D&D 5E House Rule: Weapons Do Something On a Miss

[Oofta]

One thing I'd consider is how much you miss by. For example if you miss by 5 or less you get the effect. Might also consider allowing people to get these benefits if they take a -5 to hit.

I'd have to try it out for a session.

 

[jmartkdr2]

That hasn't been my experience given typical attack bonuses and ACs, but of course everyone's experience is different.

It happens, but not super-often.

This was my initial reaction as well.

Another idea would be increasing attacks after misses. So, if you miss a target, you gain a +2 bonus on your next attack. You miss again, it increases to +4, and so on. This might represent the idea that your misses are teaching you something about your opponent's defenses, etc. and you next attack is more likely to hit because of what you have learned.

I like +1 per missed attack, so long as you stay on the same target.

if missing a lot is really an issue, this would help alleviate it some IMO and I don't think would be hard to track.

But that might not really be the direction the OP wants to go.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Missing is just missing.

Missing is failing to roll over or meet the target's AC. It is a game term.

Also, those examples, honestly, make little sense. A warhammer doesn't explode a 5' stone floor into rubble (making it difficult terrain).

They do in worlds where things are awesome.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I like +1 per missed attack, so long as you stay on the same target.

I thought about +1 initially, but if you are missing often due to design or bad luck, I don't know if +1 would feel like enough. +2 might be better or might be too much. It could go either way.

 

[embee]

Also, those examples, honestly, make little sense. A warhammer doesn't explode a 5' stone floor into rubble (making it difficult terrain).

They do in worlds where things are awesome.

No. They really don't.

Stone tile is AC 15 and has 30 hp per inch of thickness. So, no, the warhammer doesn't turn a 5' square of stone flooring to rubble when it hits the ground after missing the monster. Maybe it does 1HP of damage to the tile.

"Your hammer swings wide, the head catching the floor, putting a nice crack into it."

If the "problem" is that the players don't feel like they are a match for an enemy because they keep coming up short, then the problem IS that the players aren't a match for the enemy. Either the players should rethink the fight or the GM should rethink the encounter.

 

[BookTenTiger]

No. They really don't.

Stone tile is AC 15 and has 30 hp per inch of thickness. So, no, the warhammer doesn't turn a 5' square of stone flooring to rubble when it hits the ground after missing the monster. Maybe it does 1HP of damage to the tile.

"Your hammer swings wide, the head catching the floor, putting a nice crack into it."

If the "problem" is that the players don't feel like they are a match for an enemy because they keep coming up short, then the problem IS that the players aren't a match for the enemy. Either the players should rethink the fight or the GM should rethink the encounter.

You're getting wildly off topic here. This isn't a + thread (I'm fine with critiquing the ideas), but it's also not a thread about strategies or the thickness of floor tiles. I'd invite you to add some ideas, modify some ideas, or start your own thread about the topic.

 

[Vaalingrade]

No. They really don't.

Then that world is insufficiently awesome.

Stone tile is AC 15 and has 30 hp per inch of thickness. So, no, the warhammer doesn't turn a 5' square of stone flooring to rubble when it hits the ground after missing the monster. Maybe it does 1HP of damage to the tile.

Again, game rules, not physical rules of the universe. A stone tile shatters when it serves the purposes of the game to.

"Your hammer swings wide, the head catching the floor, putting a nice crack into it."

"-That explodes into a satisfying shower of plaster because that is more interesting and exciting."

 

[Vaalingrade]

You're getting wildly off topic here. This isn't a + thread (I'm fine with critiquing the ideas), but it's also not a thread about strategies or the thickness of floor tiles. I'd invite you to add some ideas, modify some ideas, or start your own thread about the topic.

In the version of this I'm genning, I also let them choose to hit an unattended object instead.

I don't make them automatic though. I give fighters a spell-point like resource that they can use to perform action above the normal power of an at-will.

 

[embee]

I like the idea that on a miss, a martial character still helps out their team!

The martial character is still helping out their team BY BEING ENGAGED IN MELEE COMBAT.

If the martial character isn't there, the monster will still attack someone who is potentially more vulnerable to that monster's attack.

 

[BookTenTiger]

The martial character is still helping out their team BY BEING ENGAGED IN MELEE COMBAT.

Is your intention to bully your way through this conversation? Using all caps reads as if you are yelling. That's not how I plan on holding this conversation, and I would prefer you to participate with more respect.

If the martial character isn't there, the monster will still attack someone who is potentially more vulnerable to that monster's attack.

That's true, though I've found in 5e it's a little more challenging to be a "sticky" melee combatant since you only get one reaction per round.