Power lunge question?

[sineater]

What would be the Max damage a character could do with Power Lunge? The character has a Strength of 21 and wields a great sword +3. He also has weapon focus greatsword. The reason I ask is I think he is doing the damage wrong. So I figured I would see what you guys would figure out for damage and compare it.

Thanks

 

[Christian]

I'll show my work, too.

A greatsword does a base of 2d6. This character has a +5 damage bonus from Strength, and there is a +3 damage bonus from the magic weapon. The two-handed weapon multiplies his Strength bonus damge by 1.5, and the Power Lunge feat multiplies it by 2 (on a charge). That's a total multiplier of 2.5, so his effective Strength bonus damage on a charge is +12. Add in the enhancement bonus for the magic weapon, and the grand total is 2d6+15. (Weapon focus doesn't add any damage-if you meant weapon specialization, that's another +2.)

I'm guessing that the player is wanting to multiply the Strength bonus damage by 1.5 for the two-handed weapon and then by 2 for the feat, for a total Strength bonus of +15. If so, please direct his attention to page 119 of the PH, and/or the first page of the Glossary, to review the rules on multiplying damage.

 

[1337 h4xor]

The two-handed weapon multiplies his Strength bonus damge by 1.5, and the Power Lunge feat multiplies it by 2 (on a charge). That's a total multiplier of 2.5, so his effective Strength bonus damage on a charge is +12. Add in the enhancement bonus for the magic weapon, and the grand total is 2d6+15. (Weapon focus doesn't add any damage-if you meant weapon specialization, that's another +2.)

I'm guessing that the player is wanting to multiply the Strength bonus damage by 1.5 for the two-handed weapon and then by 2 for the feat, for a total Strength bonus of +15. If so, please direct his attention to page 119 of the PH, and/or the first page of the Glossary, to review the rules on multiplying damage.

according to the sage, the powerlunge feat performs exactly as read and multiplys your base strength damage by 2... no matter weather the weapon you're using is 2 or one handed. So for example a 18 strength character using powerlunge will do +8 damage no matter what weapon he uses no matter 1 handed or 2.

Personally i agree with the way you calculated it above as that is how i do it and it is done in my campaign as i see that as the intent of the feat. The way the sage requests it done results in 1h weapons having a incredible boost.

 

[Christian]

Sometimes, the Sage really worries me. IMHO, if the feat was supposed to suspend the standard multiplier stacking rules, it should say so in the text of the feat. Eh?

I don't see this in the published FAQ (the version I have, anyway-I haven't downloaded the new, separate S&F FAQ), so I'm going to attribute this to misfiring neurons & walk away.

 

[sineater]

Ok this is how he is figuring it out. To me that makes it a very powerful feat if he is calculating right. I mean he is doing more damage then some of the toughest monsters. Heck with a critical hit he could take out some dragons with one swing.

Did you read a errata for that clarification? Because the way I am doing it is exactly how it is written out of the book.
example: lvl8 fighter str 22_____BAB +8, +6 str bonus = +14. + 1 weapon focus, +3 greatsword= +18 to hit.

attack damage= 2d6+14---(+9 for str with two hands, +3 from sword,+2 from weapon specialization)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Power Lunge
Benefit: A successful attack roll during a charge allows you to inflict double your normal Strength modifier in addition to the attack's damage. You provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent you charged.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

So a Power Lunge with the above stats would add the attack damage of 2d6+14 with double the strength modifier of +6 which would give you a total of 2d6+14+12 or 2d6+26 not including the additional flaming damage of 1d6 from the sword.

So is this correct?

 

[1337 h4xor]

no as someone stated above the multiplier rules from 3e are standardized so

a 2h weapon does 1.5 strength

powerlunge doubles the damage from strength shen you double a 1.5 you get 2.5 according to the multiplier stacking rules.

i.e. 2 things that double your movement rate actually make it triple the base.

 

[Archer]

The way the sage has it is a minor boost for 1 handed weapons and a tiny boost for 2 handed weapons. The drawback is pretty severe for such a tiny benefit unless you have reach and then the tiny benefit is hardly worth spending a feat on.

QSF has a feat that gives the effect of power lunges, not just charges, on every attack and doesn't provoke an AoO.

 

[sineater]

Anyone else have an opinion? I mean come on a +26 to damage!
A min. Dam of 29 points and a max. Dam. of 44 points of Dam that sounds a little strong to me.

 

[Christian]

So a Power Lunge with the above stats would add the attack damage of 2d6+14 with double the strength modifier of +6 which would give you a total of 2d6+14+12 or 2d6+26 not including the additional flaming damage of 1d6 from the sword.
So is this correct?

No. When you added the 'double strength bonus' modifier at the end, you should only add +6. The base Strength bonus of +6 is already added in the 2d6+14 prior to that--you should only add it once more, not twice more. 2d6+20 (+1d6 flame damage) is the correct total.

Think about it. "I should have twice as many cookies as Johnny. He has 6 cookies, twice 6 is 12, so I should get 6+12=18 cookies."

 

[Christian]

OH! I see where the confusion is! Y'all are reading the 'inflict double your normal Strength modifier in addition to the attack's damage' as being in addition to the normal total damage, including your regular Strength modifier. This is incorrect-although I see where the description is unclear. Under the D&D3 multiplication rules, the right way to express that would be as 'triple your normal Strength modifier'. If that was what they meant, that's how they would have expressed it. That's not what's supposed to happen here-the 'double' means to add your base Strength modifier a second time (not twice more).