nonlethal and 4 damage.

You do not get 2 nonlethal.

/cevah


Yeah, minimum damage (for 1d4-2) is 1 non-lethal not 2.

So in effect the damage is 2d4-4.

The only question I have is if it should really be 1d4-2 rolled twice which could result in a minimum of 2 non-lethal damage (because you evaluate each roll separately) or if you add both term together and if they would be 0 or negative it becomes 1 non-lethal.

I think the second is more likely.

And I'm honestly surprised for how you have a -2 penalty to damage.

You must be below level 3 (no specialization damage) and using a ranged weapon (not str bonus to damage) and have acquired some sort of penalty from an outside source to damage.


So this is highlighting a gap in my rules knowledge. Where is this "minimum nonlethal" coming from?


"Minimum Damage: If penalties reduce the damage result to less than 1, a hit still deals 1 point of nonlethal damage (see page 191)." CRB pg. 179


Gotcha, thanks. That sounds familiar, so I can feel better thinking it's probably a rule I had forgotten than never heard about before.


The only time I've seen it actually be used was in the 16 young squirrels encounter.


Andostre wrote:
So this is highlighting a gap in my rules knowledge. Where is this "minimum nonlethal" coming from?

I quoted it in my post earlier, and the post above by Andre Roy had the link to the rule on AoN.

EDIT: @Claxon: Andre's quote even bolded the rule that you double and then total.

/cevah

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32

Claxon wrote:


And I'm honestly surprised for how you have a -2 penalty to damage.

You must be below level 3 (no specialization damage) and using a ranged weapon (not str bonus to damage) and have acquired some sort of penalty from an outside source to damage.

It's pretty easy to have a d4-2 base damage - 7 Str character with a dagger, for example. Often you have the dagger out just to threaten or something, and some enemy provokes - you get a lucky crit, and, boom, the situation in the OP.

Dark Archive

Claxon wrote:

And I'm honestly surprised for how you have a -2 penalty to damage.

You must be below level 3 (no specialization damage) and using a ranged weapon (not str bonus to damage) and have acquired some sort of penalty from an outside source to damage.

This is actually from a few NPCs my group will encounter, where they are low level mooks, but like everything else, they can still critical hit.


Cevah wrote:
Andostre wrote:
So this is highlighting a gap in my rules knowledge. Where is this "minimum nonlethal" coming from?

I quoted it in my post earlier, and the post above by Andre Roy had the link to the rule on AoN.

EDIT: @Claxon: Andre's quote even bolded the rule that you double and then total.

/cevah

Yeah I don't know why I waffled on it.

Earlier I read that but something in my mind said "I bet people will still be unsure if you evaluate 1d4-2 term on it's own, and then the next term of 1d4-2 or whether you have (1d4-2)+(1d4-2) and use math to make it 2d4-4." Even though I "knew" that the answer was 2d4-4.

ryric wrote:
Claxon wrote:


And I'm honestly surprised for how you have a -2 penalty to damage.

You must be below level 3 (no specialization damage) and using a ranged weapon (not str bonus to damage) and have acquired some sort of penalty from an outside source to damage.

It's pretty easy to have a d4-2 base damage - 7 Str character with a dagger, for example. Often you have the dagger out just to threaten or something, and some enemy provokes - you get a lucky crit, and, boom, the situation in the OP.

For some reason, I was thinking this was in the Starfinder forum earlier. And I really couldn't figure out how they had a penalty to damage.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Claxon wrote:
Yeah I don't know why I waffled on it.

No worries. Waffles are tasty.

/cevah

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / Rules Questions / Critical Hit with Negative Damage Bonus All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.