Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
massive damage variants
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Garet Jax" data-source="post: 1713340" data-attributes="member: 13757"><p>Hi,</p><p></p><p>Posted this question on Monte's site but no response so I'll try here.</p><p></p><p>After toying around with the idea of VP/WP in D&D I've concluded that 1) it's too lethal, and 2) it would require too many changes to all the subsystems in the core rules ie weapon damage, spells, feats, magic items, sneak attack, etc. And this is after looking at a dozens of different variants.</p><p></p><p>The next best thing IMO is d20 Modern's massive damage system, which I think is superior to D&D's MDT 50 fort save or die mechanic. The only problem I see with using d20M's MDT is that it doesn't scale very well in D&D. MDT based on Con alone works for campaigns where most combatants are medium sized humans but not so well when when your opponents have Con 20-35 and deal 2d6+15 on a normal hit. High level PCs and NPCs also usually have fort saves in the high teens and 20s, which makes these MDT saves 95% successful and takes all the suspense out of the mechanic.</p><p></p><p>I've also looked at UA's variant MDT rules but didn't find anything really appealing. Grim Tales has a variant where MDT is based on your Con + armor bonus + shield bonus + natural armor bonus but this seems to heavily favor warrior types and monsters while penalizing sorcerers/wizards/monks too much IMO.</p><p></p><p>The best I can come with is this: your MDT=Con + HD/2, which can be increased with Toughness feat (+3). Per UA, your fort save DC=15 +2/10 points of damage over your MDT. If you fail your save, you are at -1 hp and dying. This way, your 100 hp fighter will think twice before charging that war1 orc with a longbow.</p><p></p><p>Any better houseruled versions of MDT out there that works for D&D?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Garet Jax, post: 1713340, member: 13757"] Hi, Posted this question on Monte's site but no response so I'll try here. After toying around with the idea of VP/WP in D&D I've concluded that 1) it's too lethal, and 2) it would require too many changes to all the subsystems in the core rules ie weapon damage, spells, feats, magic items, sneak attack, etc. And this is after looking at a dozens of different variants. The next best thing IMO is d20 Modern's massive damage system, which I think is superior to D&D's MDT 50 fort save or die mechanic. The only problem I see with using d20M's MDT is that it doesn't scale very well in D&D. MDT based on Con alone works for campaigns where most combatants are medium sized humans but not so well when when your opponents have Con 20-35 and deal 2d6+15 on a normal hit. High level PCs and NPCs also usually have fort saves in the high teens and 20s, which makes these MDT saves 95% successful and takes all the suspense out of the mechanic. I've also looked at UA's variant MDT rules but didn't find anything really appealing. Grim Tales has a variant where MDT is based on your Con + armor bonus + shield bonus + natural armor bonus but this seems to heavily favor warrior types and monsters while penalizing sorcerers/wizards/monks too much IMO. The best I can come with is this: your MDT=Con + HD/2, which can be increased with Toughness feat (+3). Per UA, your fort save DC=15 +2/10 points of damage over your MDT. If you fail your save, you are at -1 hp and dying. This way, your 100 hp fighter will think twice before charging that war1 orc with a longbow. Any better houseruled versions of MDT out there that works for D&D? [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
massive damage variants
Top