Crits and what they include

[Shadowbane13]

Hey guys my group got in an argument last session wondering what exactly is included in the crit multiplier. I believe it's just the base attack (1d8 or whatever it has) of the weapon and the str or dex added. But two guys were thinking that bonus damage such as sneak attack or power attack damage would be included. So I figured I'd ask the dnd gurus 😊

[Uncle Pine]

Critical Hits
When you make an attack roll and get a natural 20 (the d20 shows 20), you hit regardless of your target’s Armor Class, and you have scored a threat. The hit might be a critical hit (or "crit"). To find out if it’s a critical hit, you immediately make a critical roll—another attack roll with all the same modifiers as the attack roll you just made. If the critical roll also results in a hit against the target’s AC, your original hit is a critical hit. (The critical roll just needs to hit to give you a crit. It doesn’t need to come up 20 again.) If the critical roll is a miss, then your hit is just a regular hit.

A critical hit means that you roll your damage more than once, with all your usual bonuses, and add the rolls together. Unless otherwise specified, the threat range for a critical hit on an attack roll is 20, and the multiplier is ×2.

Exception: Extra damage dice over and above a weapon’s normal damage is not multiplied when you score a critical hit.

Increased Threat Range
Sometimes your threat range is greater than 20. That is, you can score a threat on a lower number. In such cases, a roll of lower than 20 is not an automatic hit. Any attack roll that doesn’t result in a hit is not a threat.

Increased Critical Multiplier
Some weapons deal better than double damage on a critical hit.

Spells and Critical Hits
A spell that requires an attack roll can score a critical hit. A spell attack that requires no attack roll cannot score a critical hit.

In your example, the base damage of the weapon would be multiplied, as well as any numerical bonus to it (Str modifier, Power Attack bonus, etc.). Bonus die of damage (sneak attacks, the +1d6 from flaming weapons, etc.) would not be multiplied.

[Lormador]

"A critical hit means that you roll your damage more than once, with all your usual bonuses, and add the rolls together. Unless otherwise specified, the threat range for a critical hit on an attack roll is 20, and the multiplier is ×2.

Exception: Precision damage (such as from a rogue's sneak attack class feature) and additional damage dice from special weapon qualities (such as flaming) are not multiplied when you score a critical hit."

You can just quick-and-dirty remember that bonus dice aren't multiplied, everything else is. This will occasionally lead you wrong with static precision damage like Craven, but the characters with that sort of ability should responsibly be keeping track of it.

[Zombimode]

Hey guys my group got in an argument last session wondering what exactly is included in the crit multiplier. I believe it's just the base attack (1d8 or whatever it has) of the weapon and the str or dex added. But two guys were thinking that bonus damage such as sneak attack or power attack damage would be included. So I figured I'd ask the dnd gurus 😊

There is no Need to puzzle or argue over this since it is quite clearly spelled out in the rules.
Relevant text:

A critical hit means that you roll your damage more than once, with all your usual bonuses, and add the rolls together. Unless otherwise specified, the threat range for a critical hit on an attack roll is 20, and the multiplier is ×2.

Exception: Extra damage dice over and above a weapon’s normal damage is not multiplied when you score a critical hit.


You roll your damage a number of times equal to the critical hit Multiplier with all your usual bonuses.
Bonus damage dice are excluded from the multiplication.

Thats it. Pretty straight foreward.

[rrwoods]

The base damage roll is always made twice (or three or four times, as appropriate).

Flat additions phrased as a bonus to the damage roll are always multiplied (for example, a weapon's enhancement bonus).

Extra damage dice are never multiplied (for example, sneak attack dice).

Where RAW is a little tricky is a flat addition that is not phrased as a bonus. An example is the Craven feat, which says that you deal "additional damage" equal to your character level on a sneak attack.


Extra damage dice over and above a weapon’s normal damage is not multiplied when you score a critical hit.

Extra damage over and above a weapon’s normal damage is not multiplied when you score a critical hit.

Things like Craven fall into "ask your DM" territory.

[Thurbane]

Strength bonus, power attack, weapon specialization damage, favored enemy bonus damage, knowledge devotion bonus damage etc. are all multiplied.

As already answered above, everything that isn't bonus dice (i.e. energy damage, precision damage etc.) is multiplied.

[Quertus]

What they said.

I tend to write my damage as, say, 1d8+21 + 3d6+7SA + 1d6F, grouping my damage by type. Among other things, this makes it easier to see that, on a x2 crit, I'd deal 2d8+42 regular damage, plus 3d6+7 Sneak Attack damage, plus 1d6 Fire damage.