this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2025
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Is a nat 20 not treated as a critical success? At least that’s how my 5e DM handles those.
DnD 5e does not have critical successes or failures on ability checks. Only attack rolls have critical successes and failures.
Both 5e and the 2024 rules only crit / crit miss on attacks. But Baldur’s Gate 3 introduced them on checks, which muddied the waters.
BG3 also did drinking potions as bonus actions, which 5e did not do but many DM’s (including those in several well-known real play shows) did as a house rule, then they incorporated it into the 2024 rules.
What a mess.
Baldur's gate didn't really introduce them. It was a house rule so common it may as well been an optional rule.
Well, I like the way my DM does it. I would say I’m surprised, but the logic behind the rules is way too far beyond my understanding and I regularly am thrown off by the exceptions.
Some DMs don't like critical success or failure on skill checks.
Those DMs are less fun.
Nat 20 adds one to the degree of success, which almost always means a crit unless you are dealing with something way above your level.
How some crazies want ability checks to work:
Player: I gesture vaguely towards the ancient dragon indicating I would like it to give me all of its gold and become my personal pet.
DM: Roll a persuasion check
Player: Let's see... Minus 4 because I'm still only level 2.... With a Nat-20 that's totals 16
DM: Nat-20? By golly I guess that means you succeed - the ancient dragon and its entire hoard of treasure are yours now.
Heh I would play it as the player is now PART of the hoard and is now the DRAGONS personal pet. The player was too persuasive lol.
And now the shenanigans is trying to get away from said dragon. And the rest of the group will now be dealing with a dragon that wants its shiny back in its hoard for the entire rest of the campaign.
Nat 20s can make for some GREAT monkey paw situations. Its really fun.
How critical success ability checks should work:
DM: "Nat-20? The dragon is amused by your insane audacity and merely punts you out of his chamber instead of turning you into a smoking cinder on the spot. Roll for fall damage."
That's Pathfinder rules, this is 5e
formally there is no crit success in 5e
I don’t see any indication that it is any specific system being referenced, so I chose the better one.
insight doesn't exist in pf2e
Well you're wrong. Nat 20 or nat 19 actually means you get to take another main action on the same turn, which can potentially also crit.
That's also homebrew inspired by pathfinder. There's no rule in 5e about crits for anything outside combat.