DM : "Your fighter does too much damage. Drop the belt of strength."

Question · May 30, 2006

As above. The DM says my fighter does too much damage and wants me to drop the belt of strength to lower my damage.

Discuss?

delericho · May 30, 2006

Any chance you could post your character?

Frostmarrow · May 30, 2006

Play a long but ask for an in game reason. The DM is learning the ropes.

Question · May 30, 2006

http://www.dndonlinegames.com/view.php?id=39072

If anything it is the template that is overpowered, although it doesnt really have any bearing on the damage(half-dragon also gives +8 racial str)

The DM is(judging from his old posts) highly experienced, running multiple games, and is supposedly a member of Dungeon(Or dragons, not sure) staff. Or used to be.

Hussar · May 30, 2006

Call me brain dead, but how does your damage bonus to the scimitar get to +21? +12 for str, +3 for enhancement, where's the other +6 come from and why doesn't the strength bonus get halved for your offhand? Double weapons still count as light weapons for the offhand attack. That knocks the +12 for str down to +6.

Or am I just stupid?

Particle_Man · May 30, 2006

I don't know what "blade bearer of the Valenar" does as a feat, so bearing that in mind:

1)Shouldn't you be doing less damage with the "other head" of your doulbe scimitar? As an off-hand weapon you should only get 1/2 your str bonus, or did I miss something?

2) Shouldn't you be doing less damage with that double scimitar anyhow? I see the magic +3, and the str +12 or 6, as the case may be. Thus, I get 1d6 +3 + 12 (or +6) for 1d6 +15/1d6 +9. Then +2d6 per hit vs. evil opponents.

3) Why do you get 2 "off-hand" attacks with that scimitar? Is that due to the feat "blade bearer of the Valenar"? If so, it is a hell of a good one.

4) Since you don't have the two-weapon fighting feat, should you not have large penalties (like -4/-8) on your attack rolls?

If I am not off-base, the recalculation of your damage may make the dropping of your str. belt unnecessary. You could just tell your DM you have been miscalculating your previous damage. That said, he is the DM. If he still thinks you are too powerful for his campaign as is, drop the belt.

[Edit: Great minds think alike!

]

glass · May 30, 2006

Hussar said:
Call me brain dead, but how does your damage bonus to the scimitar get to +21? +12 for str, +3 for enhancement, where's the other +6 come from and why doesn't the strength bonus get halved for your offhand? Double weapons still count as light weapons for the offhand attack. That knocks the +12 for str down to +6.

Or am I just stupid?

If you are, then I am too! :heh:

Where does the extra damage bonus come from, and why are the primary and off hand damages the same?

glass.

delericho · May 30, 2006

Question said:
http://www.dndonlinegames.com/view.php?id=39072

Thanks. Sadly, you're going to regret posting that...

Right, first things first, I don't see how you're getting 1d6+21 damage. I see +15 (+12 Strength, +3 weapon). Where does the extra +6 come from? (Is that what "Blade Bearer of the Valinar" does?)

Secondly, when wielding the weapon as a double weapon, it is considered equivalent to using a one-handed weapon and a light weapon, meaning that the Strength bonus on the off-hand portion is halved. This changes the damage to 1d6+15/1d6+9. Except...

Double Weapons are made Masterwork and magical one end at a time. Meaning that that weapon doesn't cost 50,425 gold, it costs 100,725 gold. This blows the Wealth-by-Level table out of the water. Did you find that item (in which case it's a DM mistake), or did you buy it? In the latter case, you really need to make some alterations.

Thirdly, your attack bonuses with the weapon are incorrect. However, I suspect you won't mind this one: they should be +27/+27/+22/+22/+17 (+25 base, -2 for two-weapon fighting, +3 weapon, +1 weapon focus).

Finally, there's are two items worn in the 'wrong' body slot there: Bracers of Natural Armour and Vest of Resistance. That's fine, but doing so costs extra (I forget the mark-up), precisely to prevent the casual stacking of items that aren't meant to be stacked (Amulet of Nat Armour and Amulet of Health).

Basically, that character is not rules-legal, so it's not surprising that the DM has run into problems. I don't know the history of the character, so can't say where the problems have come from (the DM may have given this stuff out without thinking, or you might have presented that character, and he approved it). Either way, for the good of the game, I suggest you go through the character sheet with a fine-toothed comb, and correct all the problems.

I suspect that the DM's problem isn't really with the Belt of Strength, but rather with the character as a whole. Correcting the rules errors for that character should therefore fix the problem.

If anything it is the template that is overpowered, although it doesnt really have any bearing on the damage(half-dragon also gives +8 racial str)

Not having Races of the Dragon, I can't comment. However, assuming it's LA +2 or higher, it doesn't seem too bad.

The DM is(judging from his old posts) highly experienced, running multiple games, and is supposedly a member of Dungeon(Or dragons, not sure) staff. Or used to be.

A lot of DMs claim a lot more capability than they actually have. Given the number of inconsistencies I spotted so quickly, I would be take his claims with a pinch of salt.

MarkB · May 30, 2006

delericho said:
Finally, there's are two items worn in the 'wrong' body slot there: Bracers of Natural Armour and Vest of Resistance. That's fine, but doing so costs extra (I forget the mark-up), precisely to prevent the casual stacking of items that aren't meant to be stacked (Amulet of Nat Armour and Amulet of Health).

You're right (to the best of my knowledge) about the bracers, but Complete Arcane introduced the 3.5e Vest of Resistance, giving them the same cost as the cloak.

delericho · May 30, 2006

MarkB said:
You're right (to the best of my knowledge) about the bracers, but Complete Arcane introduced the 3.5e Vest of Resistance, giving them the same cost as the cloak.

My mistake. I assume you can wear both a vest and a cloak (of different types)?

Sadly, I'm going from memory, as I don't have my books to hand.