Can someone explain critical rolls for me?

[Sithus_Dra_Vek]

This question may sound stupid to many of you, but I am new to the game and I have very little experience with pen and paper D&D. For example, lets say my fighter toon has a Great Axe with a critical roll of (5%/3-36) 20 / x3. What exactly do those numbers mean? Does the 5% mean that it will crit 5% of the time? What is the 3 - 36? What is the 20 / x3? If someone could spell out how crits work in plain words, it would help greatly. Thanks all.

[DoctorWhofan]

The % is how much of a chance of getting it on a 20 sided die.

Not sure what 3-36, but I'd betthat'sthe basic damage you will do (between those two numbers)

20 isthe die roll you make to get a crit.

x3 is if you hit the number above, and confirm it, your damage is multiplied by three.

[Lorien_the_First_One]

This question may sound stupid to many of you, but I am new to the game and I have very little experience with pen and paper D&D. For example, lets say my fighter toon has a Great Axe with a critical roll of (5%/3-36) 20 / x3. What exactly do those numbers mean? Does the 5% mean that it will crit 5% of the time? What is the 3 - 36? What is the 20 / x3? If someone could spell out how crits work in plain words, it would help greatly. Thanks all.

Let's break it down...

You have a 5% chance for a "critical threat". You will get a "critical threat" if you roll a 20 with that weapon. (Different weapons have different crit ranges, certain enhancements and feats can widen the crit range).

If you have a "critical threat" the computer will roll a second time to "confirm the hit". This is a normal attack roll. If you miss on the second roll, the crit is not confirmed, but since you rolled a "20", the weapon hits anyway and does normal damage.

If you hit on the confirming roll, you have a "critical hit". On a critical hit, the weapon damage (including your strength bonus and any 'seeker' damage), is multiplied by the weapon's critical multiplier, that's the x3 in the case of this weapon. The 3-36 is the damage that weapon would do (normally 1-12, now x3), not including any other bonuses to damage.