Goliaths and Gigantic Weapon Feat

[StreamOfTheSky]

The races of stone powerful build ability blatantly specifies that it stacks with any abilities that increase size category. If he had the monkey grip feat he would be treated as a huge character for purposes of wielding weapons. Personally, this is broken. As a dm, I would make penalties. Example, there is no way to swing(Maybe even carry) a 30 foot sword in a room of almost any kind.

First of all, I recall monkey grip not stacking with powerful build for some specific reason. Even if I'm worng, monkey grip is a weak feat that only fools and people who don't mind being mechanically inferior if it means they can play a 12 year old girl with a giant hammer take. The -2 attack penalty is worth 4 damage via power attack, if not more with leap attack, as many will opt for.

Second of all, it's not broken. Goliaths have +1 LA and can't make use of enlarge person. Any regular human can suck down a 50 gp potion any given fight and get ALL the large benefits and drawbacks...like reach. Further more, in Magic Item Compendium, there are 6000 gp bracers that effectively give anyone powerful build in regards to weapon size. Obviously, you can't have powerful build twice, so this won't help the Goliath. Goliaths can use psionic tattoos of expansion to grow larger, but those are very costly (including x2 cost for a personal range power and needing at least manifester level 3 for it to have a longer duration than 1-2 rounds) and possibly not available if your DM hates psionics. So, assuming you're using the common splat books, since Goliath is IN one of them...a human actually has an easier time obtaining the ability to swing around a Huge weapon than a Goliath, without needing an LA.
/threadjack

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

First of all, I recall monkey grip not stacking with powerful build for some specific reason.

Yep. Essentially, Monkey Grip is a feat that does the same thing as Powerful build but in an inferior fashion...and as such, they don't stack.

monkey grip is a weak feat that only fools and people who don't mind being mechanically inferior if it means they can play a 12 year old girl with a giant hammer take. The -2 attack penalty is worth 4 damage via power attack, if not more with leap attack, as many will opt for.

I, sir, AM that fool!

While that -2 Penalty is worth 4 via PA, MG may be worth nearly the same (on average) with certain weapons as their base damage goes up. For instance, a PC using a M Greatsword would go up an additional 3.5 damage using a L Greatsword.

Besides that, it has fit a couple of PCs I designed and it worked out just fine. And its use doesn't preclude PA, Leap Attack and so forth.

And I've even used it with all of those combined with the Heavy Weapon feat.

Sure, it was feat intensive, but using an oversized, alchemical Gold weapon with PA & Leap led to some SPECTACULAR hits...and some hilarious misses!

Mechanically inferior? Perhaps. Roleplaying treasure? Possibly that as well.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Mechanically inferior? Perhaps. Roleplaying treasure? Possibly that as well.

Oh, I completely understand. Knowing it ot be mechanically inferior and taking it anyway just to use a big ass weapon is cool. That would be the 2nd of my two camps for people who take the feat. I guess it can eventually even out with PA...but you're still paying a feat to just pull even with PA (which you'd have already anyway, right? )

A much easier way to a massive weapon is Greater Mighty Wallop from Races of the Dragon iirc. So long as your DM allows you to flavor the spell as actually increasing the weapon's size (without changing the weight, heh heh)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I guess it can eventually even out with PA...but you're still paying a feat to just pull even with PA (which you'd have already anyway, right? )

MG is just barely worse than basic PA with certain weapons, without any additional feats.

But another one of the secrets to MG being a better deal than PA in certain circumstances is that it has no Str prereq!

IOW, it opens up PA type damage to PCs who don't qualify for PA.

Yes, that does mean they don't have any of the Str that would offset some of that attack penalty, but if/when they hit, they hit a LOT harder than they ought to.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

On the other hand, if you can't even manage str 13 for power attack, your size huge or whatever weapon will likely encumber you.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

On the other hand, if you can't even manage str 13 for power attack, your size huge or whatever weapon will likely encumber you.

That's why you get your hands on one of those various hyperdimensional storage magic items.

Oversized Greatspear works great with a Quiver of Ehlonna...

And anyway, a Str 12 PC is nearly as strong as one with a 13Str.