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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dremmen" data-source="post: 3325961" data-attributes="member: 30977">I concur - this is exactly the flaw that makes the system so annoying in my experience. My high level characters laugh at opponents wielding knives, even allow themselves to be shot with arrows, confident in their hp ability to buffer the damage.I like the combat system in the Game of Thrones D20 game. It incorporated the Armor as DR, the inherent bonus to Defense from level, as well as the option to split up Base Attack Bonuses into Ranged and Close. But still, we have hp. And no matter how skilled the knife wielder is, that skill only translates into a near certainty of scoring a hit. But unless it is a Cloud Giant wielding the knife, the damage is so dismissable at higher levels that my deadly assassin falls short of being a threat ina stand up fight despite his skill. Not only that, after a certain level Magic is the only true source of massive damage - magical weapons included.So would a simple rule to reflect the additional damage that can be caused by someone skilled with the weapon help in both bringing more realism to combat and further validation for hp? I put forth the following - when you roll to attack, however much your beat the opponent's AC by is added to the damage. Here is a scenario of how I envision this-CAVEAT - this would HAVE to replace bonus to dmg from strength. Otherwise you would add this bonus when you beat the opponent's AC, then add Str AGAIN, which would be silly.(warning for the bean counters - I don't have the PH in front of me, or the DMG, so vague it is)3rd level Thug wearing rags (AC 11) and with a healthy 28 hp corners our hero Riddlin the Rowdy, a 10th level rogue. No chance of backstab here, they are facing off, and Riddlin only has his dagger. They just got out of a grapple so noone is flat footed. Granted, Riddlin is lethal with his dagger, but only in theory as the 1d4 damage would mean he'd have to hack at Thug all day, even with crits, to kill him. So much for being heroic and deadly and all. But rejoice! We are trying something new today. Where usually Riddlin would attack, hit, and with his +1 Str deal up to 5 dmg (ooooooh), he rolls to hit and with his healthy BAB and Dex and this or that feat he gets a 25. He beats the AC by 14, rolls 3 dmg, for a total of 17 dmg. He swoops in, stabs just under the Thugs arm pit and into a lung, and moves back. The Thug has to make a Fort save for massive damage, and lost half his life at the end of a puny dagger. This reflects the ability of someone that knows how to use a weapon, to hit where it counts. By the same token, if a first level thief holds a knife at Riddlin's throat and slashes him but doesn't kill him, it is because at 1st level she doesn't know where to cut to kill. Too low, at an angle, too shallow - missed major arteries or the windpipe, and simply made a big slash. If it had been a higher level thief doing the slashing of the throat, bypassing dex and AC, the damage would have been much greater.Riddlin always was a fool around the ladies.HP are somewhat validated since they are being weighted by experience. The question still remains on what to do about crits - personally instead of adding to the damage I'd put in a broken limb, punctured lung, an eye gauged, etc - crippling but bestowing penalties not decreasing hp further. This also prevents sudden PC death by lucky D20. Of course, the PC might not see it as a good thing when their fighter loses their right arm - maybe better dead then.This also brings up the issue of someone with a knife or short sword or rapier drawing their weapon at the same time as someone wielding a greatsword that is strapped to their back - because they all have Quick Draw. But that is a matter for another day.</blockquote>

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