Effective Critical Hits

Effective Critical Hits is a small module for the dnd5e system that modifies critical hit damage.

Critical hits still roll damage normally using the standard D&D 5e rules. After the roll, the module compares the result against the maximum damage the attack could have dealt on a normal hit. If the critical hit rolled lower than that amount, bonus damage is added to bring it up to the normal-hit maximum.

Unlike Foundry's Maximize Damage option, which automatically maximizes the attack's base damage dice on a critical hit, Effective Critical Hits instead sets a minimum damage floor.

For example, with a longsword dealing 1d8 + 3:

- Normal hit:  1d8 + 3 (average 7.5)
- RAW crit:  2d8 + 3 (average 12)
- Maximize Damage crit: 8 + 1d8 + 3 (average 15.5)
- Effective Critical Hits: 2d8 + 3, minimum 11 (average 12.875)

This keeps critical hit damage close to RAW on average while removing the disappointing critical hit that deals less damage than a strong normal hit.

Usage

There is no configuration required. Enable Effective Critical Hits under Manage Modules and critical damage rolls will be handled automatically. 

When bonus damage is needed, the module adds it to the damage roll using the appropriate damage type and displays a notification showing how much damage was added.

If the critical hit already deals at least the maximum damage of a normal hit, nothing is changed.