D&D 5E Bounded Accuracy in 200 Words or Less

[The Human Target]

Yep.

And I meant to xp, not laugh

I'll take what I can get!

 

[aramis erak]

If you take a narrow read on the rules, bounded accuracy also includes some fairly specific limits on character ability growth...

There are few chances to raise attributes, attributes cap at 20 (24 with certain special abilities), advantageous/disadvantageous circumstances do not provide modifiers, but instead still limit the die to between 1 and 20. Attribute modifiers for PC level attributes range from -4 to +5 only. And proficiency is +0 to +6. So, for PC's, the range (ignoring special abilities) is -3 to 31.

So, non-proficient use is always a result between –3 and 25, while proficient use is –1 to 31.
Magic explicitly breaks the bounds.

 

[Psikerlord#]

"Bounded Accuracy" is kind of a mis-nomer. It should be called "Bounded Difficulty".

The basic idea is that tasks don't really get harder over time, so a DC 20 is hard for a level 1 character and a DC 20 is still hard for a level 10 character. Characters do get slightly better, over the levels, but that just means they succeed more often at those DC 20 checks.

Yeah, Bounded Difficulty at least conveys AC, saves and DCs. Or maybe "30 point Bounded Range", covering everything from to hit bonuses to high end DCs, but then that's a little misleading as the typical range is really 10-20.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Didnt 2e have a similar range of AC and saves. I do remember fighters hitting on 2+ though a lot. Hmm maybe it is a new idea with the extension to hit rates too.

Yes. That is why 2E had a lot of rules for called shots (disarm, parry, cripple limb, etc.), so that the fighter had extra things to do with his extra to-hit bonus. 3E went in a different direction and made all those things character abilities instead of combat options. 5E leans more toward the 3E style but if you wanted to try a called shot to hit the monster in the eye, I would let you.

 

[amerigoV]

It means lots of goblins can kill you even at high levels with your big boy pants on.

 

[Psikerlord#]

Yes. That is why 2E had a lot of rules for called shots (disarm, parry, cripple limb, etc.), so that the fighter had extra things to do with his extra to-hit bonus. 3E went in a different direction and made all those things character abilities instead of combat options. 5E leans more toward the 3E style but if you wanted to try a called shot to hit the monster in the eye, I would let you.

Yeah I am toying with the idea of allowing the -5/+10 mechanic as a substitute for old called shots idea. So anyone can try it (inc NPCs), you dont need those particular feats. A kind of improvised action I suppose.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

Yeah I am toying with the idea of allowing the -5/+10 mechanic as a substitute for old called shots idea.

I have been considering lowering it to -3/+6, the -5/+10 deal seems a tad extreme for 5th Ed.

 

[Staffan]

I have been considering lowering it to -3/+6, the -5/+10 deal seems a tad extreme for 5th Ed.

Remember that the -5/+10 mechanic of the Great Weapon Master and Sharpshooter feats are not supposed to be internally balanced. They're supposed to be balanced against a constant +1/+1. The point at which they are balanced against each other (ignoring crits) is:

x = 1.5p -8.5

Where x is the average damage without either bonus, and p is the number of rolls on the d20 that are hits (so 21-needed roll).

So if you would hit on a 9+ (12 rolls that hit out of 20) without either an ability score increase or the feat, which I think is fairly normal, they are balanced against one another with an average damage per hit of 9.5. At lower damages, the feat is advantageous, and at higher damages the ASI is. As your chance to hit increases, the feats become more proportionally powerful as well.

With -3/+6, the balance point instead occurs at 1.25p-4.25. For a 9+ hit, that's at 10.75 points of average damage. That actually makes the feat more advantageous in many cases.

 

[meomwt]

It means lots of goblins can kill you even at high levels with your big boy pants on.

Chap I knew years ago loved RuneQuest for much the same reason - that a Rune Lord surrounded by a pack of angry ducks could still get taken out, very, very easily.