D&D 5E DMG - breaking bounded accuracy already?

Quartz · Jan 10, 2015

I've just got my copy of the DMG and have had a flip through it. One of the things I noticed was that there are various magic items - Books, Tomes, etc - which increase stats. That's great, but they also increase the stat maximum, which IMHO is dreadful. Do you really want a Str 26 Con 26 Barbarian? Not that I'm happy with the +4 the Barbarian gets to Str & Con anyway. I'm assuming that you can't apply more than one to each stat - if you can, the sky's the limit for stats and Bounded Accuracy goes right out of the window.

Pickles JG · Jan 10, 2015

It's 20th level for the barbarian - give him a break he has been terrible from 11th when all the other fighty classes get a decent bump to their attacks.

Cernor · Jan 10, 2015

Sure those books exist, and can be used an infinite number of times as long as their magic persists (once per century per book), but that doesn't mean your players will get them. If you want to break bounded accuracy then you can let your players have them (either by buying them in a magic item shop or if you give them a few), but the decision is ultimately yours.

guachi · Jan 10, 2015

a 22 Strength is the same as a 20 Strength and a +1 weapon. By the time the characters have this stuff they will probably be high level. I'm not too concerned about a character with a 22 Strength and a +2 weapon if he's level 15+.

Mouseferatu · Jan 10, 2015

Let's also not forget that even with the most powerful magics--the tomes, belts of giant strength, what have you--there's still a hard cap of 30. So the bounds of bounded accuracy are extended, enough that the DM's going to have to rethink the opposition, but there are still bounds.

Paraxis · Jan 10, 2015

It's not just a 22 strength it could be a 40 strength if you got your hands on 20 books, because it increases the maximum.

Other things that break bounded accuracy, armor +3 with a shield +3, bow +3 with arrows +3.

I know it's a legendary weapon but the fact a Moonblade can have finesse quality on a versatile weapon also opens up some high damage exploits combining sneak attack and great weapon style.

A fighter with +3 plate, +3 shield, Defender sword, ring of protection and defensive fighting style has an AC of 18+3+5+3+1+1= 31.

31! come on nothing is bounded in this game.

Mouseferatu · Jan 10, 2015

Huh. I could've sworn the tomes had a max 30. Guess I was mistaken.

OTOH, any given tome can only be used once every 100 years, and it's entirely up to the DM whether or not to have any appear, let alone enough of them to raise a stat past 30. I'm pretty sure this qualifies as one of those theoretical/white room problems that's never, for all practical purposes, going to be an issue in-game.

the Jester · Jan 10, 2015

How often do you think pcs will find these items? Do you really expect a pc to find multiple books that increase the upper bounds of the same stat? What's the rarity of those books again?

Parmandur · Jan 10, 2015

The DM choosing to allow Bounded Accuracy to expand is basically Epic play now.

GMforPowergamers · Jan 10, 2015

the Jester said:
How often do you think pcs will find these items? Do you really expect a pc to find multiple books that increase the upper bounds of the same stat? What's the rarity of those books again?

so if I start out with a 20 year old elf... and I convince the DM to give me one of each of the books, then skip 100 years every couple of adventures... I could use the books like 4-5 times each.... then be a super old elf with a 30 stat... or well in theory, if I had control of my DM