Jonathan Tweet denounces Power Attack

[Azgulor]

Its sad to see a parent turn on a child, from his blog:

Sigh. Another "fix" to something that never arose as broken at my gaming table.

 

[Hejdun]

I think 3.5 Power Attack had 2 problems:

1) It made 2-handed weapons obviously superior to sword and shield, to the point that there's really no point in having a (non-animated) shield anymore as a fighter. At least in 3.0 the disparity wasn't as bad.

2) The fact that it multiplied resulted in unintended slaughter. Scythe is a good example. Charging with a lance is another (seriously, ouch).

Going back to 3.0 Power Attack is pointless, since in 3.0 its sole purpose was as a pre-req for Cleave.

 

[Chris_Nightwing]

True.

The Remathilis way of using Power Attack.

Me: Ok, what bonuses are floating around right now?
Cleric: I have bless up, +1 to hit
Bard: Bardsong for +2
Wizard: I hasted everyone, that a +1 to hit.
Me: Great. [To DM] I'm Power Attacking for four...

Truly the Path to Enlightenment

 

[Olaf the Stout]

that's a tabletop play-time management issue.

DM "well what does olaf do?"

PC "let's see he attacks with a +12...no wait a +4 that would mean i'd do..."

DM "well'

PC "wait let me compare atatckign at +12 to aattacking at +4 with the dmage bonus...'

DM "Next player"

I do what now?

Olaf the Stout

 

[Michael Silverbane]

How about for a fixed escalation of attack roll penalty (-3/6/9), the character gets an extra damage die of some type (d6, or same die as weapon) per penalty range taken:

-3: +1d6
-6: +2d6
-9: +3d6

That's kind of what I was thinking, as well... Plus you get the added bonus of seeing fighters rolling a handfull of d6... That way they won't feel left out.

Later
silver

 

[Goobermunch]

EverQuest is just like Halo, except instead of running around a savanna in the back of a quad, firing a machine gun, you sit in the corner of a dungeon, not daring to move, for six hours, and after every fight, you wait 10 minutes to recharge before the one guy allowed to see the rest of the dungeon goes back out and brings (hopefully) a single monster back to where six people are waiting to jump him.

It was a riveting experience.

Sigg'd.

--G

 

[CleverNickName]

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

[Dragonblade]

Underperforming? Power attack?

I think Power Attack was many things, but underperforming wasn't one of 'em. It was pretty much a no-brainer for anyone wielding a two-handed weapon (except for maybe the party wizard with his staff).

I think this is one situation where overly enthusiastic power gamers are more to blame for any slow downs in game play. It isn't the feat's fault if you're constantly spending 5 minutes a turn trying to squeak out that last 0.10 HP of damage.

Yes, Power Attack is a great feat. But we never messed around with the sliding damage. Pretty much the only people to take Power Attack were two-handed weapon wielders.

Then it was pretty much -5 hit, +10 to damage!! Hopefully, the 4e feat will just work like that.

And hopefully it won't be nerfed in 4e. -5 to hit and +5 damage is too weak to make the feat viable, in my opinion. One point of attack bonus is worth more than one point of damage.

 

[Dragonblade]

I think 3.5 Power Attack had 2 problems:

1) It made 2-handed weapons obviously superior to sword and shield, to the point that there's really no point in having a (non-animated) shield anymore as a fighter. At least in 3.0 the disparity wasn't as bad.

2) The fact that it multiplied resulted in unintended slaughter. Scythe is a good example. Charging with a lance is another (seriously, ouch).

Going back to 3.0 Power Attack is pointless, since in 3.0 its sole purpose was as a pre-req for Cleave.

Multiples of damage is a good thing. It keeps the game exciting and fast paced.

Power attack is perfectly balanced at full effect for dual wielders. -5 to hit, +10 damage is perfect. Shield users should just be beefed up to compensate. +2 or more to AC instead of just +1 for using a shield. Or just say that shields provide a DR bonus in addition or instead of an AC bonus.

 

[FireLance]

I'm thinking that Power Attack may no longer be necessary in 4e. If fighters have access to per encounter and per day abilities, these abilities may be enough to keep up with the spellcasters. If access to abilities is based on the weapon used, then the major damage abilities could be restricted to big two-handed weapons like the greatsword and the greataxe, while light and finesse weapons like daggers and rapiers get other types of abilities, e.g. accurate or wounding attacks.