A 3.5 question re weapons and criticals

Alien mind control rays made richard d <richard.develyn.DeleteThis@googlemail.com> write:
> I know 3.5 might be getting a bit pass?, but:
>
> I have two scimitars: a +1 collision (1d6+6) and a +1 merciful (2d6+1
> non-lethal), assuming I have a str of 10 (to keep things simple). Does
> all that damage multiply up on a critical?

the rule is that flat bonuses to damage are multiplied on a critical,
additional dice are not. so the extra 5 points of damage from
collision are multiplied on a critical hit, the extra 1d6 points of
damage from merciful are not.

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 >> Stay informed about: A 3.5 question re weapons and criticals 

On Feb 18, 3:55 am, Keith Davies <keith.dav....DeleteThis@kjdavies.org> wrote:
> richard d <richard.deve....DeleteThis@googlemail.com> wrote:
> > I know 3.5 might be getting a bit passé, but:
>
> > I have two scimitars: a +1 collision (1d6+6) and a +1 merciful (2d6+1
> > non-lethal), assuming I have a str of 10 (to keep things simple). Does
> > all that damage multiply up on a critical?
>
> A merciful scimitar would actually do d6+1 + d6, not 2d6+1. Bonus
> damage dice are not multiplied on a critical[1], so a +1 merciful
> scimitar would do 2d6+2 + d6 on a critical hit.

But a merciful scimitar does all of its damage as non-lethal. In other
words, the two d6s are the same.

I must admit I had interpreted this as meaning the scimitar does
double damage but non-lethal, when you switch the feature on, so I
thought it should all multiply up.

Richard
 >> Stay informed about: A 3.5 question re weapons and criticals 

On 18 Feb, 09:49, richard d <richard.deve... RemoveThis @googlemail.com> wrote:
> On Feb 18, 3:55 am, Keith Davies <keith.dav... RemoveThis @kjdavies.org> wrote:
>
> > richard d <richard.deve... RemoveThis @googlemail.com> wrote:
> > > I know 3.5 might be getting a bit passé, but:
>
> > > I have two scimitars: a +1 collision (1d6+6) and a +1 merciful (2d6+1
> > > non-lethal), assuming I have a str of 10 (to keep things simple). Does
> > > all that damage multiply up on a critical?
>
> > A merciful scimitar would actually do d6+1 + d6, not 2d6+1.  Bonus
> > damage dice are not multiplied on a critical[1], so a +1 merciful
> > scimitar would do 2d6+2 + d6 on a critical hit.
>
> But a merciful scimitar does all of its damage as non-lethal. In other
> words, the two d6s are the same.
>
> I must admit I had interpreted this as meaning the scimitar does
> double damage but non-lethal, when you switch the feature on, so I
> thought it should all multiply up.
>
> Richard

The important thing about the 1d6+1+1d6 is not that the weapon does
twice as much damage (approx) or that the damage dice are the same/
different types, but that the dice after the fixed addition are "bonus
dice". This is the same whether the additional dice are from (e.g.)
flaming, sneak attack or the merciful s.q.

Bonus dice are not multiplied by critical hits (no idea how many times
that's printed, but IIRC it's all over the shop!). Of course, your
DM's ruling is the really important thing here.

Henry
 >> Stay informed about: A 3.5 question re weapons and criticals 

richard d <richard.develyn DeleteThis @googlemail.com> wrote:
> I know 3.5 might be getting a bit passé, but:
>
> I have two scimitars: a +1 collision (1d6+6) and a +1 merciful (2d6+1
> non-lethal), assuming I have a str of 10 (to keep things simple). Does
> all that damage multiply up on a critical?

A merciful scimitar would actually do d6+1 + d6, not 2d6+1. Bonus
damage dice are not multiplied on a critical[1], so a +1 merciful
scimitar would do 2d6+2 + d6 on a critical hit.

Nonrandom bonus damage, OTOH, does get multiplied on a critical hit. A
critical hit from a +1 collision scimitar would therefore be 2d6+12.

[1] The only rules I can remember seeing about bonus damage said as
much, and I can't think of any exceptions


Keith
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keith.davies DeleteThis @gmail.com "If you want a place in the history books
http://www.kjdavies.org/ "Then do something dumb before you die."
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 >> Stay informed about: A 3.5 question re weapons and criticals 

richard d <richard.develyn.DeleteThis@googlemail.com> wrote:
> On Feb 18, 3:55 am, Keith Davies <keith.dav....DeleteThis@kjdavies.org> wrote:
>> richard d <richard.deve....DeleteThis@googlemail.com> wrote:
>> > I know 3.5 might be getting a bit passé, but:
>>
>> > I have two scimitars: a +1 collision (1d6+6) and a +1 merciful (2d6+1
>> > non-lethal), assuming I have a str of 10 (to keep things simple). Does
>> > all that damage multiply up on a critical?
>>
>> A merciful scimitar would actually do d6+1 + d6, not 2d6+1. Bonus
>> damage dice are not multiplied on a critical[1], so a +1 merciful
>> scimitar would do 2d6+2 + d6 on a critical hit.
>
> But a merciful scimitar does all of its damage as non-lethal. In other
> words, the two d6s are the same.
>
> I must admit I had interpreted this as meaning the scimitar does
> double damage but non-lethal, when you switch the feature on, so I
> thought it should all multiply up.

Nope. It does +1d6 damage (the bonus), and makes the damage all
non-lethal. If you put it on a dagger you'd do d4+d6+mStr non-lethal,
yes? Or on a longsword it'd be d8+d6+mStr non-lethal.

It doesn't 'double damage', it adds +d6. And makes the damage
non-lethal.


Keith
--
Keith Davies "History is made by stupid people
keith.davies.DeleteThis@kjdavies.org "Clever people wouldn't even try
keith.davies.DeleteThis@gmail.com "If you want a place in the history books
http://www.kjdavies.org/ "Then do something dumb before you die."
-- The Arrogant Worms
 >> Stay informed about: A 3.5 question re weapons and criticals