Falling Icicle
Adventurer
I really hate to say this, as I hated the iterative attacks of 3.x, but I'd much rather see extra attacks than this martial bonus damage stuff. It accomplishes the same thing (higher level fighters doing more damage) but without the problems of martial damage dice and bonuses. Unlike damage bonuses, extra attacks don't make strength or weapon choice obselete, since they multiply along with it. It also makes the game less swingy since critical hits are only maximizing a ([W] + Str mod.) attack, not ([W] + Str mod. +6d6 +20). It's also, IMO, more believable. It makes sense to me a more skilled warrior could get in more hits on an enemy, as opposed to increasing in damage to the point of becoming Hercules. It also balances better against objects. Extra attacks don't let you get around Hardness the way a single, massive attack does.
You can still use the same kind of maneuver system with extra attacks. Instead of giving up a martial die to parry, a character could give up an attack. Instead of using a martial die to trip, the character can just make a trip attack. And the biggest complaint going against extra attacks (all that extra die rolling) is not really an issue here, since martial damage dice involve extra dice rolling as well. Of course, they need to carefully balance this. I don't ever want to see a TWF character with 8 attacks ever again. But that is easy enough to accomplish. Just don't let the extra attacks get out of hand. Let TWF only grant you one extra attack, ever. It's still very valuable that way, but it doesn't get ridiculous as it did in 3.x
You can still use the same kind of maneuver system with extra attacks. Instead of giving up a martial die to parry, a character could give up an attack. Instead of using a martial die to trip, the character can just make a trip attack. And the biggest complaint going against extra attacks (all that extra die rolling) is not really an issue here, since martial damage dice involve extra dice rolling as well. Of course, they need to carefully balance this. I don't ever want to see a TWF character with 8 attacks ever again. But that is easy enough to accomplish. Just don't let the extra attacks get out of hand. Let TWF only grant you one extra attack, ever. It's still very valuable that way, but it doesn't get ridiculous as it did in 3.x
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