Nixing auto-kills and alternate dmg mods

[Beholder Bob]

I'm altering bonus damage from all sources such that 2d6+4 becomes 2d6+d4, d8+12 = d8+2d6, etc. This has the effect of dropping the bonus damage almost in 1/2, a d8+2d6 avg is 11.5 instead of 16.5. This will narf the PCs, but the bad guys too. The effect is more dice rolling - the benefit is curing the 2nd edition (and to some degree 3rd & 3.5) effect of auto kill, do not even roll damage. In 2nd, fighting orcs with +7 damage was a sure auto kill. The uncertainty seems like a good move - but what do you think?

An alternate thought, every +2 damage is instead treated as 1/2 of the base weapons die of dmg, so at +4 dmg, a long sword does +d8, a dagger +d4.... so a 30 STR fellow with a dagger is still not as scary as the same fellow with a long sword. Hmmmm


BB

 

[Ferret]

There some sense in what your saying, but I don't know if a 2d6+4 is an auto-kill, and if it is I'm not sure if this gets the best results for what it changes.

 

[Beholder Bob]

Ah, the reference to auto kill is refers to encounters where the minimum damage inflicted due to a large bonus to damage automatically slays an opponent w/out needing to roll. In 1st/2nd edition, it was +3 damage when fighting kobalds, or +7 when fighting orcs. Now, while in 3rd edition it allows for critters such as these to have levels, thus increasing the HP, the concern remains. After a certain point, the bonus damage makes combat somewhat static (say d8+12 ranges from 13-20) since the bonus damage is larger then the random element. It is this certainty that I dislike. The goal/solution I seek is making damage rolls more random. If, instead of doing d8+12 you do d8+2d6, you have a much wider range between minimum and maximum (3-20), maintaining tension better. The price for the game is in more rolls and lowering average damage - my question "is it worth it".

The alternative I considered has the same effect, but also puts more emphasis on the weapon wielded, though the +4 dmg = +1 die was just a W.A.G. for balance, as an example it turns a d4+12 damage into 4d4 damage and d8+12 into 4d8. Hmmm.

BB

 

[Grayhawk]

I can see what you're trying to accomplish - whether it's worth it or not will depend on how you feel about auto kills.

If - like you seem to do - really dislike them, it's propably worth it.

To me it wouldn't be worth it. For one thing I play a slightly lower powered game with less static bonuses and thus less likelihood of enough damage to guarantee an auto kill.

(This is accoplished by having characters starting play with the elite array, meaning highest stat is a 15, which I believe the 3x rules are balanced against. Also, I have a houserule that dictates that you cannot add more damage from Str to a weapon than the weapon is capable of dealing on it's own. So to benefit from your (in my game exceptional) Str over 18, you'd have to use something larger than a dagger.)

The other reason why it wouldn't be worth it for me, is that I don't really dislike auto kills once in a while. Even in a normal powered game I would expect it to be rare for the opposition to be so weak that auto kills becomes a common occurrence.

In my opinion auto kills can be a great way of showing the character's growth, when they have gained a few levels and encounter the same run-of-the-mill mooks that gave them a hard time at 1st level.

Being able to go Legolas on a bunch of Orcs can give a great sense of accomplishment, if it's used sparingly.

All IMHO, of course.