Are they getting away from strength giving "to hit bonus" and just damage?

[Emirikol]

Are they getting away from strength giving "to hit bonus" and just damage and moving towards dex for "to hit" and strength for "damage bonus?"

That overdependence on strength for the double bonus (that and the double multiple for 2 handed weapons) seemed to really be part of the unbalancing factor of D&D.

Projections? Speculations?

jh

 

[Darklone]

It's an eon old discussion and I would ask you dearly to check out elder threads about these topics.

Realismwise:
Most of the "Dex to hit" camp dudes say it's more realistic. It's not, say all people who tried real weapons. Strength gives control and effectivity AND speed. I would rather not delve deeper into this topic (e.g. realism).

Ruleswise:
Actually I think the Str vs Dex defition is one of D&Ds strengths compared to other games. The game is not unbalanced due to the definition, high dex chars are ok in D&D and not less effective than high str chars.

So I do hope it will stay.

 

[Imaro]

If this is the case...won't it just make Dex (armor class/ranged to hit/melee to hit/alot of useful skills) the new uber stat? In my games I already see alot of my players torn between Dex and Str and I think right now they kind of balance each other out. Making Dex the new melee to-hit stat would, IMHO, skew this balance? I guess I would have less of a problem if resources (like feats or talents) are expended to make Dex work this way, but making it the default wouldn't be a good choice IMHO.

 

[DreamChaser]

Well it appears at least for special abilities, each class will use their best stat.

So wizard attacks with dagger: probably strength
Wizard attacks with magic missile: probably intelligence
Warlock attacks with eldritch blast: probably charisma
Rogue uses a sneak attack: probably dexterity

DC

 

[mmadsen]

Are they getting away from strength giving "to hit bonus" and just damage and moving towards dex for "to hit" and strength for "damage bonus?"

I have no idea what they're up to, but I would love to see strength divorced from accuracy, so we could have big, lumbering giants swing and miss their little, agile foes.

 

[Mirtek]

I have no idea what they're up to, but I would love to see strength divorced from accuracy, so we could have big, lumbering giants swing and miss their little, agile foes.

Maybe the description of the paladin smites means that the ability score used for an attack will vary depending on the attack.

Attack with weapon: Strength versus AC = BAB + misc + Str vs. AC
Safeguard smite: Charisma versus AC = BAB + misc + Cha vs. AC

 

[pawsplay]

Str will be used to hit as long as Armor Class is used to avoid being hit.

 

[Voss]

Yet with the paladin smites, we already have examples where that isn't true.
Actually, in 3rd edition we have situations where that isn't true...

 

[Stalker0]

I have no idea what they're up to, but I would love to see strength divorced from accuracy, so we could have big, lumbering giants swing and miss their little, agile foes.

The problem is not with strength stats, its the way BAB is calculated.

A giant has big strength AND big base attack bonus due to its large hitdice. Normally the big strength would be partially knocked out due to the size penalty to attack rolls. However, add in the BAB and the giant becomes a good hitter.

Although realistically if you want to model the giant big hit, lots of misses model...just make them use full power attack. They will miss the vast majority of the time, but anything they touch will turn to paste.


Strength needs to stay the main stat for attack rolls over dex unless dex is greatly weakened in other areas. Dex is just too good a stat if it affects reflex, initiative, armor class, a lot of skills, AND attack rolls

 

[mmadsen]

The problem is not with strength stats, its the way BAB is calculated.

A giant has big strength AND big base attack bonus due to its large hitdice.

When I first ran some players through a 3E adventure, their first fight against an ogre felt wrong -- hit, kill, hit, kill; it was super-accurate and super-deadly. I wanted the ogre to miss but wallop the poor guy who didn't get out of the way.