D&D 5E "Damage on a miss" poll.

[ForeverSlayer]

That's one way of looking at it.

Another is that it simply demonstrates that whoever wrote it simply didn't understand how and why the d20 system works, which calls any other d20-like mechanics they've written into suspicion.

If these types of mechanics become too widespread and ingrained too deeply into the system then the modularity goes out the window.

It's very lazy design.

 

[Halivar]

If this is the "tip of the iceberg", or emblematic of an egregiously offensive design philosophy, then there ought to be other examples of such mechanics in the playtest packet. What are they?

 

[dmgorgon]

What cancer really does, ultimately, is kill people.

The mechanic isn't going to kill anyone. So please drop the vehemence of the rhetoric down a few notches. They hyperbole gets in the way of reasoned discussion.

If you're not in the mood for reasoned discussion, then you can just stop. You may rest assured that others have gotten the idea that you don't like it, and move on to something a bit more constructive.

It automatically kills the princess. Which is a problem for me.

 

[dmgorgon]

If this is the "tip of the iceberg", or emblematic of an egregiously offensive design philosophy, then there ought to be other examples of such mechanics in the playtest packet. What are they?

Second Wind is a good example.

 

[dmgorgon]

If the range increment of the throw is 5', it cannot go further than 5' from the target you aimed at, and therefore you would always deal damage to the target you aimed at. And if the range increment is 10' but the creature is larger and takes up more squares, you'd also always do damage to the creature on a miss.

How often is the range increment 5? If I recall correctly for larger creatures you take the adjacent square. You don't pick a square inside the creature.

Anyway, like I said, all you're doing here is showing how much 3e screwed up some of the rules.

At best you are trying to convince people that the rules for slash damage needs to be corrected. You can't use problems with this rule to justify problems with GWF.

 

[herrozerro]

Second Wind is a good example.

I assume you are going for the iceberg meaning things 4e did? Because second wind doesn't have anything to do with GWF.

 

[Bluenose]

That's not true at all. Even if I take your interpretation for hit points, I could argue that on a 1 the GWF shouldn't do anything to effectively reduce hit points. If the GWF practically fumbles his sword his opponent shouldn't be forced to take any damage (physical or not). Regardless of how you interpret hit point damage there should always be a chance that you fail to be effective, especially when the odds are greatly against you. Things like Cover, Intoxicated, Blindness, Blur, and several other conditions and situations shouldn't just be ignored.

You could argue that on a 1 nothing should happen. Of course the implication that there's nothing else happens in 6 seconds of combat looks pretty silly to me, and even a blow that misses can force someone ro move into a weaker position. As for the idea that there should always be a chance to fail to do hit point damage, I donb't notice you applying it to magic, though of course that's because Magic Is So Special and mundane is really easy. Besides, since your list of conditions which should stop it applying all amount to saying it's possible to miss and therefore hit point damage can't apply, and I don't believe hit point damage is necessrily physical at all (and the Next rules seem to agree with me rather than you), I don't see any way for us to have a rational discussion on this subject.

 

[herrozerro]

Should we also remove potent cantrip from the evocation wizard? Same deal, at will on a miss damage without any kind of save.

 

[bogmad]

Should we also remove potent cantrip from the evocation wizard? Same deal, at will on a miss damage without any kind of save.

Perhaps. At least it makes you wait til 5th level.

[edit: addition]
I wouldn't have as much of a problem if the fighter miss damage was explained as him growing in skill until he was a badass. If you give him a "miss on less than 5" mechanic he may as well never miss with bounded accuracy and increasing attack bonuses.

 

[herrozerro]

Perhaps. At least it makes you wait til 5th level.

well that's 1 level for every 10 feet of range you get