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Power Attack, Two Handed Weapons and Crit
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<blockquote data-quote="atra2" data-source="post: 2023027" data-attributes="member: 10914"><p>Popping in for a moment here, some minor history as learned from Sean Reynolds site.</p><p></p><p>It used to be that Keen (weapon enchantment) and Imp Crit stacked. This is what</p><p>made the low-damage/high-threat weapons comparable to high base-damage weapons.</p><p></p><p>This is in the days of 3.0 Power Attack.</p><p></p><p>And all was right with the world.</p><p></p><p>Then 3.5 Power Attack entered the picture, and threw the math and balance out of</p><p>whack.</p><p></p><p>To compensate, Andy Collins & crew left 3.5 PA as-is, but removed the stacking of</p><p>Keen and Imp Crit.</p><p></p><p>GP cost of weapons also pretty much stayed the same.</p><p></p><p> People relying on the high-crit weapons are hoping for the lucky one-shotting of</p><p>some foe in round 1, which greatly increases party survivability, or at least, incoming</p><p>damage.</p><p></p><p> The Greatsword user smiles whenever he faces foes immune to critical hits, such as:</p><p></p><p>Oozes, Elementals, Constructs, Undead, and certain other foes.</p><p></p><p> Relying on crits and sneak attacks requires one to understand the world the DM has</p><p>provided.</p><p></p><p> If you are in a city campaign with 95%+ humanoid encounters, these powers RULE.</p><p></p><p> If you are not in a city campaign, they're still pretty good.</p><p></p><p> If your DM is enamored of strange templated monstrosities, and Half-[fill in the bank]</p><p>monster mixes from the various MMs, stick with the greatsword, and think about</p><p>multiclassing your Rogue into Barbarian to get some dependable offense <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p> See, that's the one variable missing from all the spreadsheeting: percentage of foes</p><p>you can actually make use of your crit vs.</p><p></p><p> Around 12th level+, unless your DM is regularly statting up humanoids with class levels</p><p>for you to face (which should be a portion of your "diet") then any DM pulling from the</p><p>Monster Manual is going to be pulling an increasingly larger percentage of crit-immune</p><p>foes.</p><p></p><p> This of course is painful, cause you had to wait till BAB +8 for Improved Crit in the</p><p>first place, and now elementals, golems, undead, oozes and the like are more</p><p>prevalent.</p><p></p><p> But, hey, if you have that human-politics centered campaign, you're golden <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p>(until all the rulers start making pacts with planar powers and templating themselves</p><p>to be immune to crits...)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="atra2, post: 2023027, member: 10914"] Popping in for a moment here, some minor history as learned from Sean Reynolds site. It used to be that Keen (weapon enchantment) and Imp Crit stacked. This is what made the low-damage/high-threat weapons comparable to high base-damage weapons. This is in the days of 3.0 Power Attack. And all was right with the world. Then 3.5 Power Attack entered the picture, and threw the math and balance out of whack. To compensate, Andy Collins & crew left 3.5 PA as-is, but removed the stacking of Keen and Imp Crit. GP cost of weapons also pretty much stayed the same. People relying on the high-crit weapons are hoping for the lucky one-shotting of some foe in round 1, which greatly increases party survivability, or at least, incoming damage. The Greatsword user smiles whenever he faces foes immune to critical hits, such as: Oozes, Elementals, Constructs, Undead, and certain other foes. Relying on crits and sneak attacks requires one to understand the world the DM has provided. If you are in a city campaign with 95%+ humanoid encounters, these powers RULE. If you are not in a city campaign, they're still pretty good. If your DM is enamored of strange templated monstrosities, and Half-[fill in the bank] monster mixes from the various MMs, stick with the greatsword, and think about multiclassing your Rogue into Barbarian to get some dependable offense :-) See, that's the one variable missing from all the spreadsheeting: percentage of foes you can actually make use of your crit vs. Around 12th level+, unless your DM is regularly statting up humanoids with class levels for you to face (which should be a portion of your "diet") then any DM pulling from the Monster Manual is going to be pulling an increasingly larger percentage of crit-immune foes. This of course is painful, cause you had to wait till BAB +8 for Improved Crit in the first place, and now elementals, golems, undead, oozes and the like are more prevalent. But, hey, if you have that human-politics centered campaign, you're golden :-) (until all the rulers start making pacts with planar powers and templating themselves to be immune to crits...) [/QUOTE]
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