Damage Bonus Based on BAB?

[Dragonblade275]

Are there any good systems for increasing damage bonuses based on character level, BAB, or hit dice that would be easy to implement across the entire system without over-complicating the game?

What I'm thinking is that melee characters should get better at dealing damage as their skill increases in much the same way that casters deal more damage as their caster level increases.

I'm considering adding an house rule that rules that melee & ranged weapons cause the listed damage plus 1 point of damage per BAB of the attacker. Though, I'm wondering if it would be too strong of a bonus to damage? This rule would apply to PC's, NPC's, monsters, etc...

Is there a better way to do it? Are there any reasons not to do it?

 

[Deus Ex Machina]

That would definitely close the gap with casters and might just be worth considering.

How do you justify the extra damage on ranged attacks though? Better accuracy?

 

[Dragonblade275]

A Second Option

If a damage bonus equal to BAB is too good... What about having a three tiered system of damage bonuses based on whether the BAB of the attacker was in the good, fair, or poor category? The damage bonuses could be tabulated in the same manner as good, fair, or poor saving throws are tabulated.

So, a character with a good BAB of +5 would add +4 to damage. But, a character with a +5 BAB with a poor BAB progression would only add +1 to damage.

Any thoughts?

 

[Dragonblade275]

That would definitely close the gap with casters and might just be worth considering.

How do you justify the extra damage on ranged attacks though? Better accuracy?

I'm pretty much thinking as the bonus to damage as being a skill bonus. Better accuracy is a good way to put it. If my character really has a +10 to hit, he should be more skilled at dealing damage than a character with a +1 to hit.

 

[kaomera]

It might or might not be "too strong", but I think you'll see a big impact in the game. 1/2 or 1/3 BAB might be more reasonable. The difference in damage between a dagger and a greatsword is only an average of 4.5.

You could use the difference by which an attacker beats the defender's AC, but that would require more maths.

Make sure you think about treating this bonus damage the same way that you would Str bonus with regards to light or 2H weapons.

My personal thoughts where this:

   BAB       Minimum   Light or Off-Hand
 +1 to +5      1d6           1d3
 +6 to +9      1d8           1d4
+10 to +13     1d10          1d6
+14 to +17     1d12          1d8
+18 to +20     1d12          1d10

Where "Minimum" is the minimum weapon damage (before any other bonuses) the character will cause in melee (if the weapon naturally does more than this, use the normal weapon damage), and "Light or Off-Hand" is the minimum for a light or off-hand (or possibly ranged) weapons. A weapon that is light and off-hand deals normal damage.

 

[Dragonblade275]

It might or might not be "too strong", but I think you'll see a big impact in the game. 1/2 or 1/3 BAB might be more reasonable. The difference in damage between a dagger and a greatsword is only an average of 4.5.

Thanks, Kaomera.

You could use the difference by which an attacker beats the defender's AC, but that would require more maths.

I had considered this and I do think it's a good option, were it not for adding more math to combat.

Make sure you think about treating this bonus damage the same way that you would Str bonus with regards to light or 2H weapons.

Good idea! I hadn't considered that. Thank you for mentioning this.

My personal thoughts where this:

   BAB       Minimum   Light or Off-Hand
 +1 to +5      1d6           1d3
 +6 to +9      1d8           1d4
+10 to +13     1d10          1d6
+14 to +17     1d12          1d8
+18 to +20     1d12          1d10

Where "Minimum" is the minimum weapon damage (before any other bonuses) the character will cause in melee (if the weapon naturally does more than this, use the normal weapon damage), and "Light or Off-Hand" is the minimum for a light or off-hand (or possibly ranged) weapons. A weapon that is light and off-hand deals normal damage.

I see the merit in this, but it's not what I'm looking for.

I'll definitely remember to treat the bonus damage like STR damage when it comes to two handed weapons.

Thank you.

 

[Dragonblade275]

What I'm Trying to Accomplish

We're using a variant of the Unearthed Arcana variant of using Armor as Damage Reduction. The problem is that this variant is making combat a lot longer. But, my players and I really like the idea of Armor as Damage Reduction. So, it's here to stay. But, there needs to be a way to ensure that higher level characters do more damage so that one or two combat encounters don't take all night to play out.

I'm strongly leaning toward the idea of having a three-tiered damage bonus progression. Which tier the character uses depends upon whether they have a good, fair, or poor BAB progression. The damage bonus would then be as follows:

       DAMAGE BONUS
BAB  Good  Fair  Poor
+1      +2    +0   +0
+2      +3    +1   +0
+3      +3    +1   +1
+4      +4    +2   +1
+5      +4    +2   +1
+6      +5    +3   +2
+7      +5    +3   +2
+8      +6    +3   +2
+9      +6    +4   +3
+10     +7    +4   +3
+11     +7    +5   +3
+12     +8    +5   +4
+13     +8    +6   +4
+14     +9    +6   +4
+15     +9    +6   +5
+16     +10   +7   +5
+17     +10   +7   +5
+18     +11   +8   +6
+19     +11   +8   +6
+20     +12   +9   +6

So, characters that are primarily martial get greater bonus damage based on BAB than semi-martial and non-martial characters. And, the damage bonus is multiplied by 1.5 if the character is using a two-handed weapon.

 

[Arkhandus]

...You know that already exists, right? It's called the Power Attack feat. :\

But if you really want to add another mechanic, that's up to you. But for Pete's sake, don't multiply the effect for two-handed weapons!! Everything and its cousin gets multiplied for two-handed weapons already!! It's not like the sword-and-board fighter, the two-weapon fighter, and the swashbuckler don't already have a hundred nails in each of their coffins. A zweihander is already absurdly over-favored in 3.5E mechanics, and already deals ridiculously greater damage than anyone else. :\

 

[Nifft]

...You know that already exists, right? It's called the Power Attack feat.

Ah, hell. I wanted to make that joke.

I love SW Saga too, but D&D is more melee-focused, so Power Attack is more relevant than it is in SW Saga.

Cheers, -- N

 

[FireLance]

Here's one possible fairly simple rule: when you attack as a standard action, you deal additional damage equal to your BAB. This cuts down on some abuse as you don't get this bonus damage on a full attack or when charging.