Trading critical power for critical range?

[ByteRynn]

Power Attack does stack with a weapon's damage bonus. You just can't use it's bonus to attack to power additional damage, so I suppose you should allow these feats to "use" the basic levels of threat range and such of only the base weapon, but allow the feats to augment beyond the base levels.

 

[szilard]

Power Critical
Prerequisites: Power Attack, BAB +4
Benefeit: For every point you reduce your weapon's threat range, you may increase its critical multiplier by one. This adjustment is made on your turn and lasts until your next turn. Your weapon may not have a threat ranged smaller than 20.

Power Critical is not very good. You can basically use it to convert your longsword into a battle axe. The best use I could think with it might be to swing a scimitar or rapier with 1d6 19-20/x3. You are still swinging lower damage than a longsword/axe, but you have very good critical math. You could alos use this feat to get milage out of keen and improved critical.

Imagine Power Critical in combination with a +1 Keen Falchion, high strength, and Power Attack. Say, 17-20/x4? That would be, what, (2d4+15)x4 on a crit with an 18 strength and 4 point Power Attack? Make that a 10th level fighter with a 10 point power attack, a 22 strength, and add in Weapon Specialization and a +2 keen falchion... and that becomes (2d4+33)x4 or 140-164 points of damage. That seems pretty good to me.

-Stuart

 

[ByteRynn]

But feats SHOULD be good. I think if a feat is so weak it's not worth taking, it's not worth making. Is this a feat all people will take? No. Is it a feat that everyone who can aford a feat and wants to use critical weapons will take? Sure. It strengthens what is considered by many a sub-par choice.

 

[Quartz]

Power Attack does stack with a weapon's damage bonus.

But it's limited by the character's BAB, not the weapon's plus. Likewise Combat Expertise. Likewise Weapon Finesse. Etc.

 

[ByteRynn]

and this feat is limited by the weapon's threat range.

 

[Rystil Arden]

As stated succinctly by Starwed, this feat is problematic because it can be used to game a substantial amount of extra damage out of criticals due to the 19-20/x3 case, which isn't balanced with anything else. If it didn't stack with Keen or Improved Critical, then it would be fine, although I agree that there is no reason it shouldn't stack with Keen or IC unless you are looking to balance it. It would also be fine if you outlawed the 19-20/x3 case. As is, it would be used exclusively by powergamers seeking to gain the overpowered 19-20/x3 critical.