[3.P] Critical hits on crit-immune creatures and objects

[ImperatorK]

I'm thinking about adding a homebrew feat that would allow scoring crits on objects and crit-immune creatures. That would also allow performing Coup de Grace actions on them. One of the feat's prereqs will most probably be a fairly high number of Perception ranks. The feat will also probably be part of a feat chain that gives other, related bonuses and options.
My question is, what level do you think would be appropriate for such a feat to become available, considering that it will probably have a cost of ranks and 1 or 2 feats?

[ketaro]

For crit-immune creatures I'd probably not put a true level requirement if you're going to have a couple feat prereqs for it and just put it behind a skill rank requirement if you want to use Perception. I'd say about.....10 ranks.

To crit actual objects, if somebody really wanted to invest in that route, I'd put it under Knowledge Architecture & Engineering. You can't find the structural weakpoints of an inanimate object just by looking at it real good but rather by understanding how it was likely put together or made in the first place.

[ImperatorK]

You mean split it into two feats, for creatures and objects?

[ketaro]

No, I mean like just make critting objects be an additional use of a skill check with a DC based on some stats of the object.
Mostly because I can't see needing to crit and object to be something that'll come up in the middle of a fight.

Alternatively, don't do the skill thing I said and just tweak actual Sunder rules which ARE meant for attacking and breaking objects so you can crit on the attack roll that is a Sunder check *shrugs*

Multiple ways to go about it. I just don't believe being able to crit inanimate objects a feat ability like critting creatures normally immune to crits would be.

[ImperatorK]

Criting objects can be useful in battle if you're creative.
I might add something to Knowl. (Engineering) following this, but it's going to be more something like bonus damage or dealing maximum damage.
I don't want criting objects to be something anyone can just do.
Just to be clear, criting creatures and objects is one feat.

[RobbyPants]

Personally, I don't think there should be a high-level requirement for the feat.

The obvious candidate for taking this feat is the rogue. Other characters could get a benefit, but it'd be mostly a niche benefit. This feat basically makes the rogue less hand-tied when fighting certain types of monsters. The game already assumes a rogue is going to be doing X damage against cirttable monsters and Y damage against crit-immune monsters, but it's not like those monsters have differing HP, or anything. Every other class deals the same damage against both types, so there's no reason a rogue shouldn't be able to, as well. Honestly, spending a feat just to get what everyone else already has is a pretty annoying stop gap, in it's own right. The whole "you can't Sneak Attack crit-immune monsters" is something that was just thrown in for REALIZARM, and doesn't actually add anything useful to the game.

But with all that in mind, it's not like there is anything inherently "high level" about what this feat does. There's no reason to not allow it right at level one, for no investment other than a single feat.

Edit: I see this is for PathFinder, which seems to have lessened the restrictions on Sneak Attack damage and crit-immune monsters. So, while what I said is true, it's less true than it would be in 3.0/3.5.