3.5 Telling Blow - Clarification

[Diarmuid]

Telling Blow allows you to deal SA dmg if you score a critical hit.

What happens if you're already in a position to deal SA damage and you score a critical hit? Do you deal your SA damage twice?

[Keld Denar]

No. SA qualification is binary. It either applies to an attack or it doesn't. If you are Invisible and flaking your foe, you don't get SA twice. Same here. Telling Blow just gives you an additional way to qualify.

[Telonius]

I'd say no. It just gives another condition where SA might apply. Kind of like how Hide in Plain Sight doesn't give you double sneak attack if you happen to be flanking as well as invisible.

EDIT: flanked by invisible ninjas.

[LanSlyde]

No. SA qualification is binary. It either applies to an attack or it doesn't. If you are Invisible and flaking your foe, you don't get SA twice. Same here. Telling Blow just gives you an additional way to qualify.

I'm not sure I agree with that. Telling Blow states that you apply your SA dmg when you crit a target in addition to your normal damage, you just don't multiply it. Could you explain why getting off a SA on a target that has been denied their Dex to AC AND managing to Crit them shouldn't yield double SA dmg? From them being denied their Dex and then slapping them with Telling Blow?

[Ashtagon]

If this lets you deal SA damage twice in one hit, it would not only be the only item in the entire game that lets you do sneak attack twice in one attack roll, but in some versions of the game (not 3.5), the only power that allows you to deal SA damage twice in one round.