D&D General Would You Take This Deal?

Zardnaar · Jan 24, 2021

DM offers you a blade. Any physical attacks you make with a weapon deal double damage.

Your current maximum and current hit points are reduced by 75%.

Deal or no deal? I'm playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey on Nightmare difficulty with a combo that gives me 350% damage but I can't use any abilities and -75% health.

Thought about same deal in D&D.

Iry · Jan 25, 2021

Sounds like a job for Echo Knight!

Stormonu · Jan 25, 2021

Nope. That's like what - 1d2+1 hp per level, with an 18 Con?

ccs · Jan 25, 2021

Well, I can keep a d4 hd/lv wizard alive in 1e. And even at 8th/9th lv my 1/2ling Warlock here in 5e is squishy as can be HP wise.
So I'm reasonable sure I could cope mechanically with being reduced to only 25%.

Wether I took the deal would depend alot upon the character I'm playing. Does this make sense? Does it fit? Does it make the character more interesting.

Dausuul · Jan 25, 2021

Let's consider an 8th-level fighter with 14 Con.

Normally, that's 68 hit points.
With this weapon, it's... 17. 17 hit points against the sort of things you fight at 8th level.

No way in hell. Not even if it was x4 damage instead of x2. You'd never even get to swing the dang sword, some mook archer would drop you while you were still charging into combat.

Shiroiken · Jan 25, 2021

Sucker's bet. Even dealing double damage each round, you'll only be active at 25% (i.e. you'll spend only 25% of your normal active fighting time). This means that your damage output is 2x 25% = 50% normal. You'll deal lots of damage on the first few fights, but the amount of healing needed to keep you active won't outweigh the benefit.

EzekielRaiden · Jan 25, 2021

Shiroiken said:
Sucker's bet.

Absolutely.

A major part of why such a benefit could work in a video game is that players almost always have FAR more HP than the hits they're expected to take, and it's VERY easy to keep throwing yourself at the same fight until you get through it with no errors.

Neither of these statements is true in D&D. Three solid hits will take out many characters against reasonable-at-level monsters. And you can't "reload" and try again until you get it right.

TBeholder · Jan 25, 2021

Zardnaar said:
DM offers you a blade. Any physical attacks you make with a weapon deal double damage.

Your current maximum and current hit points are reduced by 75%.

Depends on the context.
In a "padded sumo" match (both sides have enough of HP that law of large numbers reigns supreme, only the averages really matter)? You would go down in 3/4 as many rounds, but the enemy goes down in 1/2 as many rounds, so yes, it's a good trade-off.
Against swarms of feeble enemies for whom the default damage is already excessive? No, because greater damage doesn't matter, while less HP do.
If the enemy is likely to drop you with one hit either way, while you are whittling down a pile of hitpoints? Yes, because your HP matter little, but you'll have to withstand only 1/2 as many incoming attacks until it's over.
In other conditions, may vary.

Baldurs_Underdark · Jan 25, 2021

It's a poor deal for a melee-fighter because they wouldn't survive past the 1st round of combat.
It would be acceptable for a ranged fighter - but squishy things that deal damage at range already exist: Wizards.

Blue · Jan 25, 2021

Would I want in general to have double the damage and a quarter the HPs? No. Would I do it for one character to have a unique experience? Also sure. So I'd definitely take it assuming I could build my character around that.

Hmm, maybe paladin for heavy nova damage - a dead foe doesn't attack you - plus AC and saves. Too bad it was "blade", so it's not a reach weapon allowing me to retreat without needing to disengage.

Something that grants a lot of tHP maybe?

Too bad it's already magical, otherwise make it a dagger, take 2 levels of artificer for Returning and the rest as rogue. Ranged rogues are pretty survivable.

Blue · Jan 25, 2021

Shiroiken said:
Sucker's bet. Even dealing double damage each round, you'll only be active at 25% (i.e. you'll spend only 25% of your normal active fighting time). This means that your damage output is 2x 25% = 50% normal. You'll deal lots of damage on the first few fights, but the amount of healing needed to keep you active won't outweigh the benefit.

This is only true assuming you normally hit zero at the end of every battle. If you normally take no damage every battle, you'll be at 200% (100% x 2). The reality is somewhere between the two.

If you normally take 50% of your HPs in a battle, then it takes you half a battle to take 25% and go down, so you're 1/2 a battle * 2 effectiveness = normal effectiveness. Except that you can be stood up, and if you get more actions they are twice as effective as actions getting stood up otherwise.