How much damage should an X level melee do?

[Ferrum]

So last gaming session I had the pleasure of doling out a ridiculous amount of damage with my melee optimized character. He's a barbarian 5/half-elemental paragon 3/fighter 7, swings a big axe, and thats pretty much the gist of it.

Since I don't have alot of experience playing D&D, let alone at this high of a level, I'm curious what amount of damage output is appropriate at this level?

Crunching some numbers, I average an ouput of 75-110 damage per full attack action against opponents with 25-30ac and no damage reduction (though my axe is adamantine and magic, of course). Is that alot? normal? below average?

One reason I ask is related to the alternate fighter ability in the PHBII, Overpowering Attack. This allows a 16th level fighter to make a single attack that does double damage in lieu of a full attack action. When I asked my DM about adapting this ability into a feat my charater could use, we both were concerned that if we did, I could force massive damage checks nearly every round without fail.

So... thoughts? experiences? suggestions?

 

[Rackhir]

That is not by any stretch of imagination excessive damage for a 16th lv mele combatant. If anything it is probably a bit on the light side. You are getting 4 attacks around with probably at least a mid 20's to 30's attack bonus with something on the order of a +15-20 damage.

Massive damage saves do get to be a bit of a problem as you reach the higher levels. You might want to look at some of the rule suggestions in the Epic Level Handbook for dealing with them.

 

[Fishbone]

Eh, I think that every hit you do should be a good 20 damage, at least, by that level, and if you're forcing massive damage checks you're doing at least 25 damage a smack. Get Hasted, Rage Up, two-handed wielding, get buffed through the roof, and you ought to be doing at least 25 damage a crack. Factor in DR and misses and about 100 damage a round at least should be the norm at such a high level. On Massive Damage Checks:
Seems like the bee's knees but then again for the foes you're facing at such a high level a DC 15 save is child's play. Its simply not worth giving up 75 to a 100 damage a full attack for. Simply not that uber.

 

[Ferrum]

Actually I average 42.5 damage on a sccessful hit. Doubling that would still be a fairly decent amount of damage. Since the attack would be at my highest attack bonus, I could add a bit more power attack without lowering my chance to hit by much. My attack bonus is +32 while raging. My damage is 1d12+22 while raging.

Even without doubling the damage, I'm nearly at a Massive Damage check. If I crit, then definately, but though my axe is keen, it never seems to happen. So I wouldn't be giving up much damage if I nixed a full attack. And though the chance of a foe failing a DC 15 fort save at my level is minimal, there's always a 5% chance he'll roll a one.

If polymorphed into a Fire Giant, on an overpowering attack that criticals, I'd do approximately 375 damage (435 if I charged the previous round, thanks to Combat Brute). Where does 435 damage from a single melee attack rank, taking into account optimal conditions?

I'm mostly just curious as to where I compare with the average melee. The damage I do seems like alot to me, but I guess its really just normal.