Max melee damage at 1st level - core vs. non-core

[Thurbane]

Right, but I think the idea is to assess the difference. Maybe the OP wants to comment?

Ineed - sorry if I was a little vague earlier, but yes, the idea is to compare core max damage to non-core max damage.

I should also add for non-core I mean WotC non-core, not third party or homebrewed, because in theory some DM somewhere has a homebrewed "+1000 damage" feat...

So yes, as well as the core builds, please feel free to explore non-core builds for comparison. I know non-core will almost inevitably win out, but part of the eercise is to see by how much.

 

[RigaMortus2]

Ineed - sorry if I was a little vague earlier, but yes, the idea is to compare core max damage to non-core max damage.

I should also add for non-core I mean WotC non-core, not third party or homebrewed, because in theory some DM somewhere has a homebrewed "+1000 damage" feat...

So yes, as well as the core builds, please feel free to explore non-core builds for comparison. I know non-core will almost inevitably win out, but part of the eercise is to see by how much.

So it's basically "Core Only" vs. "All WotC D&D books"?

Are you allowing 3E books, or just 3.5?

 

[Thurbane]

Hmm, that's a little sticky...maybe just 3.5, as it could be assumed that 3.5 has balanced some issues from 3E. If you mix and match editions, it could create inconsistencies.

Although I would say that 3E material officially errata'd to 3.5E should be fine.

 

[kerbarian]

Going non-core, one option would be:

Human cleric with power attack, divine might, and the Arborea domain, wielding 2 heavy picks. Self-buff with divine favor and magic weapon on the main-hand pick. Damage is 6 (pick) + 4 (str) + 4 (Arborea granted power) + 4 (divine might) + 1 (divine favor) + 1 (magic weapon) = 20. The off-hand pick doesn't get magic weapon, and it only gets +2 for strength, so that one's 17 max damage. Total damage on a max-damage double crit would be 20*4 + 17*4 = 148.

Or if you want to allow summons, you could go with:

Orc cleric with sudden extend and the hunger and strength domains, wielding 2 heavy picks. Self-buff with enlarge person. 10' away from your target, place 2 heavy picks and a scythe on the ground.

Round 1: Cast extended summon undead I for a human warrior skeleton.
Round 2: Order the skeleton to pick up the heavy picks, then cast summon undead I for another skeleton.
Round 3: Order the second skeleton to pick up the scythe and order both of them to step in and attack. The cleric also steps in and attacks.

The cleric's max damage is 8 (pick) + 7 (strength) = 15, or 11 for for the off-hand pick. He also gets a bite (hunger domain) for 8 + 3 (strength) = 11. The first skeleton can hit for 6 (pick) + 1 (strength) = 7, or 6 for the off-hand pick. The second skeleton can hit for 8 (scythe) + 1 (strength) = 9. So total max damage on the cleric's initiative is:

15*4 + 11*4 + 11*2 + 7*4 + 6*4 + 9*4 = 214.

Edit: just saw starwed's post, and the scythe + spikes can be used to add a little damage to the summoning build. Instead of 15*4 + 11*4 + 11*2 = 126, the Orc cleric's damage would be 22*4 + 11*2 + 11*2 = 132, boosting the total damage (including skeletons) to 220.

 

[Iku Rex]

I don't think this kind of challenge will reveal anything meaningful about core vs. non-core. Max "best-case" damage has little or nothing to do with game balance.

Also, in my experience the end result depends mostly on how the OP is interpreted and how cheesy you're willing to get.

In that vein I'd suggest taking advantage of the Combat Reflexes feat. All those extra attacks should do wonders for the total damage.

 

[Hypersmurf]

In that vein I'd suggest taking advantage of the Combat Reflexes feat. All those extra attacks should do wonders for the total damage.

Yeah - I queried that one back in post #30. The OP hasn't weighed in on it yet.

-Hyp.

 

[Iku Rex]

Yeah - I queried that one back in post #30. The OP hasn't weighed in on it yet.

Yarr! That ye did!

 

[Thurbane]

Sorry, must have missed that, I guess I thought it was covered under the catchall of situational modifiers. I'd really prefer if we could talk in terms of a generic melee attacks rather than "if the attacker is charging etc etc". Opponents opening themselves up to multiple AoO would fall under situational, in that case...

I don't think this kind of challenge will reveal anything meaningful about core vs. non-core. Max "best-case" damage has little or nothing to do with game balance.

Yes, which is why I really didn't want to go into too much detail about what the info is to be used for - I didn't want to get bogged down in a debate of how useful or meaningful the info was. Lets just assume it's strictly for number crunch purposes.

 

[Jack Simth]

Is jumping on top of someone a melee attack?

If so....

Half-orc Cleric (Strength Domain).

Loads up on stuff to increase weight.

Maximum cross-class ranks in Jump.

Enlarge Person on Cleric, jump at least 10 feet in the air, and fall on target. Deals 1d6 damage for every 200 pounds you can arrange.

 

[Someone]

120 damage: bull rush the foe out of a cliff. More damage is he falls on a trap.