| Bill Dunn |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So why I can make a critical heal to a friend?
Would you really want to have to make an attack roll to heal a friend? Not only would you have to hit their touch AC (usually fairly easy... but not always), but a natural 1 would be an auto-miss. Usually, I'd prefer a somewhat more reliable healing spell rather than one with those drawbacks.
| Tallyn |
Zepheri wrote:So why I can make a critical heal to a friend?Would you really want to have to make an attack roll to heal a friend? Not only would you have to hit their touch AC (usually fairly easy... but not always), but a natural 1 would be an auto-miss. Usually, I'd prefer a somewhat more reliable healing spell rather than one with those drawbacks.
Well if they are aware of your "attack" they can always choose to lower their defenses, which would probably lower most people to only miss on a 1. However, if for some reason they weren't aware that you were attempting to heal them, then you would definitely have to hit their touch AC, but this is usually a fairly rare circumstance.
| blahpers |
What I was able to dig up on critical hits in the few seconds I had available:
A critical hit means that you roll your damage more than once, with all your usual bonuses, and add the rolls together. Unless otherwise specified, the threat range for a critical hit on an attack roll is 20, and the multiplier is ×2.
This implies that damage is the only thing rolled twice. It doesn't necessarily have to be hit point damage, though. Ability score damage is also damage, though I don't know if that's what they had in mind. Ability score drain is not really damage, but I suspect that they intended both ability score damage and ability score drain to be handled similarly--whichever way that is.
If an attack that includes an energy drain scores a critical hit, it bestows twice the listed number of negative levels.
This is a specific exception to the above--negative levels aren't damage, but they do get applied twice on a critical hit with this universal monster ability.
You point your finger and fire a black ray of negative energy that suppresses the life force of any living creature it strikes. You must make a ranged touch attack to hit. If you hit, the subject gains 1d4 temporary negative levels (see Special Abilities). Negative levels stack.
Assuming the subject survives, it regains lost levels after a number of hours equal to your caster level (maximum 15 hours). Usually, negative levels have a chance of becoming permanent, but the negative levels from enervation don’t last long enough to do so.
An undead creature struck by the ray gains 1d4 x 5 temporary hit points for 1 hour.
This is different; it isn't the energy drain (Su) universal monster ability. It doesn't do damage and does not have the exceptional language from energy drain (Su). These levels are not multiplied on a critical hit.
Spells that heal the target do not deal damage, so they do not get multiplied on a critical hit regardless of whether an attack roll is involved. A cure light wounds spell on an undead would, however, be subject to rolling damage twice on a critical hit.
Did I miss any pertinent text?
Jared Walter 356
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Did I miss any pertinent text?
Yes,
Core rule pg 184 spells and critical hits:A spell that requires an attack roll can score a critical hit. A spell attack that requires no attack roll cannot score a critical hit. If a spell causes ability damage or drain, the damage or drain is doubled on a critical hit.
This is the general rule for double ability damage on a critical hit.
| Pizza Lord |
According to this FAQ you can only crit on things that deal hit point damage. So no crit's on ability points, levels, etc.
I am not sure I am reading that in the FAQ. Could you quote the part you believe pertains to it?
We already know that that crits can affect negative levels, ability damage, and drain. A FAQ only applies to its specific question. In this case the question is about weapon-like spell attacks, like rays and similar attacks. At no point are critical hits discussed because critical hits are not special attacks or abilities nor are they a part of the FAQ question being answered.
| Matthew Downie |
According to this FAQ you can only crit on things that deal hit point damage. So no crit's on ability points, levels, etc.
Did you mean this:
FAQWhich is at least somewhat relevant?
Bonus Dice: Do bonus dice from Channel Smite or spells such as elemental touch or flame arrow multiply on a critical hit?
No. Core Rulebook page 179 states in the Multiplying Damage section: "Exception: Extra damage dice over and above a weapon’s normal damage are never multiplied."
The general rule is the only dice you multiply on a critical hit are the actual dice from the basic weapon (d8 for a longsword, 2d6 for a greatsword, and so on).
The "If a spell causes ability damage or drain, the damage or drain is doubled on a critical hit" rule takes precedence over that.
Jared Walter 356
|
FAQ wrote:special abilities that deal damage on a successful attack roll, apply them on hit point damage only
The full text is more telling:
Weapon Attacks and Special Abilities: Many places in the rules use the term “ranged weapon attacks” and similar terms, but how does this apply to spells, spell-like abilities, supernatural abilities, and extraordinary abilities (heretoafter called special abilities) that require ranged attacks but might not necessarily seem like weapons?
In general, special abilities that require attack rolls benefit and suffer from all modifiers affecting attack rolls even if those modifiers mention weapon attack rolls (such as the penalty for firing into melee, the bonus on attack rolls from Point-Blank Shot and inspire courage, and the like), unless the spell specifically calls out that it doesn’t apply them (for instance spiritual weapon calls out that it isn’t affected by feats and combat actions, but it would still have to deal with cover, and firing into melee if ranged).
When it comes to modifiers that affect weapon damage rolls, or simply “damage rolls” (such as the bonus on damage rolls from Point-Blank Shot, inspire courage, and smite evil), special abilities that deal damage on a successful attack roll, apply them on hit point damage only, and only once per casting or use, rather than once per attack. For instance, if a spell or special ability launched a dozen different ranged attacks simultaneously, only one (of the user’s choice) would receive bonus damage. This doesn’t apply on area effects with the rare potential for extraneous attack rolls, like fireball. However, there is a category of abilities that deserve a special note: Abilities like Arcane Strike that specifically enhance a character’s weapon or weapons themselves never apply to special abilities (with the exception of special abilities like the warlock’s mystic bolts that specifically call out that Arcane Strike applies).
/end quote
It says that weapon specialization and the like only do additional hit point damage. There is nothing in that text that references critical hits at all. Given the text of the core rulebook that explicitly states they do. Using this FAQ about feats and extending it to Critical hits is just not supported in the rules.
| Anguish |
According to this FAQ you can only crit on things that deal hit point damage. So no crit's on ability points, levels, etc.
FAQ wrote:special abilities that deal damage on a successful attack roll, apply them on hit point damage only
Up-periscope, at risk of missing some context in this discussion but...
1} Nothing in that FAQ talks about critical hits.
2} The sentence you're quoting and making conclusions about? Let's read it in its entirety.
"When it comes to modifiers that affect weapon damage rolls, or simply “damage rolls” (such as the bonus on damage rolls from Point-Blank Shot, inspire courage, and smite evil), special abilities that deal damage on a successful attack roll, apply them on hit point damage only, and only once per casting or use, rather than once per attack."
All this talks about is you don't get to use Point Blank Shot to add an extra 1 negative level on enervation if you're using that ray within 30 feet. It's specific to modifiers affecting damage rolls, generally by increasing damage-dealt. There's a whole bunch of other verbiage elsewhere in the book that specifically spells-out (pun intended) what to do with things like ability damage, ability drain, and negative levels. Spoiler: they get doubled on a critical hit.
A FAQ won't directly contradict rules that specifically enable players to do a thing. That'd be an errata. So however you're reading this to deny critical hits with attack roll spells that deal those types of damage... I'm afraid is incorrect.