D&D 3E/3.5 Ambidexterity in 3.5

[Stalker0]

For me, saying that TWF needs the -2 is like saying you need to take a -2 on using an exotic weapon to balance it with martial weapons.

Even if TWF is better, you still have to take a feat to make it effective, and in this case you need 2. It SHOULD be better....but realistically even with no penalties to hit its still not always the optimum choice:

1) You still only get half your strength bonus to damage on the off-hand.
2) Its only useful on full round attacks.
3) You don't get the benefits of power attack (and DR cleaving) as you do with THF...and you don't get the AC of sword/board.

 

[Quasqueton]

You really need to put some smilies into that post, or people will think you were serious and start bashing you

I take it some think full Strength bonus on the off hand is too powerful? I've only once seen a two-weapon fighter with 16 strength, and never with 18. Most have 10-14 Strength.

Quasqueton

 

[iwatt]

You really need to put some smilies into that post, or people will think you were serious and start bashing you

Why do you think that? I've used full strength on the off-hand in my games with no proble. Admittedly, my reason was to simplify things for my players (late night games, change of ruleste, etc..) Now it stuck.

The fact is that the -2 penalty is a pretty good balnce all by itself. I'm only comparing here agaisnt THF since S&B is always behind damage wise.


take into account the following:

Fred Fighter with a 2 handed sword, Strength modifier of +s
Rog the Ranger with two short swords, Strength modifier of +s


suppose that Bob has an p/20 chance of hitting against a given target. His expected damage, no taking into account criticals our iterative attacks is:

Fred: (2d6+1.5*s)*p/20
= 7p/20+1.5*s*p/20

Rog on the other hand (using the house rule of full sterngth on the offhand) has:

Rog: 2*(1d6+s)*(p-2)/20
= 7*(p-2)/20+2*s*(p-2)/20

If you do the math, there's a value (pc) in which they break even, for a given value of s. Above pc, Rog does more damage.

s:1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
pc:36.0	22.0	17.3	15.0	13.6	12.7	12.0	11.5	11.1	10.8

As you can see, the higher the strength, the more likely that Rog will be outdamaging Fred.
At first this seems unbalancing until you consider that Fred has many more optons by which to amp up his damage (more feat availability).

Also the damage difference is the following:

for s=10 and p=20 (most extreme case)

Fred=22
Rog=24.3

Not something I'm to worried about. Specially when you factor in power attack. And damage reduction. but YMMV

 

[Ranger REG]

I've thought of having an Ambidexterity feat allow full Strength bonus to damage with the off hand (instead of .5 Strength bonus).

Not this again. You might as well call it AmbiSTRENGTH.

 

[Whimsical]

Not this again. You might as well call it AmbiSTRENGTH.

Well, it is logical. After all, if you are truly ambidexterious then you have no "off-hand" and there should be no difference between what you can do with one hand or another, right?

But is it a balanced feat that is not suseptable to abuse? I don't know. I don't think so, but I don't know.

 

[Ranger REG]

Well, it is logical. But is it a balanced feat that is not suseptable to abuse? I don't know. I don't think so, but I don't know.

AFAIC, Ambidexterity not only allow you to attack with your off-hand at no penalty but you get full Str bonus toward your melee attack roll. That's good enough for me.

To be honest, I see this as an alternative to the multiple attacks model of TWF. If you want no penalty on your off hand while TWF, then you limit to one off-hand attack per round. Period. Throw in the Ambistrength and you're fine.

 

[Whimsical]

I wasn't imagining Ambidexerity as removing TWF penalties. I was imagining it as simply making you have no off-hand and two "on-hands".

 

[Ranger REG]

I wasn't imagining Ambidexerity as removing TWF penalties. I was imagining it as simply making you have no off-hand and two "on-hands".

Then create an Ambi-strength feat.

 

[Whimsical]

You see adding strength, I see removing a downgrading of bonus damage. We're both right.

But...I'm still calling my feat Ambidexterity. I'm sorry that it will cause that vein on your forehead to throb whenever you see it.

I also drive on parkways and park on driveways.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

You cad!