Do critical hits that are blocked by a helmet still do max weapon damage?

Bugrat

Say a kobold wielding a short sword is attacking Minsc, who is wearing a helmet. The kobold rolls a 20 and hits Minsc. Even though the helmet blocked the extra critical damage, will it automatically do the maximum of 6 damage from the 1d6?

TJ_Hooker

To the best of my knowledge a critical hit doesn't influence the actual damage roll, it just doubles whatever is rolled. So I don't think that the kobold in your examply would necessarily do max damage.

ZanathKariashi

A critical is just an extra damage roll. So if you weren't wearing a helmet it would deal 2d6 damage, but since you are it's only 1d6. It doesn't actually double the damage, and neither does a backstab for that matter.

And no, other then the Kensai's kai, the blade's offensive spin, or ...a cleric spell I can't remember the name of at the moment (I rarely play clerics), nothing else maximizes damage rolls.

jflieder

Righteous Magic is the spell you're thinking of. It's a level 5 cleric spell.

http://www.planetbaldursgate.com/bg2/character/spells/priest/priestspell.asp?lvl_id=5&file_name=RighteousMagic.htm&title=Righteous+Magic

valky

that aside as it was not answered:
A critical hit is a guaranteed hit, the only difference is, that you (in pnp) roll another dice to confirm the hit, ie you rolled a natural 20 = critical, 2nd dice to confirm if it does hit critical (against armor class +/- thac0 whatever bonus). If the 2nd dice fails to hit you, it only hits for the regularly weapon damage. That doesn't apply in BG(xxx) though....

In BG(xxwhatever) helms avert such crazy stuff, a natural critical (*2x damage) is averted by the helmet, heck since it is an 'always to-hit roll' you'll be hit and it does the damage the dice is opposed to do.

edit...d00h I think my example is from the newer rule-set :P switched 'silently' to Battle-tech' after 2/2.5 so I don't know exactly the rule-set.
But a critical hit is always a hit (100%)...your helm just denied it and you got the usual xx damage, the weapon would have done aynway.

The_Cheeseman

In AD&D 2nd Edition rules, a natural 20 on an attack roll is an automatic hit and deals double normal weapon damage. The second roll to "confirm" a critical hit was from D&D 3rd Edition, and maximum normal damage +extra critical damage dice was from D&D 4E.

atcDave

A lot of us were using some sort of second roll as a house rule way back in 1E games, but it didn't become official until much later.