D&D 5E Does anyone boost GWF style?

[Kobold Stew]

If you aren't liking the re-rolls, you could just switch back to the playtest version of Great Weapon Fighting style: Do your strength modifier in damage when you miss someone with a weapon attack.

Ha ha ha -- so many people hated that!

 

[snickersnax]

I was feeling in a mathy mood so I decided to calculate the RAW GWF bonus (reroll 1s and 2s). I'm sure its been done elsewhere, but I've never seen it or bothered to do it myself, and its not that hard to calculate.

Rolling a d8 average damage improves by 0.75
d10 average damage improves by 0.8
d12 average damage improves by 0.833
2d6 average damage improves by 1.33

 

[snickersnax]

Another option is to change dueling to match the "NPC fighting style" which is parry as a reaction for +2 bonus to AC or perhaps parry for proficiency bonus. It feels more like dueling than the current dueling feature.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

I honestly removed it, finding it pointlessly fiddly and time consuming for such a negligible bonus. It would get forgotten frequently anyways.

I left the feat intact, so it isn't like great weapon users are hurting for damage. I'd be leery of bringing back "damage on a miss" simply because it might push the feat even more into OP territory.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

double post

 

[Kalshane]

I actually tried GWF=Strength Damage on miss (well, we did a miss within 5 of the AC) in a game I ran and we ended up ditching it because no one remembered to use it and it didn't feel right in any case.

I like the dice boost we do now because while the average damage increase is about the same as granted by dueling style, a GWF stylist crits harder, which gives it a different feel than dueling.

Another thought (not sure what it would mean math-wise) would be GWF-style does maximum normal weapon damage on a crit plus rolling the dice a second time. (So critting with a greatsword would be 2d6+Str+12 damage rather than 4d6+Str.) It would probably make GWFing the default style for Champion fighters, though.

 

[JPicasso]

I don't mind the re-rolls, per se, I just don't think a 1 to 1.3 to damage is on par with either twf or dueling.
I would almost go to something like advantage on damage rolls, but I use savage attack for our champion, so I don't want to do the same with the pally.

Right now, I'll probably go with +1d4. Sounds fun. The paladin will get to roll his entire dice bag, one of each!

 

[Mistwell]

It isn't necessary. Even if you put the feat aside (which is generally a bit disingenuous when you consider that most games allow the feat and few PCs have GWF, but not GWM for more than a few levels),

What the heck is disingenuous about a guy asking about A HOUSE RULE FOR HIS GAME? What the heck does it matter if "most games" do X when he's just asking for house rule ideas for his own game and not "most" games?

Getting to reroll 1 and 2 is effectively nearly a +1 per die, and when you get to do it on critical dice as well, it adds up. Dueling's superiority is clear, but it isn't like people are clamering about duelist approaches being overpowered.

Again, he's asking about a house rule for his own game, not for a change to the rules. It seems like you didn't read his post and assumed he was asking something pretty different from what he actually asked?

 

[Horwath]

+1d6 damage

 

[FrogReaver]

Wondering if anyone has any homebrew boosts to GWF style to bring it up to par with Dueling style. I'm talking about the fighting style choice, not the feat. The feat could stand to be possibly nerfed, but I'm not talking about that.

If Dueling gives one +2 straight damage, plus the option of shield,casting, it seems that the fighting style for two handed weapons falls a little short, with it's one-time reroll -on base weapon damage only - for 1's and 2's isn't nearly as good. So I'm wondering if anyone enhances GWF style a bit, to make it more fun?

for instance, a +1 AC, or straight +2 like dueling, or letting characters apply divine, sneak or extra damage to the 1's and 2's rule?


EDIT: Took out reference to dueling option being two-weapon fighting, oops.

Just curious. Have you actually played with both GWF style and Duelist Style and concluded that GWF style is strictly inferior to either defensive style or Duelist style? Or is this based on eyeballing the numbers or some kind of mathematical analysis?

I could attempt to explain why GWF is the best 5e melee fighter out there even with what sounds like an inferior style but I'm not going to try and do that. Instead I'm just going to say that even if you do make GWF style better that as long as you don't modify it to be much better than +2 damage like duelist then you should be fine.

I mean heck, Barbarians get +2 damage with great weapons while raging and it doesn't hurt anything there.