Is a natural 20 a critical hit, and critical hits always hit? Or is a natural 20 a critical hit that also always hits?
Put another way, do Champions and Hexblade Warlocks (with Hexblade Curse) auto-hit on 19-20, or just on 20, with 19 counting as a critical if it's high enough to hit? Does Adamantine Armor make natural 20's miss against you, if the total is not as high as your AC?
If the d20 roll for an attack is a 20, the attack hits regardless of any modifiers or the target's AC. This is called a critical hit, which is explained later in this chapter.
The Improved/Superior Critical, as well as the Hexblade Curse, says "if you roll X-20 you score a critical hit". So, you actually score hit, there is no comparison with the AC.
It is a different wording from, say, the unconscious condition, which says "if you hit, the hit is a critical hit."
As is the wording on a paralysed target which also requires a hit roll, but any hit becomes a crit.
The auto hit / crit potential is why against certain multi attacking monsters, who hit like they ate their vegetables every day of their life till they started at muscle beach and live on protein shakes now, you want to seriously consider the dodge option after you have its attention. (if you have a decent armour to begin with, it will lower incoming damage potential but should make the chance of a crit insignificant. In Tonio's example he mentioned Hexblade and they bizarrely can use the dodge action and still do some minor damage with the right build so it works out great for them as the most annoying 'tank' ever.
Yes, attack rolls have special rules around what happens when a 1 or a 20 is rolled on a d20 so you still need to roll. Ability checks and saving throws do not though, so if 1 plus your bonus is equal to or greater than the DC then you always succeed. Conversely if 20 plus your bonus is less than the DC then you always fail.
A DM might still want you to roll though if they want to decide on what exactly happens when you succeed/fail at the task.
Is a natural 20 a critical hit, and critical hits always hit? Or is a natural 20 a critical hit that also always hits?
Put another way, do Champions and Hexblade Warlocks (with Hexblade Curse) auto-hit on 19-20, or just on 20, with 19 counting as a critical if it's high enough to hit? Does Adamantine Armor make natural 20's miss against you, if the total is not as high as your AC?
So in 5e, crits are auto-hits. Confirmed here
re: adamantine armor, here. Basically, it still hits but you don’t roll double dice.
The Improved/Superior Critical, as well as the Hexblade Curse, says "if you roll X-20 you score a critical hit". So, you actually score hit, there is no comparison with the AC.
It is a different wording from, say, the unconscious condition, which says "if you hit, the hit is a critical hit."
As is the wording on a paralysed target which also requires a hit roll, but any hit becomes a crit.
The auto hit / crit potential is why against certain multi attacking monsters, who hit like they ate their vegetables every day of their life till they started at muscle beach and live on protein shakes now, you want to seriously consider the dodge option after you have its attention. (if you have a decent armour to begin with, it will lower incoming damage potential but should make the chance of a crit insignificant. In Tonio's example he mentioned Hexblade and they bizarrely can use the dodge action and still do some minor damage with the right build so it works out great for them as the most annoying 'tank' ever.
Thank you, guys!
If my modifier for my hits is +16 and the ac of my enemies is 12, do I need to role or is it just an auto hit?
You still need to roll because a natural 1 on an attack roll always misses. And hey, you might get a critical hit too.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Yes, attack rolls have special rules around what happens when a 1 or a 20 is rolled on a d20 so you still need to roll. Ability checks and saving throws do not though, so if 1 plus your bonus is equal to or greater than the DC then you always succeed. Conversely if 20 plus your bonus is less than the DC then you always fail.
A DM might still want you to roll though if they want to decide on what exactly happens when you succeed/fail at the task.
Yes as you may still roll a 1 which is an automatic miss