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Message: <blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 7237015" data-attributes="member: 71699">No I don't. I believe that a Fighter focused on maximum damage with a two-handed melee weapon (sacrificing defense to wield it), should inform our picture. If that doesn't deal maximum damage in melee (before magic) then there's something wrong. Not all campaign worlds have to work that way, but I believe it is consistent with most heroic fantasy to assert that melee weapons do the most weapon damage in melee. GWM isn't a must have feature in the sense of characters being forced to take it, but rather in the sense of defining the edge of system balance in that respect. Melee needs other advantages, too: raw damage alone doesn't cut it.Looking at damage versus HP, I believe that about 45 damage/turn average weapon damage at 11th level is strong, but not OP. It doesn't distort scenarios around it. More could be distorting. GWM therefore gives us a tool - a standard - by which we can measure other things. Does this ranged weapon let me do the same damage as a huge hairy barbarian totally focused on maximum damage toe-to-toe with a massive axe in two hands? It's not very heroic fantasy if it does.This is distinct from perfect realism. I'm not arguing that it is impossible for real ranged weapons to be as or more killy then real melee weapons.</blockquote>