Wow, how is this thread getting so long? This was resolved after just a few posts. There is no ambiguity on this one and the correct answer was explained by Saga and Wolf and myself and maybe others. It's so obvious that I tried to just be a bit humorous with it the first time around.
Any time that an attack automatically hits is called a critical hit. That's the definition of the term. What specifically happens when a critical hit occurs and how that is different than resolving a normal hit is described in a later section that is dedicated to resolving all hits. In that later section it is described how to resolve a normal hit and how to resolve a critical hit.
The rules are actually organized quite well when it comes to this . . .
First, there is a section about attempting to hit something, described in Combat -> Making an Attack -> Attack Rolls. Within this is a subsection called Rolling 1 or 20. This is where the term critical hit is defined: an attack that automatically hits. Also in this section we learn that, by default, rolling a 20 on the d20 Attack Roll results in a critical hit.
Second, there is a section about resolving ALL hits, described in Combat -> Damage and Healing -> Damage Rolls. Resolving a normal hit is described here. Then, in a subsection called Critical Hits, the rules for resolving a critical hit is described.
But wait! What exactly is a critical hit? How do we know when we should be using the rules for resolving a normal hit or the rules for resolving a critical hit? The answer to that was determined previously, when attempting to hit something. If it was an automatic hit then that is called a critical hit and therefore you jump down to the appropriate rule for resolving a Critical Hit instead of a normal hit.
A Critical Hit is an effect on damage described under Damage And Healing. It's generally occuring when Rolling 1 or 20, among other effects that such rules describe, which is found under Attack Roll. The very reason it's a seperate rule not part of damage roll is because it affect the attack roll in various ways, including nat 1 automatic miss.
A Critical Hit is an effect on damage described under Damage And Healing. It's generally occuring when Rolling 1 or 20, among other effects that such rules describe, which is found under Attack Roll. The very reason it's a seperate rule not part of damage roll is because it affect the attack roll in various ways, including nat 1 automatic miss.
No, that's not correct. There happens to be a subsection called Critical Hits (plural) which describes how damage for all critical hits are resolved. But that's not what a critical hit (singular) IS or MEANS. For that, we refer back to the previous section which defines it very precisely when it says "this is called a critical hit". You are misunderstanding where the term is defined.
Some tweets from the Dev about the interaction between Adamantine Armor, ignoring AC, and rolling a 20 (or 19 or another number, if applicable):
@usmcbearsDoes the nat 20 still auto hit against adamantine armor? @JeremyECrawford Yes.
@MGreat321New Print read like this: N20=ignore modifiers and AC= Critical hit(also 2xdamage). Where as original read like N20=ignore modifiers and AC+Critical hit。 The new print seem to imply crit=ignore modifiers and AC and roll 2xdamage. Where as old crit=2xdamage. @JeremyECrawford As the person who wrote both versions of that rule, I can tell you that the rule means what it says: rolling a 20 is what ignores AC. The 20 is also called a critical hit, the effect of which is explained in the critical hit rule.
@TheyCallMeTomu Adamantine Armor negates critical hits. The crux of the question is, does a natural 20 automatically hit as a result of being a natural 20, or does it automatically hit as a result of being a critical hit. Previous editions were clearer on this point. @JeremyECrawford"If the d20 roll for an attack is a 20, the attack hits regardless of any modifiers or the target's AC" (PH, 194).
@MGreat321 I know N20 is a critical hit and how the critical hit works when you roll damage. But ignoring modifiers and target AC are not tie to the critical hit in the original PHB, now srd and dndbeyond seem to imply that they do. @JeremyECrawford In every version of the PH, rolling a 20 is what causes you to automatically hit.
@MtS_Designer So to conclude: A champion fighter roll a 19 against a creature with 20 AC wearing an adamantine armor. The fighter will still auto-hit that target even if this phenomenon of auto-hitting is called a critical hit (which the armor gives immunity). @JeremyECrawfordYes, that fact hasn't changed since the core books were published.
The developers seem to be making the correct ruling in this case.
A critical hit is an auto-hit and when that happens it causes extra damage. By default, rolling a natural 20 causes this to happen. Some Features and effects might override this to make it easier or harder to score a critical hit -- perhaps rolling a natural 19 or 20 becomes good enough. Or, perhaps even rolling a natural 20 is not good enough.
In all cases, the Adamantine Armor makes it so that any critical hit against you becomes a normal hit. So, the "to hit" process for determining whether or not the attack hits or misses has already occurred, and it resulted in a critical hit which hits automatically -- a spell such as Shield cannot turn an auto-hit into a miss. But when resolving the hit that has occurred, you don't apply the extra damage because the critical hit becomes a normal hit.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Because the Adamantine Armor doesn't interact with Rolling 1 or 20, just the part about Critical Hit.
But what is a critical hit then?
Not just its damage from the damage rolls section.
The only rule that I know of that describes a critical hit for all characters is the one in the section on rolling a 1 or a 20.
I don't understand how you can throw out a sentence with a pronoun that clearly refers to something without throwing out what it refers to.
Wow, how is this thread getting so long? This was resolved after just a few posts. There is no ambiguity on this one and the correct answer was explained by Saga and Wolf and myself and maybe others. It's so obvious that I tried to just be a bit humorous with it the first time around.
Any time that an attack automatically hits is called a critical hit. That's the definition of the term. What specifically happens when a critical hit occurs and how that is different than resolving a normal hit is described in a later section that is dedicated to resolving all hits. In that later section it is described how to resolve a normal hit and how to resolve a critical hit.
The rules are actually organized quite well when it comes to this . . .
First, there is a section about attempting to hit something, described in Combat -> Making an Attack -> Attack Rolls. Within this is a subsection called Rolling 1 or 20. This is where the term critical hit is defined: an attack that automatically hits. Also in this section we learn that, by default, rolling a 20 on the d20 Attack Roll results in a critical hit.
Second, there is a section about resolving ALL hits, described in Combat -> Damage and Healing -> Damage Rolls. Resolving a normal hit is described here. Then, in a subsection called Critical Hits, the rules for resolving a critical hit is described.
But wait! What exactly is a critical hit? How do we know when we should be using the rules for resolving a normal hit or the rules for resolving a critical hit? The answer to that was determined previously, when attempting to hit something. If it was an automatic hit then that is called a critical hit and therefore you jump down to the appropriate rule for resolving a Critical Hit instead of a normal hit.
It really is that straightforward.
A Critical Hit is an effect on damage described under Damage And Healing. It's generally occuring when Rolling 1 or 20, among other effects that such rules describe, which is found under Attack Roll. The very reason it's a seperate rule not part of damage roll is because it affect the attack roll in various ways, including nat 1 automatic miss.
No, that's not correct. There happens to be a subsection called Critical Hits (plural) which describes how damage for all critical hits are resolved. But that's not what a critical hit (singular) IS or MEANS. For that, we refer back to the previous section which defines it very precisely when it says "this is called a critical hit". You are misunderstanding where the term is defined.
A spellcaster or a Staff of Defense user comes to mind but I agree it's a corner case requiring specific features.
Some tweets from the Dev about the interaction between Adamantine Armor, ignoring AC, and rolling a 20 (or 19 or another number, if applicable):
The developers seem to be making the correct ruling in this case.
A critical hit is an auto-hit and when that happens it causes extra damage. By default, rolling a natural 20 causes this to happen. Some Features and effects might override this to make it easier or harder to score a critical hit -- perhaps rolling a natural 19 or 20 becomes good enough. Or, perhaps even rolling a natural 20 is not good enough.
In all cases, the Adamantine Armor makes it so that any critical hit against you becomes a normal hit. So, the "to hit" process for determining whether or not the attack hits or misses has already occurred, and it resulted in a critical hit which hits automatically -- a spell such as Shield cannot turn an auto-hit into a miss. But when resolving the hit that has occurred, you don't apply the extra damage because the critical hit becomes a normal hit.