Greataxe, greatsword, and a little math

[GlassJaw]

"Balance" sucks the life and soul out of RPGs.

A greatclub is the weapon of a Neanderthal. A greatsword is the product of sophisticated metalwork and engineering. It is ridiculous to suppose that they should be even close in effectiveness.

I agree! And nowhere in my post did I use the word "balance". There is a difference between homogeneous and symmetrical balance and offering interesting choices beyond "role-playing purposes". Again, that falls under the umbrella of lazy design in my book.

And maybe the greatclub is a bad example. It could be totally fine (although I do think it could be a club with versatile, but that's another issue). But when compared directly against the quarterstaff, it's pretty egregious. Heck, they are both Simple weapons and even cost the same.

 

[GlassJaw]

Better hurry, mine will be ready soon

Cool! Looking forward to it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I agree! And nowhere in my post did I use the word "balance". There is a difference between homogeneous and symmetrical balance and offering interesting choices beyond "role-playing purposes". Again, that falls under the umbrella of lazy design in my book.

And maybe the greatclub is a bad example. It could be totally fine (although I do think it could be a club with versatile, but that's another issue). But when compared directly against the quarterstaff, it's pretty egregious. Heck, they are both Simple weapons and even cost the same.

Compering something to the anomaly will inevitably produce an anomalous result. The quarterstaff being the anomaly, which clearly has inflated damage based on coolness.

But if the Greatclub bothers you, assign it the "heavy" property so it benefits from the Great Weapon Fighting feat.

 

[Rossbert]

Compering something to the anomaly will inevitably produce an anomalous result. The quarterstaff being the anomaly, which clearly has inflated damage based on coolness.

But if the Greatclub bothers you, assign it the "heavy" property so it benefits from the Great Weapon Fighting feat.

The designers have also openly admitted that some 'classic' options are deliberately overpowered (fireball and lightning bolt come to mind) the staff could theoretically be another one.

 

[GlassJaw]

The designers have also openly admitted that some 'classic' options are deliberately overpowered (fireball and lightning bolt come to mind) the staff could theoretically be another one.

Magic Missile too.

The quarterstaff was woefully under-powered in 3ed, so I wonder if the 5E incarnation was the pendulum swinging the other way.

 

[houser2112]

The designers have also openly admitted that some 'classic' options are deliberately overpowered (fireball and lightning bolt come to mind) the staff could theoretically be another one.

Wow, is this true? I often wondered why those spells started out at 8d6, but I figured it was because of the shift to everything being about hit points and damage instead of SoS, conditions, and such.

 

[TwoSix]

Wow, is this true? I often wondered why those spells started out at 8d6, but I figured it was because of the shift to everything being about hit points and damage instead of SoS, conditions, and such.

I can't dig up a reference, but I remembering hearing that during or even before the initial release.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Magic Missile too.

The quarterstaff was woefully under-powered in 3ed, so I wonder if the 5E incarnation was the pendulum swinging the other way.

It was stronger in 3rd than it was in 1st and 2nd, since it could be employed as a double weapon. But quarterstaff historically was 1d6 2h.


Looking to real history, the quarterstaff (and bowstave) was probably the most widely used personal defence weapon for hundreds of years. Obviously it's cheapness was a big factor, but it was also a very effective weapon in the hands of a skilled practitioner.

Note SKILLED. It would be used with precision to target vulnerable points, with the objective to disable, not necessarily kill, the attacker. It should be much less effective used by someone without training or against anything that didn't have human anatomy.

 

[Quartz]

Great, so a dagger should do the same damage as a longsword.

IIRC that was one simplification that the Warhammer FRPG suggested. IIRC all weapons did 1 die of damage.

 

[Warpiglet]

In truth, a point here or there will rarely matter much. How often will a BBEG go down by 1-2 points. Not 3, not 4, but 1-2 points at such a point that him NOT going down will result in death or disability for a party member.

I think the same holds true when we say something is MAD and we are aghast that someone has a 16! in an ability instead of an 18 or 20 when they "should." Even with bounded accuracy, we often make much more of this stuff than is warranted.

I will take a d12 weapon at times because I like the d12 and the thrill of maybe rolling a 12. Its fun. Its chance and adventure.

There are some abilities which impact only one die of weapon damage and in these fringe racial/feat cases, I suppose a d12 is more attractive.

I am not suggesting a d4 is as good as a d12, but 2d6 vs. d12? (shrug)