So partially inspired by the Darksouls/bloodborne games, I had this idea of having magic weapons that "Scaled" off of multiple stats. There are already weapons in the game that add additional dice damage (flametongue is the first that comes to mind) so the damage increase has a precedent. But I thought about having a weapon that adds a second ability score to damage.
So like a "Crystal Longsword" That you add both STR and INT to the damage (idk about attack yet?) Or like some kind of "Quality" weapon that allows BOTH STR and DEX
Or a Chaos weapon that uses INT and WIS or whatever?
These weapons would obviously be powerful, but I don't think they'd be overly broken.
Thoughts? or has anyone else done something similar?
So like a "Crystal Longsword" That you add both STR and INT to the damage (idk about attack yet?) Or like some kind of "Quality" weapon that allows BOTH STR and DEX
This is a fun idea but I think it could get a little tricky. Ultimately I think its going to be player dependent. On paper it doesn't seem too crazy - assuming your players haven't gotten insanely lucky and rolled multiple 18s for their starting stats. I'll go through some quick math below, but I think using multiple ability score modifiers would essentially act like adding the avg. damage of 1-2 d6 extra damage die to a weapon. So it puts your player more towards the center of a bell curve - giving them more consistent damage but lowers the max damage they could potentially do.
Longsword avg. damage roll ((max die roll + 1)/2 * number of dice) is 4.5 one handed or 5.5 two handed without any modifiers. Assuming your player has a STR. of +3, those go up to 7.5 and 8.5 respectively. If the sword added 1d6 damage of an extra type, that's an avg. of 3.5 extra damage. So a longsword with a STR. modifier of +3 and 1d6 extra damage gives you an avg. of 11 to 12. Magic weapon bonuses (+1 to +3) bring that to 12-14 one-handed or 12-15 two-handed per attack. Lets say your PC is a 5th level fighter is a +4 STR and a +3 DEX, using your idea (assuming a +1 magic weapon bonus) that would give you an avg. damage roll of 15.5 one handed or 16.5 two handed per attack.
ok ok! that's not too rough. Enough Damage to excite players, but not enough to REALLY trivialize encounters. I also use point buy for my campaigns so I don't have to worry about insane stats. I may give this a try. It would be a later level thing though (my current party is still level 2 lol)
Its definitely interesting, I may steal this to be honest haha, especially since it could reward players for taking an ASI in a different stat or taking a feat that's less directly combat focused. You could also always play with the type of the other ability score as additional flavor, like a sword that adds your INT modifier as psychic damage.
The one downside I can see is if a player really likes the feeling of rolling a larger number of dice then it could make it a little less fun for them I guess.
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So partially inspired by the Darksouls/bloodborne games, I had this idea of having magic weapons that "Scaled" off of multiple stats. There are already weapons in the game that add additional dice damage (flametongue is the first that comes to mind) so the damage increase has a precedent. But I thought about having a weapon that adds a second ability score to damage.
So like a "Crystal Longsword" That you add both STR and INT to the damage (idk about attack yet?)
Or like some kind of "Quality" weapon that allows BOTH STR and DEX
Or a Chaos weapon that uses INT and WIS or whatever?
These weapons would obviously be powerful, but I don't think they'd be overly broken.
Thoughts? or has anyone else done something similar?
This is a fun idea but I think it could get a little tricky. Ultimately I think its going to be player dependent. On paper it doesn't seem too crazy - assuming your players haven't gotten insanely lucky and rolled multiple 18s for their starting stats. I'll go through some quick math below, but I think using multiple ability score modifiers would essentially act like adding the avg. damage of 1-2 d6 extra damage die to a weapon. So it puts your player more towards the center of a bell curve - giving them more consistent damage but lowers the max damage they could potentially do.
Longsword avg. damage roll ((max die roll + 1)/2 * number of dice) is 4.5 one handed or 5.5 two handed without any modifiers. Assuming your player has a STR. of +3, those go up to 7.5 and 8.5 respectively. If the sword added 1d6 damage of an extra type, that's an avg. of 3.5 extra damage. So a longsword with a STR. modifier of +3 and 1d6 extra damage gives you an avg. of 11 to 12. Magic weapon bonuses (+1 to +3) bring that to 12-14 one-handed or 12-15 two-handed per attack. Lets say your PC is a 5th level fighter is a +4 STR and a +3 DEX, using your idea (assuming a +1 magic weapon bonus) that would give you an avg. damage roll of 15.5 one handed or 16.5 two handed per attack.
ok ok! that's not too rough. Enough Damage to excite players, but not enough to REALLY trivialize encounters.
I also use point buy for my campaigns so I don't have to worry about insane stats. I may give this a try. It would be a later level thing though (my current party is still level 2 lol)
Its definitely interesting, I may steal this to be honest haha, especially since it could reward players for taking an ASI in a different stat or taking a feat that's less directly combat focused. You could also always play with the type of the other ability score as additional flavor, like a sword that adds your INT modifier as psychic damage.
The one downside I can see is if a player really likes the feeling of rolling a larger number of dice then it could make it a little less fun for them I guess.