D&D 5E Two Weapon Fighters - Potential Houserule to correct balnce deficiency after level 10.

GWF is going to be better when dealing with few/one large foes who are unlikely to have much "wasted" damage. TWF is going to be better against hordes where a small amount of excessive damage can really add up over multiple opponents. This is as it should be, IMO.

See also, the comments from others about options. TWF doesn't have to be superior, it even break-even, to GWF in a toe-to-toe fight. It just has to be good enough that people who like lighter characters don't feel screwed. If those players are shrewd and tactically creative (high correlation, IME), then the flexibility can more than make up for how things look on paper.
 

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One thing to look out....any exercise that relies on pure DPR is going to fail.


Either GWF does the most, and TWF is weak...or TWF does the most, and GWF is weak.


So if the case is made that GWF does the most DPR...then TWF needs to do "something else" to balance against it...not just "more damage".
 

One thing to look out....any exercise that relies on pure DPR is going to fail.

No to much fail, as miss the context.

How great is the DPR difference, really? A few points per round at level 20? A few points out of 40 or 50 that you're dishing out? So, like, a couple of percent? OMG!!1!

We talk about the average damage per round - but the standard deviation also matters. If the differences in damage are small, compared to the breadth of the curve, you won't really notice a huge difference between the two in play.

Moreover, in practice - Let us take a major opponent at hand as an example: how many hit points does the tarrasque (or some other end-game monster) have? Is the difference in damage between the two styles likely to mean the difference between you killing it and it killing you? If not, why are we worried?
 

One thing to look out....any exercise that relies on pure DPR is going to fail.


Either GWF does the most, and TWF is weak...or TWF does the most, and GWF is weak.


So if the case is made that GWF does the most DPR...then TWF needs to do "something else" to balance against it...not just "more damage".
Sure, the failing of DPR analysis is that it's so easy and so precise. It's too easy to fall into the trap of thinking a small DPR difference is important.

The fighter has great DPR, in general. Thus it gets basically nothing else. Other classes get lots of other stuff, and can rival the fighter's DPR when it really counts, but that's OK, because the fighter has those extra few points of DPR when it doesn't matter so much.

Weapons are even worse: a weapon can be declared 'worthless' for delivering half-a-point less DPR. (Of course, weapons, like fighters, have no other function, so it's not entirely invalid, theoretically, but it's still pretty trivial).
 

I want to take the time first to thank everyone who responded. I am currently without internet due to a move and am currently using a tablet from a mcd's WiFi. When I get a chance to respond with a real keyboard, I will.

Cheers.
 


So I am working on a homebrew class for 5e based off of the 3e martial adepts. I have found a way to balance multiple combat styles such as single weapon fighting, dual wielding, and great weapon fighting. It does require a slightly different model than the fighter provides for however.

Check it out here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zHLtUBIOpuzbhov9Jk6GsCgftm1TIb2_Q8oHBWo26Jk/edit?usp=sharing


First, lot of work in there. Lots of 4e and Battle of Nine Swords inspiration

I think you lost half your audience with the Damage of a Miss thou

Have you done the DPR breakdowns?

also, you should allow comments. It's a really cool feature and you can resolve the comments. Its a great tool for feedback in google documents
 
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