Doubling/Increasing precision/bonus damage?

[Xintas]

So I know that only weapon damage is increased with a critical hit, but exceptions (lances on a charge, Decisive Strike for a monk, etc.) don't have the same line about only pertaining to weapon damage.

In these cases, do bonus damage types (sneak attack, weapon enhancements, etc.) double as well?

If so, is there a list with all of the ways to double/augment your damage that would work with bonus damage?

[Chronos]

The premise is wrong. All multiplications work the same way, and the restriction has nothing to do with whether the damage comes from the weapon. The rule is that non-dice bonus damage is multiplied, and bonus damage rolled on dice is not. The only dice that get multiplied are the base damage dice.

Thus, for instance, if you have a nonmagical greatsword and nothing that boosts damage, you'll do 2d6 normally, or 4d6 on a crit. If you've got a +5 greatsword and an 18 Str (which gives +6 damage on a two-handed weapon), you'll do 2d6+11 normally, and 4d6+22 on a crit. If the same greatsword is flaming, you have one level of rogue, and you sneak attack your target, you'll do a total of 4d6+11 normally (2d6 from the base sword, 1d6 from SA, and 1d6 fire), or 6d6+22 on a crit (4d6 from the base sword, 1d6 from SA, and 1d6 fire).

Now, on to the actual advice, if you want to increase your sneak attack damage, the single best thing you can do is the feat Craven, from Champions of Ruin. This feat gives you an extra +1 damage per character level (note: Total character level, not just rogue level) on any Sneak Attack. That's a fair amount of damage all by itself, and also gets multiplied on a critical hit, since it's not rolled.

[Red Fel]

So I know that only weapon damage is increased with a critical hit, but exceptions (lances on a charge, Decisive Strike for a monk, etc.) don't have the same line about only pertaining to weapon damage.

In these cases, do bonus damage types (sneak attack, weapon enhancements, etc.) double as well?

Some, not all. For example, quoth the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/rogue.htm#sneakAttack):
Should the rogue score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied.

Similarly, according to the Glossary (https://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/glossary&term=Glossary_dnd_criticalhit&alpha=):
Critical hit damage is usually double damage, which means rolling damage twice, just as if the attacker had actually hit the defender two times. (Any extra damage dice, such as from a rogue's sneak attack, are not rolled multiple times, but are added to the total at the end of the calculation.)

In other words, you double things that improve your base damage, not things which add a bonus dice roll. Flat bonuses that get doubled include your enhancement bonus, or the Collision (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/weapons.htm#collision) enhancement. Contrast that with enhancements like Flaming (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicWeapons.htm#flaming), which add bonus dice and thus are not multiplied on a crit.

[Xintas]

The premise is wrong. All multiplications work the same way...

This is what I am asking about. I am aware of how critical hits work, although I worded it poorly (should have said weapon and attribute [e.g. Str bonus] rather than just weapon damage).

The quoted section above, what in the rules leads you to believe that? There is no text ANYWHERE that says the doubling by a lance works like a critical hit, that decisive strike works like a critical hit, etc. This seems to be a commonly held viewpoint but I can find no rules justification for it. The text says that the damage is doubled. It does not say what type of damage and it is never compared to a critical.

[Alikat]

Thus, for instance, if you have a nonmagical greatsword and nothing that boosts damage, you'll do 2d6 normally, or 4d6 on a crit. If you've got a +5 greatsword and an 18 Str (which gives +6 damage on a two-handed weapon), you'll do 2d6+11 normally, and 4d6+22 on a crit. If the same greatsword is flaming, you have one level of rogue, and you sneak attack your target, you'll do a total of 4d6+11 normally (2d6 from the base sword, 1d6 from SA, and 1d6 fire), or 6d6+22 on a crit (4d6 from the base sword, 1d6 from SA, and 1d6 fire).


And I just learned I've been calculating crits wrong for 2 years. I'd double the dice portion of the weapon damage and nothing else. So much lost damage.. I almost always play a character who like uses a rapier with a scabbard of keen edges or something too. lol :(

EDIT: Follow up question, I've been putting together an idea for a courtblade(exotic 2h finesse weapon that isn't light) wielding gray elf swashbuckler, puting enough into str for power attack but otherwise dumping the stat and going full dex/int and using an improved weapon finesse feat I found in a third party book (req +6 bab, finesse, applies dmg from dex instead of str, but if 2handed no 1.5 bonus).

So lets say I make a power attack crit at lvl 6 with 20 int and 20 dex with just like a +1 courtblade.

Normal damage would be
1d10+5dex+5int+1 enhancement+12 from a 6bab power attack
crit would be
2d10+10dex+10int+2enhancement+24 from 6bab power attack?

I know the dex part is resulting from a third party feat so hard to say, but does insightful strike dmg get doubled? does power attack dmg get doubled(again?)

[HighWater]

This is what I am asking about. I am aware of how critical hits work, although I worded it poorly (should have said weapon and attribute [e.g. Str bonus] rather than just weapon damage).

The quoted section above, what in the rules leads you to believe that? There is no text ANYWHERE that says the doubling by a lance works like a critical hit, that decisive strike works like a critical hit, etc. This seems to be a commonly held viewpoint but I can find no rules justification for it. The text says that the damage is doubled. It does not say what type of damage and it is never compared to a critical.

Found it for you (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/combatStatistics.htm) under the header "Damage"

Multiplying Damage

Sometimes you multiply damage by some factor, such as on a critical hit. Roll the damage (with all modifiers) multiple times and total the results. Note: When you multiply damage more than once, each multiplier works off the original, unmultiplied damage.

Exception: Extra damage dice over and above a weapon’s normal damage are never multiplied.

Bolded the relevant bit.

[Xintas]

Found it for you (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/combatStatistics.htm) under the header "Damage"


Bolded the relevant bit.

Thank you so much! I have been trying to find that forever. So a flat damage increase like Strike of Perfect Clarity which gives +100 damage would be doubled, but nothing variable or dice based, right?

[Chronos]

Strike of Perfect Clarity is an iffy one, since there's also a bit in Tome of Battle that says that extra damage from maneuvers is never multiplied. Now, most maneuvers add dice, and that's probably what they were thinking of, but it could still be ruled against the static-damage maneuvers like SoPC.