I wanted to run some homebrew, but am worried that dexterity would be way, WAY overpowered in a setting with lots of firearms. I'm thinking of making Agility for AC and Dexterity for attack/damage rolls and the like.
I guess it really depends what you mean by "lots of firearms" and what you envision your problems to be?
Dexterity is clearly the right stat for it IMO, I don't think introducing a new one will solve anything; but you haven't said what you want to actually achieve?
The other question is; does it actually matter? If firearms are common enough, and everyone takes Dexterity as a result, then surely that can't be overpowered if everyone is effectively trending towards equal? It just means that abilities will be more important.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
I would include a strength requirement for using firearms with heavy recoil, to make players at least have to invest some points outside of dexterity. I would also add an option for certain weapons (sniper rifles and designated marksmen rifles, or other weapons that aren't swung around a lot) to use Wisdom to hit instead.
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A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
I wanted to run some homebrew, but am worried that dexterity would be way, WAY overpowered in a setting with lots of firearms. I'm thinking of making Agility for AC and Dexterity for attack/damage rolls and the like.
You need to define "lots of firearms" better. IRL, firearms were a considerable part of combat for a long time before they dominated the field. For example, accuracy & reload times matter a lot more outside of massed "we stand here, you stand there" army battles. How many shots can the average person fire before a swordsman closes the distance? Unless you're in a open field, there are trees, buildings, horse carts to move between as you close in. Or low level street rabble who give cover to the more tactical veterans.
TLDR: Is your campaign Renaissance, Steampunk, Modern, or Cyberpunk?
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I wanted to run some homebrew, but am worried that dexterity would be way, WAY overpowered in a setting with lots of firearms. I'm thinking of making Agility for AC and Dexterity for attack/damage rolls and the like.
It's been done and tried and homebrewed and play-tested to death. D&D is not the system for that.
Dream Pod Nine and their Silhouette System did that idea much, much better and worked a lot more in that system designed for just that.
I guess it really depends what you mean by "lots of firearms" and what you envision your problems to be?
Dexterity is clearly the right stat for it IMO, I don't think introducing a new one will solve anything; but you haven't said what you want to actually achieve?
The other question is; does it actually matter? If firearms are common enough, and everyone takes Dexterity as a result, then surely that can't be overpowered if everyone is effectively trending towards equal? It just means that abilities will be more important.
Former D&D Beyond Customer of six years: With the axing of piecemeal purchasing, lack of meaningful development, and toxic moderation the site isn't worth paying for anymore. I remain a free user only until my groups are done migrating from DDB, and if necessary D&D, after which I'm done. There are better systems owned by better companies out there.
I have unsubscribed from all topics and will not reply to messages. My homebrew is now 100% unsupported.
I would include a strength requirement for using firearms with heavy recoil, to make players at least have to invest some points outside of dexterity. I would also add an option for certain weapons (sniper rifles and designated marksmen rifles, or other weapons that aren't swung around a lot) to use Wisdom to hit instead.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
You need to define "lots of firearms" better. IRL, firearms were a considerable part of combat for a long time before they dominated the field. For example, accuracy & reload times matter a lot more outside of massed "we stand here, you stand there" army battles. How many shots can the average person fire before a swordsman closes the distance? Unless you're in a open field, there are trees, buildings, horse carts to move between as you close in. Or low level street rabble who give cover to the more tactical veterans.
TLDR: Is your campaign Renaissance, Steampunk, Modern, or Cyberpunk?