Pyramid Review
GameMastery Critical Hit Deck
Published by Paizo Publishing, LLC
Concept & design by Jason Bulmahn
Developed by Mike McArtor & Jeremy Walker
Art by Sean Glenn & Eric Deschamps
55 cards (52 critical hit cards, one OGL cards, one instruction card, one advertisement card); full color, in a tuck box; $9.99
Critical hits -- those much-beloved and so-seldom achieved results in the thick of combat -- are among the fondest memories some Dungeons & Dragons players have. Just when the team needed that extra push to put them over the top, or the one roll that would turn the tide of battle back in their favor, there it is: a natural 20 on the die. This simple mechanic has undergone changes and been offered variant rules throughout the game's lifetime, and some maintain that it is, along with days of the month, the only reason to keep a 30-sided die around.
On the other hand, just rolling a 20 and getting a little something extra is kind of boring.
At least, the crew at Paizo thinks so, so they've come up with their own method of codifying and expanding the flurry of joy that comes from getting the right roll, and that's the GameMastery Critical Hit Deck.
The 52 cards form a draw deck. A player still has to roll a natural 20, and he must still confirm his hit with another die roll. If he passes this muster, however (that is, if he's on the heroes' side . . . more about the bad guys later), instead of settling for simple double damage he can . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: May 25, 2007
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