Finesse (or: Why does Paizo hate Dex?)

[CommanderCoyler]

Why are finesse weapons triply punished?
♦ They have smaller damage dice than non-finesse weapons (something that gets more and more relevant at higher levels).
♦ They use strength for damage, so you either need to put a lot into str (negating the point of using a finesse weapon in the first place) or do less damage.
♦ They either cost more sp or have fewer other traits than a non-finesse weapon
Any one of these (preferably the third) would make them balanced. It just seems to me that someone at Paizo really dislikes the idea of a dex-based swashbuckler type being able to be as effective as a brute.

As a side note, similar applies to ranged weapons: They have smaller damage dice compared to melee, they either don't get a mod to damage or get strength (half for bows) and have reloading to worry about.

PS: whoever thought up the 'volley' trait needs to be fired.

[PossibleCabbage]

Dexterity based combat styles should do less damage than strength based combat styles, otherwise strength is pointless. In exchange for this, dexterity gets better defense, mobility, and reflex saves.

Finesse weapons could stand to be cheaper or more varied or have some interesting traits though.

Personally when I think of a "Swashbuckler types Swordsperson" I think of someone with about 14 Strength and a really high dex, so they'd be getting that +2 to damage with a rapier. Pure dex combat styles should be predicated on things like "poisoning your opponent" since it does take some strength to plunge a rapier into something.

[Vidmaster7]

Oh you went and responded to it. I was hoping it would just silently pass on down the thread. Baiting title, uninformed opinion, and even a request to fire someone. Come on now.

[CommanderCoyler]

PossibleCabbage wrote:

Dexterity based combat styles should do less damage than strength based combat styles, otherwise strength is pointless. In exchange for this, dexterity gets better defense, mobility, and reflex saves.

'Pointless' except for carrying capacity, and all the extra movement modes (climb, jump, swim) and combat maneuvers from Athletics

Vidmaster7 wrote:

uninformed opinion

Not uninformed, in fact coming of playing quite a lot of other systems (4e mainly, but 5e too) where alternate stats to attacks work well and are entirely balanced