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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mike Sullivan" data-source="post: 968476" data-attributes="member: 9824">Two characters, both with 28 Str, both Ftr level 16, one of them with a Greatsword +4, the other with a Keen Falchion +3.Total AB's:Greatsword Guy: +16 (BAB), +1 (WF), +4 (Greatsword), +9 (Str) = +30/+25/+20/+15Falchion Guy:  +16 (BAB), +1 (WF), +3 (Falchion), +9 (Str) = +29/+24/+19/+14Damages:Greatsword Guy: 2d6 + 13 (Str) + 4 (Greatsword) +2 (WS), 17-20/x2 critFalchion Guy: 2d4 + 13 (Str) + 3 (Falchion) + 2 (WS), 12-20/x2 critExpected damage per round against an AC 25 (ie, low AC!) guy:1.  If he's not susceptible to crits.Greatsword guy, partial attack:Hits on a 2+, damage is 7 + 13 + 4 + 2 = 26 * .95 = 24.7Greatsword guy, full attack:Hits on a 2+, 2+, 5+, 10+, damage is 26 per hit = 26 * .95 + 26 * .95 + 26 * .8 + 26 * .55 = 84.5Falchion guy, partial attack:Hits on a 2+, damage is 5 + 13 + 3 + 2 = 23 * .95 = 21.85Falchion guy, full attack:Hits on a 2+, 2+, 6+, 11+, damage is 23 per hit = 23 * .95 + 23 * .95 + 23 * .75 + 23 * .5 =  72.45No surprises there, of course.  That's just for reference.2.  If he IS susceptible to critsGreatsword guy, partial attack:Hits on a 2+, damage is 7 + 13 + 4 + 2 = 26 * .95 * 1.2 = 29.64Greatsword guy, full attack:Hits on a 2+, 2+, 5+, 10+, damage is 26 per hit = (26 * .95 + 26 * .95 + 26 * .8 + 26 * .55) * 1.2 = 101.4Falchion guy, partial attack:Hits on a 2+, damage is 5 + 13 + 3 + 2 = 23 * .95 * 1.45 = 31.6825Falchion guy, full attack:Hits on a 2+, 2+, 6+, 11+, damage is 23 per hit = (23 * .95 + 23 * .95 + 23 * .75 + 23 * .5) * 1.45 =  105.0525Comments:  Falchion guy is ahead of the game...  by 7% on a partial attack and 3.6% on a full attack.  Woo hoo?Now, versus an AC 30 opponent who is susceptible to crits:Partial attacks are exactly like the AC 25 guy, so the falchion guy is still ahead of the game there.Greatsword guy, full attack:Hits on a 2+, 5+, 10+, 15+, 26 damage per hit = (26 * .95 + 26 * .8 + 26 * .55 + 26*.3) * 1.2 = 81.12Falchion guy, full attack:Hits on a 2+, 6+, 11+, 16+...  And that last one effectively lowers his crit range.  23 damage per hit, and that works out to:  (23 * .95 + 23 * .75 + 23 * .5) * 1.45 + .25 * 23 * 1.25 = 80.5575Comments:  Now the falchion guy is behind the greatsword guy in full attack damage.  And it only gets worse as he fights higher AC opponents.All of the above are with 3.0 rules, mind you.Now, what am I saying here?  That falchions are bad?  No.  They're a viable option.  That 6% damage on a partial attack is pretty good, and they're a gamble on whether or not your GM is going to throw a lot of crit-immune people at you, whether you'll be facing high-AC opponents or low, etc.What I am saying is that they aren't munchkin.  Though I recognize that your players may have got them out of that impulse, they did not particularly succeed (unless they know the game very well and know that they'll have lots of partial actions and lots of low-AC opponents who are susceptible to crits).  Whether you ought to, in 3.0 rules, use a greatsword of a falchion (or scythe) at high levels is a matter of individual choice and style.  The benefits, if any, are slight enough that you probably won't notice them -- and there may not be any benefits, over-all!By nerfing the stacked crit thresholds, 3.5 doesn't make weapon choice any more of a matter of many options with good and bad points for PC's -- they make it far more uniform.  Of the four main basic power-weapons that are two-handed and no-reach (greatsword, greataxe, falchion, scythe), greatsword stands out as fairly inarguably the best at all levels.Unless there are other changes we don't know about, of course.</blockquote>

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