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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eldritch_Lord" data-source="post: 4857148" data-attributes="member: 52073">That is exactly my point!  You are trying to compare what someone can do in this world to things people can do in that world.  If you plopped Yo Yo Ma down in FR, he would be a 5th-level nobody if he could do in FR exactly what he could do in the real world.  So being a master of the cello is only amazing around 4th-6th level, because a real cello master can work magic with it and do other incredible things.Given that we're speaking of a world where people can...No.  Gandhi inspired a huge mass of people to work peacefully towards their freedom, eventually gaining independence after years of work.  If Gandhi had personally freed an entire country, punching out every British soldier in India and then guarding every border against further encroachment all by himself, that would be epic.No.  They played music which happened to be very good, and was thus transcribed onto media which allowed people anywhere to listen to it.  If they had personally affected the entire world with their music, playing so well that anyone in the world could hear them as they played, the entire world at once, that would be epic.If.  If, if, if.  We're comparing what someone can do at 5th level (play the cello really well, talk people into seeking independence) with what someone might be able to do at 20th level.  Anything someone in the real world can do can be represented by existing mechanics around 5th level.It's not poorly written, it's heroic--heroes should be able to swim across oceans, dog-paddle up waterfalls, and do other suitably heroic things.  And, in fact, someone can move 30 feet and act in 6 seconds; 30 feet in 3 seconds is only 6-7 miles per hour, which is a brisk jog.  You can easily jog up to someone and hit them with something; being able to jog up to someone and hit them where it hurts despite defenses is what makes them fighters and not commoners.Unless, you know, you're trained to hold your breath (like a competent swimmer) and it's no big deal for you.  Yeah, you wouldn't let a 1st-level wizard take 10, but a 5th-level fighter with max ranks in swim?  I would let him.  And even if he isn't taking 10, 10 is the average result (which is why taking 10 works), so the minimum goes down only by a little bit, just like the max is a little bit higher.1) It's not poor mechanics!  You're complaining that something that accurately models the real world is wrong!2) If you are healthy, have the proper training, and spend time working out over a couple of months, that's practically the definition of 18 or 20 Con.You know why?  Because real-world people are less than 5th level!  If the highest possible HP in the real world is around 70 (super-soldiers being Fighters, 5d10+5*4 maxed) and the average is around 24 or so (as most modern people would be Experts with 14 Con or so, 3d6+3*2 maxed), then a gun could be one of two things: the equivalent of a 2d8/x4 crit weapon to kill most folks instantly--with an average of 36 damage, it kills instantly over 50% of the time, which makes sense because not all gun wounds are fatal; as a much more lethal weapon at close ranges than a bow or crossbow due to modern ammunition, it would most likely have a high threat range, around 10-20 or so--or the equivalent of a mid-level spell, dealing 7d8-9d8 damage, with the same results.The range issue has been covered.  A feat can easily represent learning to take advantage of arc and wind speed to hit things from higher away, or simply learning to use it for long-range volleys and combat archery rather than the short-range hunting most would learn first.I was using the composite longbow, which has a 120 foot increment (EDIT: Looks like it's only 110 in 3.5; I've been using it wrong).And yes, it's not likely, but it's possible--and as I was pointing out, many things D&D characters can do are not possible, not even having an infinitesimal probability of happening.Check the SRD, under Overland Movement.The table shows 1 hour of overland hustle with a 30-foot base speed is 6 miles.The SRD doesn't have the flavor text, but the PHB notes that in combat, you're actually attacking many times per round and attack rolls are simply the ones that have a chance to hit, you don't actually take up 5 feet on the battlefield but are actually moving around inside that space, etc.  Combat isn't people standing 5-8 feet apart taking turns swinging swords at each other.Yes it does.  If you pick up a greatsword and lug it around like a baseball bat made of lead, you're going to get fewer attacks than if you grab the blade, use stabbing motions, etc.You make a separate attack roll; again, each attack is simply a chance to hit.  The flavor and the name both indicate that you're swinging around in a circle, which is why you hit everything in reach.More assumptions.  You don't know that (A) the halfling doesn't have a higher Str score, because any halfling willing to get anywhere near a grapple is most likely a high-level fighter with high Str, and halflings are not just "short humans," or that (B) the halfling isn't using technique rather than power (because grappling is pinning and immobilizing, not wrestling as the sport, which can be done through finesse or power), and doing something like the kung-fu-movie Old Guy Holds People With One Finger technique--which makes perfect sense in a fantasy world.If we were talking about a human midget versus a human wrestler, they would both be Medium size with the same possible Strength range (with the midget having lower Str, most likely), but the midget probably wouldn't be trained for combat (because short humans aren't as good at it) and the wrestler would be, so it would indeed come down to a matter of level, skill, and Str, and the midget would indeed have a negligible chance of winning.1) Because the fattest, laziest, least educated, welfare-having, baby-making illegal alien isn't spending weeks working lovingly and carefully on a single item instead of mass-producing things in a factory, or serving tables in a culture with no concept of fairness, rights, tips, union laws, or minimum wage instead of serving tables in our culture.2) Relative value of currency makes a difference.  It used to be that 5 cents would get you a soda; now, it's $1.25 or so.  A thousand or so GP is just fine and dandy when you consider that a loaf of bread that costs 2 cp in D&D costs upwards of $1-$4 depending on location--they're on the copper and silver standard unless they're adventurers or nobles, so that few thousand gold would be a few hundred thousand USD.</blockquote>

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