Alternate BAB Rates - 1/3, 2/3 and 3/3

Nyaricus · May 30, 2006

An idea popped its way into my head on the weekend, and I thought I'd share it. A Base Attack Bonus system which is more intuitive than the standard 1/2, 3/4 and 1/1 - instead being + 3 BAB for 3 levels, +2 BAB for 3 levels and +1 BAB for 3 levels, in respect to the good medium and bad BAB ranks. This would make Warriors truely shine, medium BAB guys less focused on combat and more on other aspects, and those with bad BAB suck at combat. Of course, I'd also allow casters to use a d20 + caster level + dex for spells that need a roll to hit - effectively giving them a 3/3 (or '1/1') BAB.

Code:

[u]Level  3/3             2/3     1/3[/u]

1      +1              +0      +0
2      +2              +1      +0
3      +3              +2      +1
4      +4              +2      +1
5      +5              +3      +1
6      +6/+1           +4      +2
7      +7/+2           +4      +2
8      +8/+3           +5      +2
9      +9/+4           +6/+1   +3
10     +10/+5          +6/+1   +3
11     +11/+6/+1       +7/+2   +3
12     +12/+7/+2       +8/+3   +4
13     +13/+8/+3       +8/+3   +4
14     +14/+9/+4       +9/+4   +4
15     +15/+10/+5      +10/+5  +5
16     +16/+11/+6/+1   +10/+5  +5
17     +17/+12/+7/+2   +11/+6  +5
18     +18/+13/+8/+3   +12/+7  +6/+1
19     +19/+14/+9/+4   +12/+7  +6/+1
20     +20/+15/+10/+5  +13/+8  +6/+1

Any comments?

Jdvn1 · May 30, 2006

In my experience, it's been hard enough to hit with medium BAB guys anyway--have you had problems with Fighter-types not shining enough?

Nyaricus · May 30, 2006

Jdvn1 said:
In my experience, it's been hard enough to hit with medium BAB guys anyway--have you had problems with Fighter-types not shining enough?

nope, just I'm kinda bothered with the fact that wizards, at 20th level, have half the attacks a fighter does, and is half as likely to hit. And the system isn't intuitive.

Of course, if implimented, monsters/NPCs would be under the same rules, so balance would still be there.

EDIT: oh, and thanks for the quick reply

the Jester · May 30, 2006

Bad idea imho. A challenging AC for a fighter becomes impossible for anyone else.

Jdvn1 · May 30, 2006

Nyaricus said:
nope, just I'm kinda bothered with the fact that wizards, at 20th level, have half the attacks a fighter does, and is half as likely to hit. And the system isn't intuitive.

Of course, if implimented, monsters/NPCs would be under the same rules, so balance would still be there.

EDIT: oh, and thanks for the quick reply

I wanted to catch you before you edited. :lol:

That unsettles some people.

Remember that Wizards aren't half as likely to hit as Fighters are. Fighters get bonuses to hit through magic items, magic weapons, and feats. So if a Fighter needs a 5 or better to hit, chances are the Wizard can only hit on a natural 20.

The same is true with medium-BAB characters, but to a less extent. Medium-BAB characters are more likely to buy combat-oriented items/feats as casters are, but will tend to spend less on it than full-BAB characters, because medium-BAB characters will have other specialties to worry about. So if a Fighter needs a 10 or better to hit (say, on a second or third attack), a Rogue may need a natural 20 (which is closer to a 50% difference).

Nyaricus · May 30, 2006

the Jester said:
Bad idea imho. A challenging AC for a fighter becomes impossible for anyone else.

See, I don't exactly want that, either, but I'm not sure how to make this work out...

Jdvn1 said:
I wanted to catch you before you edited. That unsettles some people.

Nyaricus, master of the quick-edit :lol:

Jdvn1 said:
Remember that Wizards aren't half as likely to hit as Fighters are. Fighters get bonuses to hit through magic items, magic weapons, and feats. So if a Fighter needs a 5 or better to hit, chances are the Wizard can only hit on a natural 20.

The same is true with medium-BAB characters, but to a less extent. Medium-BAB characters are more likely to buy combat-oriented items/feats as casters are, but will tend to spend less on it than full-BAB characters, because medium-BAB characters will have other specialties to worry about. So if a Fighter needs a 10 or better to hit (say, on a second or third attack), a Rogue may need a natural 20 (which is closer to a 50% difference).

See, this is a hard-too-justift topic. I guess it's more of a thgouth than anything - I am not particularily attached to the idea (although I know RC does something similar with BAB for his spellcasters) I am just an kinda putting this out and gettting a discussion going for it. More of a lay thought than anything.

I realise that this nerfs medium BAB and spellcasters to a large degree, but I like the idea of it all the same. Just not sure how it'd work out, is all

Jdvn1 · May 30, 2006

Nyaricus said:
I realise that this nerfs medium BAB and spellcasters to a large degree, but I like the idea of it all the same. Just not sure how it'd work out, is all

By all means, try it out and tell us how it works for you.

Nyaricus · May 30, 2006

Jdvn1 said:
By all means, try it out and tell us how it works for you.

I guess that's the only way to do it, eh. I'll talk to my players and see what happens

Tequila Sunrise · May 30, 2006

Nyaricus said:
A Base Attack Bonus system which is more intuitive...

Any comments?

I find any standardized BAB progression wholy non-intuitive. Ok so the fighter should be good at hitting things, the rogues and adventuring clerics should have a decent chance of it, but what about the wizard who's never swung a quarterstaff in her entire adventuring career? Or even better, what about all those clerics, druids and wizards that don't adventure--NPCs that have never physically attacked anything since puberty? Now that's what I call nonintuitive!

GuardianLurker · May 30, 2006

Tequila Sunrise said:
I find any standardized BAB progression wholy non-intuitive. Ok so the fighter should be good at hitting things, the rogues and adventuring clerics should have a decent chance of it, but what about the wizard who's never swung a quarterstaff in her entire adventuring career? Or even better, what about all those clerics, druids and wizards that don't adventure--NPCs that have never physically attacked anything since puberty? Now that's what I call nonintuitive!

Yeah, but the d20 skill system doesn't really have enough differentiation to model the good/medium/bad BAB progression. If you like skill-based combat though, you might want to check out HARP or Rolemaster.

Alternate BAB Rates - 1/3, 2/3 and 3/3

Nyaricus

First Post

Jdvn1

Hanging in there. Better than the alternative.

Nyaricus

First Post

the Jester

Legend

Jdvn1

Hanging in there. Better than the alternative.

Nyaricus

First Post

Jdvn1

Hanging in there. Better than the alternative.

Nyaricus

First Post

Tequila Sunrise

Adventurer

GuardianLurker

Adventurer

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