Re-thinking Brutal Weapons

[Amaroq]

Yeah, we've got a player who is infamous for rolling 1's, both with her to-hit die and her damage die. Letting her re-roll 1's makes a huge difference to her enjoyment of the game, much more so than the time spent detracts from mine.

That said, the math comes out precisely the same for "1d12, reroll 1's and 2's" and "1d10+2", so if you're determined to modify it, that's the way to go.

 

[Camelot]

I agree with option 2.

1d12 brutal 2, rerolling 1s and 2s, will get you a range of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, averaged is 7.5.

Changing 1s and 2s to 3s will get you a range of 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, averaged is 6.75, which is a huge damage loss compared to what it's supposed to be.

Rolling 1d10 seems less awesome then rolling 1d12, but adding 2 solves this problem. Instead of the normal range from 1-10, you get 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, averaged is 7.5, exactly the numbers that you should be getting.

The +1 from the magic item just adds 1 to everything. It doesn't really affect much.

Since you're the DM, give your player the option to use your houserule or the normal rules. The player might prefer the power trip he feels when he rerolls a d12 instead of just rolling 1d10 + 2. It might slow down the game, but more fun is always a good thing. Only make him try the second method if everyone starts complaining that he's taking too long.

 

[Count Poopula]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Just leave it as is. There is no need to tweak the mechanic at all. I'm sure dice rolling doesn't take as much time in game as you do thinking about how to "fix" all the mechanics.

 

[Merlin the Tuna]

Yeah, we've got a player who is infamous for rolling 1's, both with her to-hit die and her damage die. Letting her re-roll 1's makes a huge difference to her enjoyment of the game, much more so than the time spent detracts from mine.

I'd like to echo this. I just played in a Savage Worlds game last night, and one of my Edges allowed me to go for another attempt whenever my initiative was bad. (Initiative is done per-round in Savage Worlds, so this is a pretty big deal.) It was a ton of fun to see that benefit pop up over and over again, occasionally moving me from the very bottom of the order to the very top of it.

I'd put Brutal in a similar boat. Yes, you need a few more rolls, but being able to, as a player, say "One damage? How about no," and reroll to score a 10 or 12 or whatever is a lot of fun, and each time you do that you're reminded how great a decision was to pick up that Brutal weapon. If you "fix" the math to work identically without the usual rerolls, you lose that bit of fun.

 

[jimmifett]

The times i've had a brutal weapon (or brutal feat for a class feature), i enjoy seeing that 1 or 2 and rerolling them. Doesn't take more than 2-3 seconds to do the rerolls and do the math in my head when tired and with a headache.

If you're players are having trouble with time, let them know when thier turn is coming up next so they can start rolling dice and be ready with results once thier turn starts. Just make it clear that the results stick even if they change tactics.

 

[Saeviomagy]

If you're players are having trouble with time, let them know when thier turn is coming up next so they can start rolling dice and be ready with results once thier turn starts. Just make it clear that the results stick even if they change tactics.

That's such an awesome variant.

"Hmm, I rolled a crit. I guess I'll move to here so I'm not attacking a minion now. Which daily should I use guys?"

Instead of rolling multiple [w], you would simply roll once and multiply (because you don't know how many [w] you're rolling until you choose a power).

I guess for multiattacks and AOEs you would roll the first before you chose the power, then pick targets and roll the rest.

P.S. I voted for 1d10+2, but I'm all for letting the player reroll unless they dislike rolling dice. Rerolling dice is likely to be quicker than doing the maths too.

 

[jimmifett]

That's such an awesome variant.

"Hmm, I rolled a crit. I guess I'll move to here so I'm not attacking a minion now. Which daily should I use guys?"

If you can't be an honest player, or as a DM, trust your players to be honest, they don't belong at the table.

 

[Saeviomagy]

If you can't be an honest player, or as a DM, trust your players to be honest, they don't belong at the table.

Read my post again, but this time trust me when I say there was no sarcasm involved. I genuinely think it would be a really really cool variant to explicitly say that characters pick their power after rolling their attacks and not before.

 

[epicbob]

dunno if the thread is dead but here goes.

i replaced the Brutal property with a 3d4 damage die.

imo, it gives that "exotic" feel to the weapon.

 

[Rune]

dunno if the thread is dead but here goes.

i replaced the Brutal property with a 3d4 damage die.

imo, it gives that "exotic" feel to the weapon.

...which takes care of the minimum damage, but will make max damage much less likely (1 in 64 chance instead of 1 in 10). Doesn't feel brutal to me, but your mileage may vary.