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Please change power attack to allow for a variable value instead of all or nothing. Someone trained in the ability should be able to calculate how much they sacrifice to hit the object for how much harder they hit it.
RWE (real world example... and yes i know D&D isnt real world but it clarifies my point :P ) : Chopping wood with an axe. I can easily swing with all my might and hit that wood as hard as i can with little to no acccuracy. I could also tap it with utmost percision with not near the same amount of power. OR i could use a good combination of both based upon experience, wood type, and desired cut.
Not everyone can pick up an axe and find a good middle ground or be able to vary it based upon exactly what they need. It takes experience and practice (in D&D we just take a feat and it is expected that our characters have put in the required effort and training).
Please change power attack to allow for a variable value instead of all or nothing. Someone trained in the ability should be able to calculate how much they sacrifice to hit the object for how much harder they hit it.
RWE (real world example... and yes i know D&D isnt real world but it clarifies my point :P ) : Chopping wood with an axe. I can easily swing with all my might and hit that wood as hard as i can with little to no acccuracy. I could also tap it with utmost percision with not near the same amount of power. OR i could use a good combination of both based upon experience, wood type, and desired cut.
Not everyone can pick up an axe and find a good middle ground or be able to vary it based upon exactly what they need. It takes experience and practice (in D&D we just take a feat and it is expected that our characters have put in the required effort and training).
Yes, all or nothing stinks for a PC or creature that has a high strength bonus.
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Yes, all or nothing stinks for a PC or creature that has a high strength bonus.
Yes, it does stink for Power Attackers. At least Combat Expertise users get an armor class bonus when they miss. Power Attackers get nothing. I don't have a solution, I just just know it sucks to miss with Power Attack and get nothing at all for the effort, while my Combat Expertise brethren snicker.
Don (Greyson)
Nyrond Triad
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I think that one of the reasons they went this way is for speeding up play. I definitely see the advantages of being able to pick and choose exactly how much you power attack, but it can really lag up combat when you have a fighter sitting there watching each attack until his turn comes up so he can do the math and come up with just what the best return ratio would be for each of his attacks with a power attack.
With the current system you can have a seperate line where you write your power attacking attack bonus and damage just like you would with a different weapon, and its unlikely to change unless you get a strength buff.
I agree its not a perfect system, both this and the original system are strong in one way and weak in another. It seems the best way to determine which would be best for the book is to decide whether one way seems to cause more problems then the other for more people, and also to consider which is more easy to house rule in for those who do want the other system.
-Tarlane
I think that one of the reasons they went this way is for speeding up play. I definitely see the advantages of being able to pick and choose exactly how much you power attack, but it can really lag up combat when you have a fighter sitting there watching each attack until his turn comes up so he can do the math and come up with just what the best return ratio would be for each of his attacks with a power attack.
With the current system you can have a seperate line where you write your power attacking attack bonus and damage just like you would with a different weapon, and its unlikely to change unless you get a strength buff.
I agree its not a perfect system, both this and the original system are strong in one way and weak in another. It seems the best way to determine which would be best for the book is to decide whether one way seems to cause more problems then the other for more people, and also to consider which is more easy to house rule in for those who do want the other system.
-Tarlane
I don't think the problem with your example is the feat, I think it's the player playing the fighter.
If he's holding up the game by doing math, he's not being a very good player.
Kick the graph-heavy min-maxers in the shin and let me have back my adjustable power-attack.
I've already houseruled on this: Power Attack is wholly based on your Strength modifier but you can still do it in variable amounts like old Power Attack.
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I think that the reason they changed it is because the people who designed the game openly stated that it wound up not being what it was intended to be, they wanted power attack to be an all or nothing powerful swing and instead it became a variable precision based attack. When the people who made it say it turned out wrong I think it's okay to change.
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: Chopping wood with an axe. I can easily swing with all my might and hit that wood as hard as i can with little to no acccuracy. I could also tap it with utmost percision with not near the same amount of power. OR i could use a good combination of both based upon experience, wood type, and desired cut.
Yeah, and i'd like to see you do it when the wood starts attacking you back.
My problem with power attack being a variable you can alter is that it only works in the game world where defenses are static. In the real world fighters don't moderate their attack damage by swinging slightly less accurately, they can however give it all they've got in exchange for loss of accuracy which the new version of this feat is perfect in representing.