Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Arkhandus" data-source="post: 3735927" data-attributes="member: 13966">Of course.  A greatsword, for instance, does 2-3 or 2-4 times as much damage as a dagger, before even factoring in Strength and stuff like Power Attack (2d6 vs. 1d3, or 2d6 vs. 1d4; in EQd20, a dagger does 1d3, IIRC).The dagger-wielder will only get one or two extra attacks per round, depending on level (and at low level, they won't get any extra attacks), and the last one or two of those attacks will be at a rather low attack bonus.The greatsword-wielder will be doing around double or triple the damage typically, maybe even quadruple the damage, which will make up for the fewer attacks per round; and will be much more effective in situations where the dagger-wielder's low attack bonus with the iteratives makes him miss half the time.Also, if they face an enemy with Damage Reduction or need to destroy an object, the greatsword-wielder will fare better since their damage is lumped together in a few big hits, while the dagger-wielder does just a bit of damage each time, which adds up to a similar but slightly lower amount (or much lower if they missed on the one or two extra iterative attacks, which will have a low attack bonus).  The dagger-wielder will do little if any harm to the critter with DR or the big tough obstacle that's blocking the path/treasure.The dagger-wielder won't be more accurate usually; only one or two of his iterative attacks, at best, may be 1 or 2 points higher in attack bonus than the iterative attacks of a swordsman, but one or two of their other iterative attacks will be at a very low attack bonus.So: A dagger-wielder can be almost as effective, and do better against groups of weak enemies perhaps (assuming the greatsword-wielder doesn't just Cleave through them all quickly), and may do better if his weapon is enchanted with lots of bonus damage (since he'll occasionally hit more often), but even that's uncertain since his typical damage will be lower.  A greatsword-wielder will get one or two fewer attacks, but still do much more damage per hit, so he'll still have an advantage but not as drastic an advantage.</blockquote>

Verification