D&D 5E Improving Weapon Damage (+)

[Stormonu]

One of the things I have been considering is giving fighters an ability, feat, weapon style or maneuver that allows them to increase their damage dice with weapon attacks. It's something similar to the martial arts increase the monk gets for unarmed attacks. With the fighter getting extra attacks, I'm not sure when or where though, this should be implemented. Nor whether it should be limited to Fighters, or something also given out to Paladins, Rangers and Barbarians (though I'd sure like to!).

Note: For Great Weapon Master and Sharpshooter, I've already changed it to losing your proficiency bonus to hit (instead of -5) to deal x2 PB damage (instead of a flat +10), if that has an effect on your opinion.

Also, which progression do you think would be better to use?

d4 --> d6 --> d8 --> d10 --> d12/2d6 --> d6+d8 --> 2d8 --> d8 +d10 --> 2d10 --> d10 + d12 --> 2d12.
(This ensures the average increases by 1 point per increase, I don't think handling two different dice will be much of an issue)
or

d4 --> d6 --> d8 --> 1d10 --> 1d12/2d6 --> 2d8 --> 2d10 --> 2d12
(At 2d8 and above, the increase is 2 points, instead of 1)

 

[payn]

I miss crit threat ranges and damage multipliers. Maybe Fighters can get some of those?

 

[Ruin Explorer]

One of the things I have been considering is giving fighters an ability, feat, weapon style or maneuver that allows them to increase their damage dice with weapon attacks. It's something similar to the martial arts increase the monk gets for unarmed attacks. With the fighter getting extra attacks, I'm not sure when or where though, this should be implemented. Nor whether it should be limited to Fighters, or something also given out to Paladins, Rangers and Barbarians (though I'd sure like to!).

Note: For Great Weapon Master and Sharpshooter, I've already changed it to losing your proficiency bonus to hit (instead of -5) to deal x2 PB damage (instead of a flat +10), if that has an effect on your opinion.

Also, which progression do you think would be better to use?

d4 --> d6 --> d8 --> d10 --> d12/2d6 --> d6+d8 --> 2d8 --> d8 +d10 --> 2d10 --> d10 + d12 --> 2d12.
(This ensures the average increases by 1 point per increase, I don't think handling two different dice will be much of an issue)
or

d4 --> d6 --> d8 --> 1d10 --> 1d12/2d6 --> 2d8 --> 2d10 --> 2d12
(At 2d8 and above, the increase is 2 points, instead of 1)

Increasing weapon dice is a great concept, but the difficulty is the lack of design space for it.

Feats - They're already in huge competition with ASIs, and melee combatants have the most Feats which are close to necessary. So probably not great.

Weapon Style - Would likely be a no-brainer choice over most other styles, and you get a very small number of styles ever, unless you get a Feat in which case see the Feat issue again.

Manuever - BMs already get bonus damage.

So just adding it as a bonus ability seems the most sensible way to go.

I wouldn't limit it to Fighters - I'd definitely include basically everyone but Full Casters in it (and maybe even the Full Caster subclasses which were melee-oriented).

One thing that's already weird-as-hell in D&D is that cantrips scale up to level 17, which is actually faster scaling than Fighters get attacks (as they have to stupidly wait to 20 for their last attack), but all non-Fighter classes that get multiple attacks only get 1 extra attack at 5. Which means casters are scaling when non-casters are not. That's just bad design imo. By adding this to other classes as well as Fighters (but not Full Casters) particularly if you had it scale at 11 and 17, you'd be helping the game, frankly.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I think this is a great idea!

Another way to implement it would be to give fighters a "weapon die" they always roll when dealing damage with a weapon. It could start off as a d4 or d6 and grow over time.

So a fighter using a battle-axe would roll a d10 and a d4 for damage. Later they would roll a d10+d6, then d10+d8 and so on.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I think this is a great idea!

Another way to implement it would be to give fighters a "weapon die" they always roll when dealing damage with a weapon. It could start off as a d4 or d6 and grow over time.

So a fighter using a battle-axe would roll a d10 and a d4 for damage. Later they would roll a d10+d6, then d10+d8 and so on.

That's a good suggestion and may well be a better approach as it's a lot easier to balance. Though I'd probably not go for a steady increase like a monk, but a couple of specific points it kicks in by a larger amount.

 

[delericho]

I like the idea of increasing damage type.

It's also one of the very few reasons I wouldn't object to bringing in some of the more obscure dice types into the game, as they give some space above the d12 for expansion.

 

[James Gasik]

The NPC Gladiator has an ability that increases their weapon damage by one die. Something like that which the Fighter can learn seems perfectly reasonable.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I miss crit threat ranges and damage multipliers. Maybe Fighters can get some of those?

Amen to that. Maybe Fighting Style also comes with a weapon choice that grants the weapon one of these?

 

[DND_Reborn]

One of the things I have been considering is giving fighters an ability, feat, weapon style or maneuver that allows them to increase their damage dice with weapon attacks. It's something similar to the martial arts increase the monk gets for unarmed attacks. With the fighter getting extra attacks, I'm not sure when or where though, this should be implemented. Nor whether it should be limited to Fighters, or something also given out to Paladins, Rangers and Barbarians (though I'd sure like to!).

Before I can respond, I need to ask:

Is there a perceived problem you are trying to solve with this?

Or is this just something you think Fighters (or warriors in general) should have simply "because"?

 

[Stormonu]

Mostly, "because".

As I have been pondering this, I'm wondering if it would make a good "light weapon" fighting style; at level 1 it increases the damage you deal with light weapons to the next higher die, maybe at 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th it goes up a die each time.

It would make a knife-fighter build viable at the least, I would think.