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

[RangerWickett]

Regarding the earlier druid ideas, druids cannot select warhorses as animal companions, only horses.

This was a great consternation to me.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I think the best weapon for the cleric is a dwarven waraxe in each hand. Sure, your attacks are at -10 / -14 since you have no exotic proficiency...

"A dwarven waraxe is too large to wield in one hand without special training..."

Without the EWP, you don't take a -4; you simply can't wield it in one hand.

-Hyp.

 

[Plane Sailing]

"A dwarven waraxe is too large to wield in one hand without special training..."

Without the EWP, you don't take a -4; you simply can't wield it in one hand.

-Hyp.

Could you make it a dwarf cleric? You would lose 1 Str damage (6pts overall), but you've got weapon familiarity with the dwarven waraxe, yes?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Could you make it a dwarf cleric? You would lose 1 Str damage (6pts overall), but you've got weapon familiarity with the dwarven waraxe, yes?

Which lets you treat it as a martial weapon.

Clerics are proficient in Simple weapons, and no Core deity has Dwarven Waraxe as favoured weapon, so you're out of luck.

-Hyp.

 

[KarinsDad]

"A dwarven waraxe is too large to wield in one hand without special training..."

Without the EWP, you don't take a -4; you simply can't wield it in one hand.

He could take Monkey Grip or EWP if necessary. The build is still viable. Course, the chances to do this much damage is 1 in 160000.

 

[kerbarian]

He could take Monkey Grip or EWP if necessary. The build is still viable. Course, the chances to do this much damage is 1 in 160000.

Not only is the build viable, but it can be improved. Take EWP for the waraxe, go with orc instead of half-orc, and add the destruction domain for smite. Also use divine favor + magic weapon instead of 2x magic weapon.

For the main hand, that gives 16 (waraxe) + 7 (strength) + 1 (divine favor) + 1 (magic weapon) + 1 (smite) = 26. The off hand only has +3 for strength and loses magic weapon and smite, so that one's 20. Total max damage is 26*3 + 20*3 = 138.

Monkey grip would allow better options (huge waraxe + large waraxe as a dwarf), but it requires BAB +1, so it doesn't work for a cleric. You could still get extra damage for this build by going non-core, though -- just replace the destruction domain with hunger. That replaces smite (+3 damage on a crit) with a bite attack that's 22 damage on a crit. So the total max damage would increase to 157.

 

[DanMcS]

He could take Monkey Grip or EWP if necessary. The build is still viable. Course, the chances to do this much damage is 1 in 160000.

Exotic weapon proficiency requires a +1 BAB.

 

[KarinsDad]

Exotic weapon proficiency requires a +1 BAB.

Oops. And so does Monkey Grip. My bad.

 

[DanMcS]

Oops. And so does Monkey Grip. My bad.

Not like the cleric doesn't have enough advantages. Enlarge person and magic weapon. Bah. They should get cure light wounds, and LIKE IT.

 

[IndyPendant]

Hmm...I think I've got it!

We'll start with a 22-strength orc (from MM) cleric dual-wielding two small scythes. The penalty to attacks for this is -12/-16, but as another poster mentioned, we're assuming auto-crits for max damage here. The cleric has the Strength and Destruction domains. He casts two Magic Weapons and an Enlarge Person (all 1-minute-duration spells.) He smites with his first attack (a non-target-dependent ability).

He starts with 5d4x10gp. He could conceivably have 200gp to start. Continuing the theme of maxing out the damage, let's assume he does. So he purchases the two small scythes for 36gp--and then spends the rest of his money on 6 guard dogs, at 25gp each. They're guard dogs, so it's reasonable to assume they'll help their master, and the typical target can be surrounded by 8 foes. All good. Using regular dog stats from the MM, and assuming all the dogs auto-crit for max as well, our damage becomes:

Main scythe: (8+7+1+1)*4 = 68.
Secondary scythe: (8+3+1)*4=48.
Guard dogs: (4+1)*2=10 each.

Total damage: 68 + 48 + (10*6) = 176 damage(!!!)

All core. : )