Increasing critical damage

[aza9999]

At the moment i'm running a 4 scout, 2swordsage, 1 ranger with keen kukris.
I crit reasonably often but im looking for ways to increase the damage when i crit.

The obvious ones are - increase strength and increase weapon enhancement (they're +2 kukris at the moment), and 'burst' enchantments. I know i could change one of the kukris for a falchion but i have bonuses to kukris from swordsage.

What other ways can people recommend for increasing damage on a crit? I don't want to take any more classes than the 3 i've already mentioned.

[kardar233]

If you're not using Blood in the Water stance, you should.

Good enchantments to put on a weapon would be Enervating, Cursespewing and Prismatic Burst.

[Gotterdammerung]

factotum actually adds quite a bit of crit damage if you have a decent int bonus.

Since cunning inspiration can be activated after a confirmed crit but before rolling damage, and since it adds your int to base damage, it makes a real easy way to spike crit damage.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

They should have been made from Kaorti Resin (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031014a) from the start.

[Ravens_cry]

They should have been made from Kaorti Resin (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/re/20031014a) from the start.

Find something exotic that is just that little bit better than kukri that the developers thought it deserved that category, as the resin makes it exotic, but it still only costs one feat if its already an exotic weapon. Sure, you most likely by RAW can only wield the Kaorti resin versions, but losing your favourite weapon is bad anyway.

[kardar233]

Find something exotic that is just that little bit better than kukri that the developers thought it deserved that category, as the resin makes it exotic, but it still only costs one feat if its already an exotic weapon. Sure, you most likely by RAW can only wield the Kaorti resin versions, but losing your favourite weapon is bad anyway.

D&D weapons list says Elven Lightblade or Sharktooth Gauntlet, unless you have OTWF (but why would you?).

[aza9999]

My build is extremely feat tight so taking exotic weapon proficiency isnt really viable, plus its a custom campaign so the GM is unlikely to allow kaorti to exist for the pure purpose of giving me cool (if somewhat cheesy) weapons.

I have bonuses to kukri's and my legacy weapon is one so i want to stick with them.

Prismatic burst is an interesting one i hadnt heard of before, looked it up and it looks very cool.

[Zaq]

Swordsage, huh? When did you take those Swordsage levels? If you took them late enough to take Assassin's Stance (and you favor it to the near-exclusion of all others), you can get Craven, which is multiplied on a crit. Telling Blow guarantees that all crits will trigger Craven, if that's your thing. (Admittedly, some GMs will get finicky about whether a stance, granted to you by a class feature, that grants SA qualifies as "SA as a class feature," but a single level in Rogue/Spellthief/SA Fighter will sidestep that argument entirely and free up your stance slot.)

[aza9999]

assassins stance is on my list of things to get, im going mostly swordsage now for the rest of my levels.

Craven is something i've looked at and is powerful, but its going to be hard to fit into my build and doesnt really fit my character concept (impulsive, headstrong and loves rushing into battle)

[Darrin]

What other ways can people recommend for increasing damage on a crit? I don't want to take any more classes than the 3 i've already mentioned.

Try getting your hands on some kukris made out of hizagkuur (Magic of Faerun p. 179). Hizagkuur weapons deal one extra point of electricity damage and one extra point of fire damage. On a crit, assuming your target has no energy resistance, you get +4 extra damage.

Add a Least Crystal of Energy Assault to each kukri (600 GP each, MIC). The Least Crystal adds +1 energy damage to your weapon damage. Since it's not adding dice, it's treated as a "modifier" rather than "extra damage", and gets multiplied on a crit.

Put a wand chamber (100 GP, Dungeonscape) in each kukri and buy a wand of instant of power (Forge of War). This is a Ranger 1 spell, so it's on your spell list and you can trigger it as an immediate action. It adds a +4 enhancement bonus to an ally's next attack, save, or damage roll. Thus, after you confirm a crit, you can use it on yourself (you are your own ally per the PHB) and the enhancement bonus is multiplied with your crit.

For your other wand, consider blades of fire, exacting shot, swift haste, lion's charge, or towering oak (Spell Compendium).

Knowledge Devotion gives you a +1 to +5 insight bonus on attack and damage, and it's a free action to make the knowledge check.

Take the Cobalt Critical feat (Magic of Incarnum). Each essentia invested in the feat gives you a +1 to confirm and +1 on crit damage. The feat itself gives you 1 essentia to start with, and you can get more later by taking the Bonus Essentia feat.

[Metahuman1]

There's a PRC in Book of Vile Darkness that increase threat range. I know it stacks with improved Crit specifically, not sure about keen edge. That could help you pick up a tone more crits.

[Keld Denar]

The Collision weapon property (+2 equiv, MIC) gives a static +5 untyped damage on all hits. That's +10 damage on a crit, since static damage multiplies.

[Battleship789]

The Collision (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/weapons.htm#collision) weapon enhancement is pretty snazy, and works pretty well with TWF/Archery builds, since one can't just Power Attack like crazy.

Edit: Swordsage'd!!!!

[Metahuman1]

Out of curiosity, does anyone have any ideas for Bypassing Crit Immunity's?


I've got Gravestrike/Truedeath Crystals for undead, and demolition Crystals for Constructs, and nothing for Plants, Oozes, Heavy Fortified Items or anything else with a Crit Immunity. Ideas?

[Rebel7284]

Out of curiosity, does anyone have any ideas for Bypassing Crit Immunity's?


I've got Gravestrike/Truedeath Crystals for undead, and demolition Crystals for Constructs, and nothing for Plants, Oozes, Heavy Fortified Items or anything else with a Crit Immunity. Ideas?

Swift Hunter feat if you chose your favored enemies accordingly (Arcanists, Plants, Undead, Constructs? Depends on number of ranger levels)

[Darrin]

Out of curiosity, does anyone have any ideas for Bypassing Crit Immunity's?


I've got Gravestrike/Truedeath Crystals for undead, and demolition Crystals for Constructs, and nothing for Plants, Oozes, Heavy Fortified Items or anything else with a Crit Immunity. Ideas?

Constructs = wand of golem strike or Golembane Scarab.

Plants = wand of vinestrike or whatever flavor of napalm you prefer (plants tend to be immobile and vulnerable to fire).

Oozes = Max out Spot/Search skills or just walk away (oozes are more like traps than creatures)

Elementals are the toughest to bypass. As far as I know, the Supernatural Blow feat from Masters of the Wild is the only way to get something like a crit on an elemental. Fortunately, they tend to have a built-in energy vulnerability.

[Keld Denar]

Deathstrike Bracers in the MIC will allow you to overcome any immunity to crits for 1 round at the cost of your swift action 3x per day. They aren't that expensive, around 3k, IIRC. For the price of one Greater Truedeath Crystal, you could buy 3x pairs of them, assuming you could swap them out between encounters. You could probably get a pair with 6, 9, or even 12 charges per day custom crafted for you, if you found someone to do it.

[Metahuman1]

Deathstrike Bracers in the MIC will allow you to overcome any immunity to crits for 1 round at the cost of your swift action 3x per day. They aren't that expensive, around 3k, IIRC. For the price of one Greater Truedeath Crystal, you could buy 3x pairs of them, assuming you could swap them out between encounters. You could probably get a pair with 6, 9, or even 12 charges per day custom crafted for you, if you found someone to do it.

Hmmmm, how unreasonable would it be to have that made a continuous effect for a price increase? And what would constitute a reasonable price increase?

[Keld Denar]

You want to eliminate the swift action activation and charges and have them always on? I'd say that would probably run you around 40k. A Ring of Freedom of Movement 40k, and this sounds about on par with that. Really, the biggest cost factor is that it doesn't take a swift action. That's a swift action you are now free to spend on boosts, counters, or activating other magic items. That's worth a lot, IMO.

[Metahuman1]

You want to eliminate the swift action activation and charges and have them always on? I'd say that would probably run you around 40k. A Ring of Freedom of Movement 40k, and this sounds about on par with that. Really, the biggest cost factor is that it doesn't take a swift action. That's a swift action you are now free to spend on boosts, counters, or activating other magic items. That's worth a lot, IMO.

Actually, I was less worried about the swift action and more worried abour running out of charges on a character that does lots of attacks with an optimized threat range.

Having said that, if it just got unlimited charges but you still had to burn the swift action, what would you say then? 15K? 20K?

[Keld Denar]

If you assume 3 rounds of full attacks per combat you use it time about 4 encounters per day, you get 12k. I don't know if 3 rounds of full attacks is standard for your group to finish an encounter? That's about 5 rounds of combat, 2 of which you spend positioning or repositioning.

If that's too few, 24k more than covers you, and might as well be infinite.

[Chronos]

The BoVD class that increases crit range is the Disciple of Dispater. It requires you to be evil (of course), and it does stack with Improved Critical, but not with Keen. It's also 3.0 material, and technically legal since it hasn't been officially updated, but given that the interaction between Improved Critical and Keen has changed since then, most DMs are likely to nix it.

[Ravens_cry]

The BoVD class that increases crit range is the Disciple of Dispater. It requires you to be evil (of course), and it does stack with Improved Critical, but not with Keen. It's also 3.0 material, and technically legal since it hasn't been officially updated, but given that the interaction between Improved Critical and Keen has changed since then, most DMs are likely to nix it.
I would say no. 3.5 improved Critical is newer and the the newer source says NOTHING stacks with it.
While specific beats general, newer beats older sources.

[aza9999]

Darrin: A lot of great info there, thanks :)


Swift Hunter feat if you chose your favored enemies accordingly (Arcanists, Plants, Undead, Constructs? Depends on number of ranger levels)

Yep, i'm using swift hunter and have chosen undead and constructs specifically so i can still get skirmish damage, but i dont believe it allows crits.


The Collision weapon property (+2 equiv, MIC) gives a static +5 untyped damage on all hits. That's +10 damage on a crit, since static damage multiplies.
Awesome, thats perfect! Static damage is the main thing i've been looking to increase, and as a +2 enchantment thats a nice cheap one.

[ericgrau]

The core burst enchantments aren't worth it unless you somehow go beyond 15-20/x2 (or 19-20/x4). Colission thirded.

[Igneel]

Well one thing I like to do when I play a two-weapon fighting class is dual-wield Manyfang Daggers [FR: Serpent Kingdoms], or ask the DM if I can take it's 'enchantment' to a different weapon. Basically for 32,302 per dagger you get a +1 dagger that per hit briefly creates 3 phantom blades along with the normal blade, all hitting the target at the same time, then the phantom blades wink out after the hit has been executed. Effectively quadrupling your damage per hit, or quintupling per critical hit. Of course using the normal methods others use to increase their chances of critical hits applies here.

In the higher levels I also like to use the Magebane enhancement [Complete Arcane, +1] which acts as Bane for creatures that use Arcane spellcasting, invocations, and if using the CAr version this also includes SLAs. This includes things like Dragons, various undead, and some constructs (not many). At the very least it has a wider area of creatures it effects compared to the normal Bane. If you have Psionics, there is also a Psionics version, but its a +2 enhancement in the MIC if memory serves.