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Brand new DM to 5E and many concerns...
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<blockquote data-quote="TallIan" data-source="post: 7521294" data-attributes="member: 6853819"><p>I think you might be getting stuck on the idea that an attack roll simulates a swing of the sword and a hit simulates an actual hit. The attack roll and damage roll are very abstract representations of a combat. Each round is 6 seconds and each parties turn represents a lots of feints, parries and maneuvers combining attack roll, damage roll, hit points and some other abilities (action surge being a good example) all represent a combatants ability to wear down his opponent enough to land the final, fatal blow.</p><p></p><p>It doesn't matter that the wizard hits as often because the fighter will cause more damage and can absorb more damage than the wizard.</p><p></p><p>I also think you may be failing to account for the fact that 5e uses ability score increases to represent progression. So the fighter, whose primary stat in this particular example is DEX, is going to be free to up his DEX at level 4, 6, etc. Whereas the Wizard is going to want to up his INT first. The fighter is also much more likely to have a higher DEX to begin with. So if you use the standard array and a normal human your fighter is more likely to look like this:</p><p></p><p>STR 11 DEX 16 CON 15 WIS 14 INT 9 CHA 13 (DEX being the primary and CON the secondary ability, the rest don't really matter for this)</p><p>To hit: +5 for 1d8+3 damage (rapier)</p><p>AC (Studded leather and defensive style): 16 </p><p>and he still has a hand free for TWF or a shield</p><p></p><p>While the wizard will more likely look like this:</p><p>STR 9 DEX 14 CON 15 WIS 11 INT 16 CHA 13 (INT being primary, CON required for concentration and DEX for AC both as secondary abilities)</p><p>To hit with weapons: +4 for 1d4+2 damage (dagger)</p><p>To hit with spells: +5 for 1d10 damage (fire bolt - no use once they engage in melee)</p><p>AC (Mage armour): 14 - once it can be 19 with Shield spell</p><p></p><p>So the wizard is actually hitting with weapons slightly less often than the fighter, but just as well with magic as the fighter is with weapons. The slight, possible anomaly where a wizard could get +5 to his dagger attack isn't really worth the extra complication in rules IMO.</p><p></p><p>Also keep in mind that the fighter has AC 16 all day long without spending an resources. The mage has to spend a spell slot, its not until level 5 that 1st level spells become trivial enough for that not be a big daily investment. So even if the wizard gets a DEX of 16 he can only match, by expending limited resources, what the fighter is able to do just getting dressed in the morning.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TallIan, post: 7521294, member: 6853819"] I think you might be getting stuck on the idea that an attack roll simulates a swing of the sword and a hit simulates an actual hit. The attack roll and damage roll are very abstract representations of a combat. Each round is 6 seconds and each parties turn represents a lots of feints, parries and maneuvers combining attack roll, damage roll, hit points and some other abilities (action surge being a good example) all represent a combatants ability to wear down his opponent enough to land the final, fatal blow. It doesn't matter that the wizard hits as often because the fighter will cause more damage and can absorb more damage than the wizard. I also think you may be failing to account for the fact that 5e uses ability score increases to represent progression. So the fighter, whose primary stat in this particular example is DEX, is going to be free to up his DEX at level 4, 6, etc. Whereas the Wizard is going to want to up his INT first. The fighter is also much more likely to have a higher DEX to begin with. So if you use the standard array and a normal human your fighter is more likely to look like this: STR 11 DEX 16 CON 15 WIS 14 INT 9 CHA 13 (DEX being the primary and CON the secondary ability, the rest don't really matter for this) To hit: +5 for 1d8+3 damage (rapier) AC (Studded leather and defensive style): 16 and he still has a hand free for TWF or a shield While the wizard will more likely look like this: STR 9 DEX 14 CON 15 WIS 11 INT 16 CHA 13 (INT being primary, CON required for concentration and DEX for AC both as secondary abilities) To hit with weapons: +4 for 1d4+2 damage (dagger) To hit with spells: +5 for 1d10 damage (fire bolt - no use once they engage in melee) AC (Mage armour): 14 - once it can be 19 with Shield spell So the wizard is actually hitting with weapons slightly less often than the fighter, but just as well with magic as the fighter is with weapons. The slight, possible anomaly where a wizard could get +5 to his dagger attack isn't really worth the extra complication in rules IMO. Also keep in mind that the fighter has AC 16 all day long without spending an resources. The mage has to spend a spell slot, its not until level 5 that 1st level spells become trivial enough for that not be a big daily investment. So even if the wizard gets a DEX of 16 he can only match, by expending limited resources, what the fighter is able to do just getting dressed in the morning. [/QUOTE]
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