Lowest Attack Bonus possible?

[Hypersmurf]

For some reason, I decided to try and figure out what the worst possible attack bonus a PC could have, using only the Core Rules, and still hit on a natural 20.

I propose a 20th level Ranger. He has cast Righteous Might from an ioun stone, but due to a previous strength drain, this brings his Strength up to only 13 - the minimum for Power Attack.

+20 BAB
+ 1 Strength
-15 Fourth Iterative Attack
- 1 Size
-19 19 negative levels
-20 20 point Power Attack
- 5 5 point Expertise
- 4 Fighting Defensively
- 4 Non-Proficient with his two (enlarged due to RM) bastard swords
- 6 Two-weapon fighting without the required feats
- 8 Wearing hastily-donned splint mail
- 1 Wearing a buckler while two-weapon fighting
- 4 Prone
- 1 Dazzled
- 4 Operating under a Bestow Curse
- 2 Operating under a Doom

For a total attack bonus of -73. Which will still hit on a -20.

I miss out on the nice -10 for tower shield, since rangers are proficient But then I'd lose the two-weapon fighting penalty, so it almost evens out there. And the only weapon in the Core Rules with an enhancement penalty is the -2 cursed longsword, so I'd miss out on the non-proficiency penalty.

Can anyone think of a penalty I've missed, or an alternative path to a lower bonus?

Hitting on a modified -53 is kinda fun, though

-Hyp.

 

[MythandLore]

Oh man Hyper, What were you thinking?!

 

[Darklone]

huh cool

Could he wear a hastily donned splint mail without proficiency ?

Why not wearing TWO BUCKLERS ?

He may be slowed, fatigued, exhausted?

There are so many things in the condition summary... blinded?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Oh man Hyper, What were you thinking?!

Uh...

"Shame about that Tower Shield", mostly.

-Hyp.

 

[MythandLore]

Re: huh cool

Could he wear a hastily donned splint mail without proficiency ?

Why not wearing TWO BUCKLERS ?

He may be slowed, fatigued, exhausted?

There are so many things in the condition summary... blinded?

Blinded is 50% miss.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Re: huh cool

Could he wear a hastily donned splint mail without proficiency ?

Yup - that's why he gets the armor check penalty on his attack.

Why not wearing TWO BUCKLERS ?

Well... hmm. Maybe I'll have to try and figure that one out

He may be slowed, fatigued, exhausted?

There are so many things in the condition summary... blinded?

Slowed is bad - means I can't get the -15 iterative attack penalty or the -6 TWF penalty or the Buckler penalty. And gives no attack penalty in return.

Fatigued and Exhausted only give Strength penalties, not attack penalties, and if Str drops below 13 I can't get the -20 Power Attack modifier, so 13 is effectively a floor on strength.

Blinded gives a miss chance, but (believe it or not) no attack penalty.

-Hyp.

 

[Zhure]

Use a bastard sword one-handed (-4 non proficiency).
while prone (-4)

That's a -8 more.

This was covered in a thread awhile back. The final number for a STR 13 wizard was about a -100.

Greg

 

[Hypersmurf]

Re: Re: huh cool

Actually, I'm not sure if I'm doing the buckler thing right.

Is there any rule that says you must make your primary attacks with your "good" hand and your secondary attacks with your "bad" hand?

I could get an extra -4 if that fourth iterative attack is with my off-hand (and the extra attack for using two weapons is with the "good" hand). And I think the buckler penalty only applies to the arm that it's on. So two bucklers is no help

But if I can designate the primary attacks to be with the bad, be-bucklered hand, that gives me 4 more points, for -77...

-Hyp.

 

[MythandLore]

Emotion "Despair"
Geas or Quest or Lesser Geas.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Use a bastard sword one-handed (-4 non proficiency).
while prone (-4)

Both of those are already in there.

This was covered in a thread awhile back. The final number for a STR 13 wizard was about a -100.

Too bad search is disabled...

I'd love to know where they found another 25 penalty points, though... unless they were using non-Core sources as well?

Monkey Grip would be another -2, for example. But I don't have any of the non-Core material

-Hyp.