Ancestral Weapon - Blood-Spattered Fury

[ThirdWizard]

So, here's a problem that has come up in my game. A player with a barbarian took the Ancestral Weapon paragon path, and there have been questions raised about blood-splattered fury. For reference, here is the effect on the power:

Hit: 2[W] + Strength modifier damage, and you mark the target until the end of your next turn. Until the mark ends, you and the target deal 1[W] extra damage against each other.

How does this interact with monsters? They don't have discrete "W" values for weapon. My first instinct was to say that their dice are a [W], much like the [W] for a greataxe is 2d6 even though it is technically two dice, but that makes the power horrible. For example, if the monster does 4d6+5 damage, suddenly it would be dealing 8d6+5 damage. The power isn't worth it at that point.

The other option is the [W] being just one dice and fudging that that 4d6+5 damage power is a 4[W] basic attack. But, at that point, it just seems too far in the barbarian's favor. It also seems inconsistent with other rules.

The underlying problem is, I think, that they shouldn't have used the [W] when monsters simply aren't built around the concept of it. The [W] is for players. It was designed for players. So, my third option is to house rule it to be +1d6 damage (or +1d8 or +1d10) for both the player and the monster.

Comments? Anybody else using this power in game? Am I simply over-thinking it?

 

[Deverash]

Personally, I'd look at their basic attack and treat that as their [W] (or 1/2 that number of dice at epic). But yeah, that's very odd. Definately something to ask WotC about.

 

[Ryujin]

I would just add another die of the same type that the attack deals.

 

[Piratecat]

I'd make the [w] be the correct die that the player used - so if he stabs the monster with a dagger, they're both doing an extra d4, and if he whacks him with a massive weapon they boh do an extra 2d6. That makes sure its balanced, and its a consistent solution.

I agree, though - it's unclear for monsters.

 

[coyote6]

I wonder if that (what P-cat said) is what they intended; since only PCs have [W] damage values, then the "1[W]" could be read as having to refer to the PC's [W] value (reasoning that it's the only [W] that exists, so the reference must be to it).

If so, it would be much clearer if it read "you and the target deal your 1[W] extra damage against each other".