Post originally by Capn Zapp at 2003-09-03 02:27:32
Converted from Phorums BB System

The 3E rule för critical hits is, like so many other 3E changes, vastly superior to its corresponding older AD&D rule.

Having a flat 5% chance of "caving your skull in" is severely unbalancing. There is no connection to the opponent's might or skill. This is what 3E neatly introduces, as a "threat" is no "crit" unless you make another roll to hit which actually hits; thus making the opponent's AC part of the equation.

I guess AD&D DMs who used this rule didn't apply it to the player characters? Didn't want to roll up a new character every 20 combat encounters (on average), eh?

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Nevertheless, I agree with "woodelf". To be able to judge this system, and to see if and how unbalancing it is, I would need sufficient detail on its workings: does this system add flavor, lethality, or both, to standard D&D combat?

Listen to what the DMG says (current version, p28):
"[this or that variant] makes a game more lethal and combat more random. In any contest, an increase in randomness improves the odds for the underdog. Since the PCs win most fights, a rule that makes combat more random hurts the PCs more than it hurts their enemies."