D&D 5E Damage on a missed attack roll

[Ashrym]

What are you referring to here? I don't recall this.

When the hit table showed a 0 or negative number to hit the fighter would auto hit and negative numbers optionally converted to bonus damage. Fighters also got to make as many attacks as they had fighter levels against opponents with less that 1 hit die.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Why I'm asking is there is a player in my group who is using a 3pp character and this character does half his level in damage on a missed melee attack. I'm just wondering if there is a precedence for this kind of thing in 5e.

I think the DM needs to by very confident in what they are willing to rule in or out. If you have any doubts whatsoever rule it out.

 

[NotAYakk]

The concern I'd have with half level on miss is that it could be higher than hit damage.

So you'd have a character incentivized to miss.

It isn't a balance issue, because even 6 swings at level 20 only does 60 damage, and that isn't insane DPR.

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As a variant, have misses grant L/2 temp HP, and if you still have those temp HP when you hit they are converted to damage.

 

[TwoSix]

I wasn't going to ask him to drop the class, I was just thinking that automatically doing damage every attack wasn't balanced against the other melee characters who don't have that ability. I was going to ask that the auto damage require an expenditure of tempo points, turn a miss into a partial hit.

Balance-wise, doing damage on a miss is actually less problematic than doing damage on a hit. The game incentivizes you to hit already, and most abilities the characters bring to the table are going to boost damage by buffing hit chance. I'm always much more concerned about balance when characters have strong nova damage, not when they get a small buff to overall damage by raising their damage floor.

Even if you fight an enemy with high AC that this ability would be useful for, the fight is going to swing on their 6 damage a round whittling away at the enemy hit points, it will swing on the PCs getting a lucky set of rolls with their strong abilities. The only kind of encounter this ability would be "too good" for are enemies with 25 AC and 10 HP.

Any issues with DoaM aren't balance issues, they're about flavor and a group's conception of verisimilitude.

 

[FrogReaver]

GWM + Half Damage on a miss. Count me in!

 

[jmartkdr2]

Side note: 13th Age (another rpg that very similar to DnD) does have damage on a miss as a standard mechanic.

It's fine. Nothing spectacular by itself. Unless the DoaM is really high I wouldn't expect this to be game breaking or anything.

 

[Yardiff]

If 'damage on a miss.' was a unified mechanic that existed in 5e then I wouldn't have a problem but this mechanic isn't in 5e.

 

[Garthanos]

GWM + Half Damage on a miss. Count me in!

I think its half your level in damage on a miss. (which is roughly analogous to the 4e damage on a miss actually. (innocuous and nice but nothing even slightly over powered)

1) not overpowered at all.
2) spell casters damage on a miss (called damage on a save) is almost always more powerful
3) has existed before in D&D and does in other d20 derived games currently
4) it can easily represent attacking in a way that always requires some effort/energy to evade.

No clue what there is to be bothered about.

 

[FrogReaver]

I think its half your level in damage on a miss. (which is roughly analogous to the 4e damage on a miss actually. (innocuous and nice but nothing even slightly over powered)

1) not overpowered at all.
2) spell casters damage on a miss (called damage on a save) is almost always more powerful
3) has existed before in D&D and does in other d20 derived games currently
4) it can easily represent attacking in a way that always requires some effort/energy to evade.

No clue what there is to be bothered about.

What is it?

 

[Garthanos]

Seems to be the very interesting blade dancer subclass of the Disciple and actually it is wisdom modifer... meaning even less of a power benefit than a 4e fighter ability (which also wasnt a problem).

What is it?

The Disciple 2.1.pdf

drive.google.com