Critical Fishing: The Dirty Secrets of More Dice, More Often
There was a time I thought crits were just happy accidents — roll a natural 20 and drink with the lads. Then I met a halfling rogue who crit so often we thought she’d sold her soul. Turns out she just understood the math of more dice. Welcome to critical fishing.
In D&D 5e, a critical hit happens when you roll a natural 20. You roll all your damage dice twice and add your modifiers, but you don’t double static bonuses. In Pathfinder 2e, you crit when you roll a natural 20 or exceed your target’s AC by 10. When that happens, your Strike deals double damage. That’s twice the dice, not double your entire bonus — but those extra dice are where the magic is.
Increasing Your Crit Chances
Advantage & Flanking (5e) – Advantage nearly doubles your chance to roll a natural 20. Combine that with the Bless spell or the Lucky feat and you’re fishin’ like a pro.
Expanded Critical Range – Fighters’ Improved Critical (level 3) lets you crit on a 19–20; Superior Critical (level 15) widens it to 18–20. Barbarians’ Brutal Critical adds extra dice. In Pathfinder, weapons with the Fatal or Deadly traits add extra dice on crits — the Stonehearth Grudgeplate pairs nicely with these.
Multiple Attack Rolls – Spells like Scorching Ray or features like the fighter’s action surge mean more attack rolls, which means more chances to crit. In PF2e, using multi‑attack actions like Twin Takedown or the rogue’s double slice increases the number of dice you roll and your likelihood of beating AC by 10.
Halfling Luck – Lightfoot halflings can reroll a 1 on attack rolls. Combine that with advantage and you’ll crit more than any dwarf deserves.
When Crit Fishing Gets Dirty
There’s strategy to rollin’ more dice. Pair expanded crit range with advantage and multi‑attack. Equip weapons like the Whisperfang, the Moon‑Touched Dagger or the Ashmaul, the Emberwake Hammer that have extra on-crit effects. In PF2e, the Thorneblight Files hint at villains who combine crits with debuffs for devastating combos. And don’t forget to debuff your foes first — From Flat‑Footed to Facedown: The Art of Debuffing Before the Kill shows how lowering AC by just a few points makes that +10 over AC critical threshold easier to hit.
Lucky Rum Break
If you ain’t crittin’, you ain’t hittin’. Rolling more dice is the name of the game. Find ways to gain advantage, widen your crit range, and stack those damage dice.
👉 Swing by Mike’s Tavern to read how other adventurers build their crit engines. And if luck’s not on your side, I’ll teach ya a halflin’ jig that’s sure to please the dice gods.
Exploit On‑Crit Effects
Many magic items and class features have on‑crit triggers. A paladin’s smite isn’t doubled, but it adds more dice to the pool, and those dice get doubled. In PF2e, the fatal trait upgrades the weapon damage die on a crit and adds extra dice. Combine that with the swashbuckler’s Panache to make your Opportune Riposte deadly — you can riposte on a foe’s critical failure, and when you add critical‑failure reactions like this, you’ll chain attacks together, killin’ two goblins with one laugh.
Ready to Go Fishin’?
Crit fishing isn’t cheatin’ — it’s smart play. Learn the rules, stack your odds, and double every die the table will let ya.
👉 Reach out via the Contact page to share your best crit fishing stories. The barkeep loves tales with lots of sixes and twenties.
FAQ
Q: Do I double modifiers on a crit?
A: Nope. You only double damage dice; flat bonuses remain once.
Q: Can I crit on spells?
A: In 5e, spell attacks crit — you double the dice rolled. In PF2e, spells can crit if they require attack rolls; you double the effect if it’s a damaging spell.
Q: Isn’t crit fishing just luck?
A: Luck helps, but math wins. Advantage, multiple attacks, expanded crit range, and debuffs all increase your odds. Build for it, and you’ll see the difference.
