So, I have a character based on one from a game, it’s called town of Salem it’s a great game you should all play it, it’s a hidden roles mystery style deduction game. It’s losing players and kinda dying go play it… anyway, there really strong in the lore but how strong are they in dnd RAW? This is a paragraph about the game lore, to compare to:
”Strength. This was the only suitable quality known for a boy throughout his entire life. When he was young, he despised all other kids of his age. They had such luxury, such privilege that the boy never had. While they were all gathered around to talk about the latest toys that their parents had given them, the child watched in the distance, the only thing that his parents had given him was no dinner for a week when they found out that he had failed the latest test. A neglectful childhood led the boy to find a new home, a training camp for soldiers. The boy was addicted. Every night for ten years he would sneak in and train all through the night. This had shown him real happiness, something he had never before experienced. Eventually, the Godfather heard the news of a man who had bent steel bars and smashed cement like it was glass. He was impressed and he needed somebody to deal with that pesky Sheriff who kept bothering him every night. He arranged to meet this ‘Juggernaut’ in person. The Godfather promised ample compensation for the Juggernaut’s specific set of ‘skills’.
It was at that moment a Vigilante had kicked down the door and raised his gun to the new partners in crime. “I knew it!” the Vigilante exclaimed, staring at the plans that the Godfather had carelessly left strewn on the table. The Godfather simply grinned, assuming his new muscle would take care of this threat. But all that the Juggernaut felt when he saw the gun in his face was an immeasurable rage.
The next day, the Town mourned the loss of the former town hero, who had his own gun stabbed through his torso when he tried to fight against the Mafia head on. As the crime scene was investigated more, however, the sadness quickly turned to blind confusion. As they found, lying under his desk, the leader of the Mafia, his arms torn clean from his body”
any way, I have him at 16 strength, what could he actually do? It talks about “bending steel bars, smashing cement like it was glass” could he actually do this with 16 strength? 10 is the strength of the “average human” so is 16 enough to do the stuff he’s doing? Also, he’s a barbarian, so if he was raging what would he be able to do? You get advantage on strength checks, if we’re using math to calculate any of this, what effect would advantage have? This is a bunch of random questions and speculation (and a mini ad for a video game) sorry for all this. (I added a poll, just check the on that you think would best describe the strength of the character, I would love a response though)
I can't speak to how to compare D&D to the game you describe.
As far as how I see attributes, a 16 stat would be common for a character but, it represents someone with a heroic level quality in the world of D&D. A stat of 20 or above would be a legendary or even demigod like being. In popular culture a 16 STR and up to me would be like Conan, an exceptional human warrior. A 20 or greater, akin to Hercules. As far as the other metrics you list, I would think that the 16 STR starts the range that we would consider reserved for our top level "strong" people in real life but, at what point the STR stat becomes supernatural in nature is hard to say. That's just my take on it, however.
A 16 is a respectable Strength score but by no means the upper maximum. It's more "above average," since the maximum is 20. Now, do bending steel bars or smashing cement like it was glass (I'm assuming without using a sledgehammer) sound like things that an above average human could achieve? Or do they sound more superhuman?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
When I think of something breaking down a cement wall like glass, I think giants. Those guys have Strength scores above 20, but they're also really big, so maybe that helps them.
A good DM will respect the narrative a bit though. By which I mean, if you're a Barbarian, you should be more likely to be able to do feats of strength than other characters with similar strength scores. Particularly if you've got Athletics proficiency, and really especially if you're raging.
That said, some things aren't possible at level 1, right? After your first ASI you could have STR 18, and if that doesn't give you more physical feats you can perform, then something's off, so clearly a DM shouldn't just let you do everything with a 16. At max level you might even have 24. With that you could knock down a cement wall with a headbutt, and not even feel it. I assume.
If you want a more rigid breakdown, you could consult the 3.5e books, but understand that it's a different game with different narrative assumptions and different math. For example, my 3.5e Player's Handbook tells me that the DC in that game to bend steel bars is 24, and there's no skill you can use for it, it's just raw Strength. So with your 16 Strength, you couldn't do it even with a natural 20 because you only have +3. Being larger and having a battering ram can both help. To break down a 1ft thick masonry wall is DC 35. For a 3ft hewn stone wall, DC 50. These numbers are stupid, though. I like the nonexistent 5e numbers a lot better.
Basically, your character sounds like he's not level 1. If he's level 4+, he could have STR 18, and I think that sounds about right, minus the cement part maybe. A mob boss without any special powers could absolutely get his arms ripped off by a level 5 Barbarian. By that level you can, and should, be up against some weirder stuff than that. Get a party behind you and you can take on, like, a young dragon.
So, assuming that the 16 Str is 5e and there are no particular abilities or feats that apply beyond your base strength, your average attempt to force a door would give you a roll of 13, with a maximum of 23. Apparently, CoS says that a forcing a wooden door has a DC10 Strength check, +5 if it's reinforced or barred, +5 if it's made of stone.
Any given attempt to force a door would be strong enough to force a wooden door that isn't in any way reinforced 65% of the time.
A somewhat strong attempt could easily have you force EITHER a reinforced OR stone door, at around 40% of the time.
A 5ftx3ftx3inch stone slab is also DC15 to move and has the same stats.
A particularly strong attempt could have you force a reinforced/barred stone door OR an iron door, that's at around 20% of the time.
8ftx6ft (depth not listed) slab is also DC20 to move, so same stats.
A barred/reinforced iron door would normally be beyond your abilities at a DC of 25. To have a short, you'd either have to be proficient and/or increase your strength to 20 so you could get a +5 modifier, giving you a 5% chance of succeeding.
Hope that helps.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to play D&D? Try the following resources first (each section withing vertical bars is a clickable link to find the resource).
When I think of something breaking down a cement wall like glass, I think giants. Those guys have Strength scores above 20, but they're also really big, so maybe that helps them.
A good DM will respect the narrative a bit though. By which I mean, if you're a Barbarian, you should be more likely to be able to do feats of strength than other characters with similar strength scores. Particularly if you've got Athletics proficiency, and really especially if you're raging.
That said, some things aren't possible at level 1, right? After your first ASI you could have STR 18, and if that doesn't give you more physical feats you can perform, then something's off, so clearly a DM shouldn't just let you do everything with a 16. At max level you might even have 24. With that you could knock down a cement wall with a headbutt, and not even feel it. I assume.
If you want a more rigid breakdown, you could consult the 3.5e books, but understand that it's a different game with different narrative assumptions and different math. For example, my 3.5e Player's Handbook tells me that the DC in that game to bend steel bars is 24, and there's no skill you can use for it, it's just raw Strength. So with your 16 Strength, you couldn't do it even with a natural 20 because you only have +3. Being larger and having a battering ram can both help. To break down a 1ft thick masonry wall is DC 35. For a 3ft hewn stone wall, DC 50. These numbers are stupid, though. I like the nonexistent 5e numbers a lot better.
Basically, your character sounds like he's not level 1. If he's level 4+, he could have STR 18, and I think that sounds about right, minus the cement part maybe. A mob boss without any special powers could absolutely get his arms ripped off by a level 5 Barbarian. By that level you can, and should, be up against some weirder stuff than that. Get a party behind you and you can take on, like, a young dragon.
As usual, this can also vary by DM and campaign since the DM sets the DC's for things. I have been known to set an Athletics DC of 20 to burst through the wall of a cottage Kool-Aid Man style. I don't think that's very realistic, but the campaign was a little more on the silly and fun side. If it were a more serious campaign, I would have ruled differently.
No 5e doesn’t exactly follow earlier editions on things like stats but back in 1e/2e they actually did provide some guidelines a strength of 10 was human average and represented being able to lift 100lbs over your head to arms length using both hands. Each additional 1 represented being able to lift an additional 10 lbs. but strengths back then maxed out at 18 - sort of: you could have %above that , while a 19 (ogre) could lift 200lbs and each level above that (the giants) added (if I remember correctly) 50lbs so storm giants (S:26) could lift about 500 lbs overhead. Smashing stacks of bricks and cinder locks is something many higher level black belts can do but smashing thru a concrete wall, even a fairly thin one calls for a high speed run by a heavy body. Same idea with the steel bars - how thick? How long? Are the bars free or are the ends embedded in something? From the story I would say he probably has an 18 strength. With that he should be able to hammer fist up to about 1 inch sheets of concrete ( like punching thru gypboard or concrete wallboard) and bend upto 1 inch diameter steel rods(think rebar) without too much problem. Add barbarian rage and it’s lack of pain sensation and he might even be able to run thru a cinder block wall.
As usual, this can also vary by DM and campaign since the DM sets the DC's for things. I have been known to set an Athletics DC of 20 to burst through the wall of a cottage Kool-Aid Man style. I don't think that's very realistic, but the campaign was a little more on the silly and fun side. If it were a more serious campaign, I would have ruled differently.
I had a joke magic item a Mantle of Kooladmon, that if summoned with the chant "Kool Aid Man! Kool Aid Man! Kool Aid Man!" the bearer would be compelled to smash through any and all barriers to reach the summoner with an "Oh yeah." This cursed object also turned the bearer into a anthropomorphic decanter of a magic elixir that would grant a character the benefits of a potion of heroism for 1 minute (sugar rush) and could only be drunk for said effect once per day (sugar rushes are hard to perpetuate) but some sort of CHR/CON save was necessary to resist sugar addiction ... we didn't play with it that long to think too hard on those last rules. I think some characters could shake it after a day of headaches.
I suppose beyond giving the players a choice of what color their elixir was, I could have done a variety of sugar rush potions (classic red would be heroism, maybe something more necrotic or warlock for Ecto cooler, etc).
So, I have a character based on one from a game, it’s called town of Salem it’s a great game you should all play it, it’s a hidden roles mystery style deduction game. It’s losing players and kinda dying go play it… anyway, there really strong in the lore but how strong are they in dnd RAW? This is a paragraph about the game lore, to compare to:
”Strength. This was the only suitable quality known for a boy throughout his entire life. When he was young, he despised all other kids of his age. They had such luxury, such privilege that the boy never had. While they were all gathered around to talk about the latest toys that their parents had given them, the child watched in the distance, the only thing that his parents had given him was no dinner for a week when they found out that he had failed the latest test. A neglectful childhood led the boy to find a new home, a training camp for soldiers. The boy was addicted. Every night for ten years he would sneak in and train all through the night. This had shown him real happiness, something he had never before experienced. Eventually, the Godfather heard the news of a man who had bent steel bars and smashed cement like it was glass. He was impressed and he needed somebody to deal with that pesky Sheriff who kept bothering him every night. He arranged to meet this ‘Juggernaut’ in person. The Godfather promised ample compensation for the Juggernaut’s specific set of ‘skills’.
It was at that moment a Vigilante had kicked down the door and raised his gun to the new partners in crime. “I knew it!” the Vigilante exclaimed, staring at the plans that the Godfather had carelessly left strewn on the table. The Godfather simply grinned, assuming his new muscle would take care of this threat. But all that the Juggernaut felt when he saw the gun in his face was an immeasurable rage.
The next day, the Town mourned the loss of the former town hero, who had his own gun stabbed through his torso when he tried to fight against the Mafia head on. As the crime scene was investigated more, however, the sadness quickly turned to blind confusion. As they found, lying under his desk, the leader of the Mafia, his arms torn clean from his body”
any way, I have him at 16 strength, what could he actually do? It talks about “bending steel bars, smashing cement like it was glass” could he actually do this with 16 strength? 10 is the strength of the “average human” so is 16 enough to do the stuff he’s doing? Also, he’s a barbarian, so if he was raging what would he be able to do? You get advantage on strength checks, if we’re using math to calculate any of this, what effect would advantage have? This is a bunch of random questions and speculation (and a mini ad for a video game) sorry for all this. (I added a poll, just check the on that you think would best describe the strength of the character, I would love a response though)
I can't speak to how to compare D&D to the game you describe.
As far as how I see attributes, a 16 stat would be common for a character but, it represents someone with a heroic level quality in the world of D&D. A stat of 20 or above would be a legendary or even demigod like being. In popular culture a 16 STR and up to me would be like Conan, an exceptional human warrior. A 20 or greater, akin to Hercules. As far as the other metrics you list, I would think that the 16 STR starts the range that we would consider reserved for our top level "strong" people in real life but, at what point the STR stat becomes supernatural in nature is hard to say. That's just my take on it, however.
A 16 is a respectable Strength score but by no means the upper maximum. It's more "above average," since the maximum is 20. Now, do bending steel bars or smashing cement like it was glass (I'm assuming without using a sledgehammer) sound like things that an above average human could achieve? Or do they sound more superhuman?
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
When I think of something breaking down a cement wall like glass, I think giants. Those guys have Strength scores above 20, but they're also really big, so maybe that helps them.
A good DM will respect the narrative a bit though. By which I mean, if you're a Barbarian, you should be more likely to be able to do feats of strength than other characters with similar strength scores. Particularly if you've got Athletics proficiency, and really especially if you're raging.
That said, some things aren't possible at level 1, right? After your first ASI you could have STR 18, and if that doesn't give you more physical feats you can perform, then something's off, so clearly a DM shouldn't just let you do everything with a 16. At max level you might even have 24. With that you could knock down a cement wall with a headbutt, and not even feel it. I assume.
If you want a more rigid breakdown, you could consult the 3.5e books, but understand that it's a different game with different narrative assumptions and different math. For example, my 3.5e Player's Handbook tells me that the DC in that game to bend steel bars is 24, and there's no skill you can use for it, it's just raw Strength. So with your 16 Strength, you couldn't do it even with a natural 20 because you only have +3. Being larger and having a battering ram can both help. To break down a 1ft thick masonry wall is DC 35. For a 3ft hewn stone wall, DC 50. These numbers are stupid, though. I like the nonexistent 5e numbers a lot better.
Basically, your character sounds like he's not level 1. If he's level 4+, he could have STR 18, and I think that sounds about right, minus the cement part maybe. A mob boss without any special powers could absolutely get his arms ripped off by a level 5 Barbarian. By that level you can, and should, be up against some weirder stuff than that. Get a party behind you and you can take on, like, a young dragon.
So, assuming that the 16 Str is 5e and there are no particular abilities or feats that apply beyond your base strength, your average attempt to force a door would give you a roll of 13, with a maximum of 23. Apparently, CoS says that a forcing a wooden door has a DC10 Strength check, +5 if it's reinforced or barred, +5 if it's made of stone.
Hope that helps.
Want to play D&D? Try the following resources first (each section withing vertical bars is a clickable link to find the resource).
|The free Basic Rules.|
|Some free short adventures| and |some more here too.| |Here is a series of encounters, some of which link together form a mini-adventure|.
You've played a few games and now want to buy materials? |Here's my guide on what to buy next|.
Ok, that’s great thanks
I have now leveled up! I have 18 strength.
Edit: as you said that changes things
As usual, this can also vary by DM and campaign since the DM sets the DC's for things. I have been known to set an Athletics DC of 20 to burst through the wall of a cottage Kool-Aid Man style. I don't think that's very realistic, but the campaign was a little more on the silly and fun side. If it were a more serious campaign, I would have ruled differently.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
No 5e doesn’t exactly follow earlier editions on things like stats but back in 1e/2e they actually did provide some guidelines a strength of 10 was human average and represented being able to lift 100lbs over your head to arms length using both hands. Each additional 1 represented being able to lift an additional 10 lbs. but strengths back then maxed out at 18 - sort of: you could have %above that , while a 19 (ogre) could lift 200lbs and each level above that (the giants) added (if I remember correctly) 50lbs so storm giants (S:26) could lift about 500 lbs overhead. Smashing stacks of bricks and cinder locks is something many higher level black belts can do but smashing thru a concrete wall, even a fairly thin one calls for a high speed run by a heavy body. Same idea with the steel bars - how thick? How long? Are the bars free or are the ends embedded in something? From the story I would say he probably has an 18 strength. With that he should be able to hammer fist up to about 1 inch sheets of concrete ( like punching thru gypboard or concrete wallboard) and bend upto 1 inch diameter steel rods(think rebar) without too much problem. Add barbarian rage and it’s lack of pain sensation and he might even be able to run thru a cinder block wall.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
I had a joke magic item a Mantle of Kooladmon, that if summoned with the chant "Kool Aid Man! Kool Aid Man! Kool Aid Man!" the bearer would be compelled to smash through any and all barriers to reach the summoner with an "Oh yeah." This cursed object also turned the bearer into a anthropomorphic decanter of a magic elixir that would grant a character the benefits of a potion of heroism for 1 minute (sugar rush) and could only be drunk for said effect once per day (sugar rushes are hard to perpetuate) but some sort of CHR/CON save was necessary to resist sugar addiction ... we didn't play with it that long to think too hard on those last rules. I think some characters could shake it after a day of headaches.
I suppose beyond giving the players a choice of what color their elixir was, I could have done a variety of sugar rush potions (classic red would be heroism, maybe something more necrotic or warlock for Ecto cooler, etc).
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.