In WFRP 3rd edition, when do critical hits actually happen?

Question

What triggers a critical hit in WFRP 3rd edition?

Answer 1

Critical hits can be triggered from three sources:

1. Sigmar's Comet rolled on an expertise die.
2. Boons in the results pool equivalent to the CR of the weapon, as an example, Great Weapons have a CR of 2, so 2 boons can trigger a critical hit.
3. Triggering a line of an action card; the action card will list what the requirements are for triggering this line. Note that you can only trigger a success line on an action card if the check is successful (unless otherwise stated on the card).

There are a few caveats with critical hits:

• Critical hits from the SAME source do NOT stack; for example, if you have TWO Sigmar's Comets in your results pool, only ONE may be used to trigger a critical hit. The other one will need to be used another way.
• Critical hits from DIFFERENT sources DO stack; back to the above example with a great weapon. Suppose the dice pool is successful with 1 Sigmar's Comet and 2 boons; since the Great Weapon has a Critical Rating (CR) of 2, the player may choose to convert two wounds to critical wounds (one from the Comet, and one from the weapon's critical rating).
• Success Lines in action cards can only be triggered ONCE. If there is a line on the action card that states: 2 x Boons: +1 Critical This can only be used ONCE even if the results pool has 4 boons; in this example, the player may choose to use the boons to trigger another success line.
• Critical hits never add wounds; they only convert normal wounds into critical. If a player's action card states +1 critical, that means one wound card inflicted from the player's damage is turned over as a critical, NOT one additional wound is added as a critical.
• Finally, the minimum would result is one wound, but this can NOT be converted into a critical hit. Instead, a number of normal wounds are inflicted equal to the number of critical effects triggered.

References:

• Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Errata and FAQ, Pages: 2, 7-8 http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/wfrp/support/FAQ-9-2011/WFRP_FAQ_9-8-11.pdf
• Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3e Player's Guide, Pages: 82, 87-88

Answer 2

Rolling the correct number of symbols on the dice, as required by the technique used.

A Sigmar's Commet can always be used to trigger the critical hit.

Some weapons have specific numbers of Eagle Symbols or Axe Symbols to generate a critical, as listed in the weapon data or on the action card. For example, the card Thundering Shot states 3 axes does critical damage. So, for such a shot, either a Comet or 3 axes means doing a critical.