Z's Critical Hits (5e Variant Rule)
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Z's Critical Hits[edit]
Basic crit rules can lead to mediocre critical hits - A paladin rolls a natural 20 and smites their foe, only to roll lower damage than they did on their ordinary attack last turn. That's an extreme example, but we've all seen it.
This is a commonplace variant rule for critical hits, and I'm in no way taking credit for it (Save for taking credit for writing it out on this page); I'm just placing it here for easy reference.
The Existing Rules[edit]
When you roll a natural 20 on an attack roll, you double the attack's damage dice - Either by rolling each die twice, or by doubling the amount of damage after rolling it.
- For example, a Paladin with 16 Strength lands a critical hit, and decides to make it a 1st-level Divine Smite. With the existing critical hit rules, the Paladin would deal 6d8+3 damage.
The Variant[edit]
With this variant rule, when you land a critical hit, the attack deals additional damage equal to the attack's maximum damage, rather than simply doubling the damage dice.
- For example, the same Paladin from earlier would deal 3d8+27 damage with their critical Longsword Divine Smite.
When an ability (Such as a Barbarian's Brutal Critical feature, or a Half-Orc's Savage Attacks trait) adds additional damage to a critical hit, this damage is rolled and applies separately.
- Thus, if the same Paladin from earlier was a Half-Orc, he would deal 4d8+27 damage, rather than 3d8+35.
Lethal Blows[edit]
When an attack roll beats a creature's AC by 5 or more, but is not a critical hit, the weapon's damage dice, and only its damage dice (Not additional effects like Divine Smite or Sneak Attack), are maximized for that attack. Thus, while an ordinary Longsword strike with a Strength of 16 would deal 1d8+3 damage, a Lethal Blow with the same weapon would deal 11 points of damage.
- If the Paladin from earlier landed a Lethal Blow, it would deal 11 points of damage. If he chose to turn the strike into a 1st-level Divine Smite, it would deal 2d8+11 points of damage.
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