Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 WorBlade Sep 12, 2015 18:26:31	Hey Folks, wondering what other DMs do about critical hits (natural 20) with spell attacks. The rules as written simply say you roll double the dice. No note about 'weapon' dice or anything. So chromatic orb is 3d8. If it hits the damage becomes 6d8? That seems it bit much for a level 2 charactyer to dish out, even if it is only a 5% chance. Things could nasty with higher level spell slots getting double dice. Way more than any weapon critical is ever going to do.
#2 AaronOfBarbaria Sep 12, 2015 18:45:19	I play it by the rules as written, and it isn't too much.   Sure, a spell crit is a lot more dice than a weapon attack crit is going to be - but that spell crit is 1) the only attack the caster is making with this action unless the damage on each attack is actually a lot lower (see scorching ray @ 2d6 per ray so 4d6 per crit vs. melf's acid arrow @ 4d4 so 8d4 on a crit plus some extra damage later either way), and 2) at the expense of a pretty strictly limited resource since it costs a spell slot to cast in the first place, or it's a cantrip which are intentionally behind the damage capability of typical weapon using classes normal attack styles.
#3 pukunui Sep 12, 2015 19:10:42	From the moment she got 4th level spells, my longsword-wielding paladin can deal 14d8 damage on a crit against a fiend or undead. 12d8 against any other creature.
#4 Chaosmancer Sep 12, 2015 21:22:48	If you don't mind me reversing the question, what about enemies who crit fail saves against spell DC's?   I've had a few players deflate when they realized crit failing a saving throw doesn't give them anything special. The counter is of course that it doesn't hurt them when they do so either. But I have been wondering what might be some options to change that.
#5 AaronOfBarbaria Sep 12, 2015 22:15:36	I'm of the opinion that critical hits are a generally bad thing that people cling to for misinformed reasons (I watch the disappointment of a player critically hit by a monster far more than I watch the enjoyment of a player scoring a critical hit, yet they insist on keeping critical hits in our play) - so I would not advocate adding any similar rules to saving throws... and would further point to the many area effects in the game that would be made absolutely devastating to anyone unlucky enough to get crit on by them. It's taking a bad idea and making it worse.
#6 sleypy Sep 12, 2015 22:18:33	AaronOfBarbaria wrote: