Power Critical? (From Comp. Warrior) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Power Critical? (From Comp. Warrior) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Link182
05-02-07, 05:57 AM This feat says that when using the weapon you selected, you gain a +4 bonus on the roll to confirm a threat. So with Improved Critical, Does that mean my BBEG wielding a warhammer now threatens a crit on an 18-20 but also with a +4 bonus to that roll? Seems a bit over powered. I also find that this feat allows it to be stacked with itself, which just seems almost unbelievable. Am I reading this feat wrong?

Thanks for the info
Nadaka
05-02-07, 06:01 AM This feat says that when using the weapon you selected, you gain a +4 bonus on the roll to confirm a threat. So with Improved Critical, Does that mean my BBEG wielding a warhammer now threatens a crit on an 18-20 but also with a +4 bonus to that roll? Seems a bit over powered. I also find that this feat allows it to be stacked with itself, which just seems almost unbelievable. Am I reading this feat wrong?

Thanks for the info

The original power critical allowed you to automatically threaten once per day. The +4 is nice but not that bad.
liquidhypnotic
05-02-07, 07:19 AM First of all, your guy would threaten on a 19-20, but that could have just been a typo on your part.

Secondly, the +4 only applies to the confirmation roll, the one that comes after the attack rolls that threatens critical. Screw the Warhammer; get yourself a Keen Elven Courtblade, and start grabbing up Power Crit. And pray you don't fight oozes, constructs and undead for the rest of your career :)

Third, I didn't even realize that Power Critical stacked. That's so sick. I mean, it says it right there, clear as day; you're definitely not reading it wrong. I just checked the CW errata and there's nothing in there about it.

Happy Critting!

(Critting makes me extra happy now, as I've just picked up a copy of Torn Asunder, a 3rd party product made by Bastion Press [now DragonWing]. WoTC would have called this book "Complete Crit").

------------
A fighter chick in our party once landed two critical hits in one full attack routine.
Another player: "Zhoo say she got two crit? Hory crap; I date huh, two year, and I neh knew!"
He was asian, and purposefully doing the accent, so it was funny. And yes, I'm sure; he was I.
jaelis
05-02-07, 07:57 AM I worked through the numbers at one point. You should only take Power Crit for a "good" crit weapon like a scythe or falchion. And then it is almost always a bit less effective than Imp Crit itself (though it does depend on your to hit roll). But if you're into crits, it is a reasonable deal.
Centauri
05-02-07, 09:52 AM And pray you don't fight oozes, constructs and undead for the rest of your career :) Though burst effects would still work against those, so as long as they're not immune to the energy type of the burst it's not a complete waste.
Rude
05-02-07, 01:07 PM Wouldn't Improved Critical drop the warhammer's threat range down to 18 to 20 instead of 19 to 20?
Mystyc
05-02-07, 01:26 PM Wouldn't Improved Critical drop the warhammer's threat range down to 18 to 20 instead of 19 to 20?
Uh, no? A warhammer usually crits on a 20 (one number). Doubling the range means it crits on 19-20 (two numbers).
MasterSamurai
05-02-07, 01:38 PM Though burst effects would still work against those, so as long as they're not immune to the energy type of the burst it's not a complete waste.

Yeah and the prismatic burst effect is good against immune to crit...critters.
Garonak
05-02-07, 01:50 PM I don't know about you, but I have yet to see an ooze in a party... And since the OP asked about this for his BBEG the whole immune to crit will probaly not be that big an issue.
Rude
05-02-07, 04:58 PM Wow, I swear I thought it crit'ed on 19-20.
Lotus Crane
05-02-07, 05:11 PM Wow, I swear I thought it crit'ed on 19-20.
Very few (if any) bludgeoning weapons have a threat range better than 20.
jaelis
05-02-07, 05:21 PM Well, the heavy flail does of course.
liquidhypnotic
05-02-07, 05:28 PM Wow, I swear I thought it crit'ed on 19-20.

If so, then you would have been cheating yourself, bro!

Normal crit range.... after Keen or Imp.Crit. goes to ...
20 -> 19-20 (1 numbers that threaten -> 2 numbers that threaten)
19-20 -> 17-20 (2 -> 4)
18-20 -> 15-20 (3 -> 6)

Note that as of v3.5, there is no way to increase a crit range more than one full time. (I... think I remember something somewhere that increases the crit range by a flat 1? Can anyone [ha ha] confirm? And of course in that case you would, by default, add before you multiply, and so...)
Chimaera2000
05-02-07, 05:35 PM Power Critical seems like a good feat in the right build (such as a two-weapon fighting Dervish with dual scimitars and the Blood in the Water stance from Tome of Battle), but far from overpowered. It means that you're considerably more likely to confirm a critical hit, but many enemies are already immune to criticals and and you'll likely need to be scoring crits to keep up with a greatsword-wielder's damage anyway.
liquidhypnotic
05-02-07, 05:48 PM Power Critical seems like a good feat in the right build (such as a two-weapon fighting Dervish with dual scimitars and the Blood in the Water stance from Tome of Battle), but far from overpowered. It means that you're considerably more likely to confirm a critical hit, but many enemies are already immune to criticals and and you'll likely need to be scoring crits to keep up with a greatsword-wielder's damage anyway.

Agreed. The druid in my game got his hands on a niiiiice +1 Keen Scimitar, but with his Strength of 14, even 2 handing it, realized that whenever he critted he would deal 2d6+6 damage, which... the barbarian routinely handed out with his greatsword, and without caring whether or not it was a crittable fella (we fought a lot of undead in our day).

The best response to that would be, as Master Samurai and Centauri have suggested, adding some burst capabilities to the weapon. Mmmm, hot. Little pricey, though.

Seriously, though; a druid with a +1 Keen Shocking Burst/Thundering scimitar? Naaaasty. (Call it the Sword of Storms. So sexy I can't stand it.)
jaelis
05-02-07, 06:19 PM Why would a druid be spending money on his scimitar? He has spells and wildshape if he wants to do damage :)
Nephlite
05-02-07, 06:33 PM Why would a druid be spending money on his scimitar? He has spells and wildshape if he wants to do damage :)

Maybe he has Shapeshift
liquidhypnotic
05-02-07, 08:05 PM Maybe the player enjoys things besides big numbers and gets a kick out of thematics.
*sigh*
I'm not saying one has to, simply that it's an option. Why is that such a problem?
risner
05-09-07, 03:31 AM So with Improved Critical, Does that mean my BBEG wielding a warhammer now threatens a crit on an 18-20 but also with a +4 bonus to that roll?

Using 20x2 and 19-20x2 weapons here is the percent improvents:

Optimized 1st to 9th fighter or monk

1.73% to 5.33% Power Critical (20x2 and 19-20x2)
4.76% to 16.67% Improved Critical (20x2 and 19-20x2)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Link182 05-02-07, 05:57 AM	This feat says that when using the weapon you selected, you gain a +4 bonus on the roll to confirm a threat. So with Improved Critical, Does that mean my BBEG wielding a warhammer now threatens a crit on an 18-20 but also with a +4 bonus to that roll? Seems a bit over powered. I also find that this feat allows it to be stacked with itself, which just seems almost unbelievable. Am I reading this feat wrong? Thanks for the info
Nadaka 05-02-07, 06:01 AM	This feat says that when using the weapon you selected, you gain a +4 bonus on the roll to confirm a threat. So with Improved Critical, Does that mean my BBEG wielding a warhammer now threatens a crit on an 18-20 but also with a +4 bonus to that roll? Seems a bit over powered. I also find that this feat allows it to be stacked with itself, which just seems almost unbelievable. Am I reading this feat wrong? Thanks for the info The original power critical allowed you to automatically threaten once per day. The +4 is nice but not that bad.
liquidhypnotic 05-02-07, 07:19 AM	First of all, your guy would threaten on a 19-20, but that could have just been a typo on your part. Secondly, the +4 only applies to the confirmation roll, the one that comes after the attack rolls that threatens critical. Screw the Warhammer; get yourself a Keen Elven Courtblade, and start grabbing up Power Crit. And pray you don't fight oozes, constructs and undead for the rest of your career :) Third, I didn't even realize that Power Critical stacked. That's so sick. I mean, it says it right there, clear as day; you're definitely not reading it wrong. I just checked the CW errata and there's nothing in there about it. Happy Critting! (Critting makes me extra happy now, as I've just picked up a copy of Torn Asunder, a 3rd party product made by Bastion Press [now DragonWing]. WoTC would have called this book "Complete Crit"). ------------ A fighter chick in our party once landed two critical hits in one full attack routine. Another player: "Zhoo say she got two crit? Hory crap; I date huh, two year, and I neh knew!" He was asian, and purposefully doing the accent, so it was funny. And yes, I'm sure; he was I.
jaelis 05-02-07, 07:57 AM	I worked through the numbers at one point. You should only take Power Crit for a "good" crit weapon like a scythe or falchion. And then it is almost always a bit less effective than Imp Crit itself (though it does depend on your to hit roll). But if you're into crits, it is a reasonable deal.
Centauri 05-02-07, 09:52 AM	And pray you don't fight oozes, constructs and undead for the rest of your career :) Though burst effects would still work against those, so as long as they're not immune to the energy type of the burst it's not a complete waste.
Rude 05-02-07, 01:07 PM	Wouldn't Improved Critical drop the warhammer's threat range down to 18 to 20 instead of 19 to 20?
Mystyc 05-02-07, 01:26 PM	Wouldn't Improved Critical drop the warhammer's threat range down to 18 to 20 instead of 19 to 20? Uh, no? A warhammer usually crits on a 20 (one number). Doubling the range means it crits on 19-20 (two numbers).
MasterSamurai 05-02-07, 01:38 PM	Though burst effects would still work against those, so as long as they're not immune to the energy type of the burst it's not a complete waste. Yeah and the prismatic burst effect is good against immune to crit...critters.
Garonak 05-02-07, 01:50 PM	I don't know about you, but I have yet to see an ooze in a party... And since the OP asked about this for his BBEG the whole immune to crit will probaly not be that big an issue.
Rude 05-02-07, 04:58 PM	Wow, I swear I thought it crit'ed on 19-20.
Lotus Crane 05-02-07, 05:11 PM	Wow, I swear I thought it crit'ed on 19-20. Very few (if any) bludgeoning weapons have a threat range better than 20.
jaelis 05-02-07, 05:21 PM	Well, the heavy flail does of course.
liquidhypnotic 05-02-07, 05:28 PM	Wow, I swear I thought it crit'ed on 19-20. If so, then you would have been cheating yourself, bro! Normal crit range.... after Keen or Imp.Crit. goes to ... 20 -> 19-20 (1 numbers that threaten -> 2 numbers that threaten) 19-20 -> 17-20 (2 -> 4) 18-20 -> 15-20 (3 -> 6) Note that as of v3.5, there is no way to increase a crit range more than one full time. (I... think I remember something somewhere that increases the crit range by a flat 1? Can anyone [ha ha] confirm? And of course in that case you would, by default, add before you multiply, and so...)
Chimaera2000 05-02-07, 05:35 PM	Power Critical seems like a good feat in the right build (such as a two-weapon fighting Dervish with dual scimitars and the Blood in the Water stance from Tome of Battle), but far from overpowered. It means that you're considerably more likely to confirm a critical hit, but many enemies are already immune to criticals and and you'll likely need to be scoring crits to keep up with a greatsword-wielder's damage anyway.
liquidhypnotic 05-02-07, 05:48 PM	Power Critical seems like a good feat in the right build (such as a two-weapon fighting Dervish with dual scimitars and the Blood in the Water stance from Tome of Battle), but far from overpowered. It means that you're considerably more likely to confirm a critical hit, but many enemies are already immune to criticals and and you'll likely need to be scoring crits to keep up with a greatsword-wielder's damage anyway. Agreed. The druid in my game got his hands on a niiiiice +1 Keen Scimitar, but with his Strength of 14, even 2 handing it, realized that whenever he critted he would deal 2d6+6 damage, which... the barbarian routinely handed out with his greatsword, and without caring whether or not it was a crittable fella (we fought a lot of undead in our day). The best response to that would be, as Master Samurai and Centauri have suggested, adding some burst capabilities to the weapon. Mmmm, hot. Little pricey, though. Seriously, though; a druid with a +1 Keen Shocking Burst/Thundering scimitar? Naaaasty. (Call it the Sword of Storms. So sexy I can't stand it.)
jaelis 05-02-07, 06:19 PM	Why would a druid be spending money on his scimitar? He has spells and wildshape if he wants to do damage :)
Nephlite 05-02-07, 06:33 PM	Why would a druid be spending money on his scimitar? He has spells and wildshape if he wants to do damage :) Maybe he has Shapeshift
liquidhypnotic 05-02-07, 08:05 PM	Maybe the player enjoys things besides big numbers and gets a kick out of thematics. sigh I'm not saying one has to, simply that it's an option. Why is that such a problem?
risner 05-09-07, 03:31 AM	So with Improved Critical, Does that mean my BBEG wielding a warhammer now threatens a crit on an 18-20 but also with a +4 bonus to that roll? Using 20x2 and 19-20x2 weapons here is the percent improvents: Optimized 1st to 9th fighter or monk 1.73% to 5.33% Power Critical (20x2 and 19-20x2) 4.76% to 16.67% Improved Critical (20x2 and 19-20x2)