I think the Power Attack feat description is great, until the part about 2-handed weapons adding DOUBLE to damage.
I think this makes wielding a 2-handed weapon two to three times more effective then any of the other fighting styles. This becomes more true against creatures with damage reduction.
Don't get me wrong, I think 2-handed weapons should deal more damage, and they do - a larger die, and STR X 1.5. Feats such as Overhand chop even seem well balanced.
The end result of 2-handed Power Attacking being soooo much better is that the characters who choose this style (usually medium sized fighters and barbarians) end up dealing two or three times more damage then a 1-handed attacker, at the expense of armor class. However, since these are the only two fighting classes that can't heal themselves, it falls to the other classes to clean up the mess.
"If there's a problem, the answer must be to power up the single-hand attacks."
I think that would still leave 2-weapon attackers, small characters, ranged attackers, etc. far behind. I think the 2Hand Power Attack just stands out as beyond the power of any other options.
I would also question, not dispute, but question the assertion that fighters are so underpowered in PF. From our playtest experience, the fighters have been on par with the other classes.
I would also question, not dispute, but question the assertion that fighters are so underpowered in PF. From our playtest experience, the fighters have been on par with the other classes.
So far, at 1st-3rd level the fighter in our playtest has significantly outperformed the others. At 10th level, I suspect he'll be far behind, however.
I would also question, not dispute, but question the assertion that fighters are so underpowered in PF. From our playtest experience, the fighters have been on par with the other classes.
It's pretty sad that a class optimized to kill things (Fighter/Barb/etc) is "on par" with classes which are not.
Fighter/Barb/Ranger/Paladin should outshine any other class when it comes to killing the bad guys.
Why does pretty much every effective melee build take Power Attack?
Because it's one of the ONLY feats that scales with level (BAB), thus making it effective through their entire progression.
It also helps them keep up with the Wizard/Sorc/Cleric/Druid at mid levels. Not outshine, keep up.
I would hardly call that an overpower feat.
"It's pretty sad that a class optimized to kill things (Fighter/Barb/etc) is "on par" with classes which are not"
I'm a little confused. I don't think there is any dispute that the full BAB classes are the best at melee combat. As it should be. The point I'm trying to make is that when wielding a 2-handed weapon and Power Attacking, that characters damage output is out of proportion to other builds. Those characters who attack with other methods become almost inconsequential. Also, it makes it almost a requirement to fight 2-handed, rather then with a shield. The attacker takes more damage, but it is up to another character to deal with that.
Again to clarify, I think Power Attack is great, except for the doubling for 2 handed weapons.
"At 10th level, I suspect he'll be far behind, however."
Don't be so sure, we are at 10th now, and the fighters damage output and armor class are amazing!
If there's a problem, the answer must be to power up the single-hand attacks. You mustn't nerf the two-handed attacks, because even with them, meleers become less and less relevant.
Also, I hope that Jason denerfs Power Attack, for the love of God.
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divine spellcasters are equal or better than full attack bonus meleers (not grossly so since buffs were cut back slightly)
Im a fan of double the damage for powerattack with twohanded weapons as long as you give them an equal penalty to attack and AC (-5 to attack +10 to damage, -5 to AC for the round, or maybe one half, so -2 to AC)
I also love the idea of double expertise with shields (let the stat be DEX not INT though)
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divine spellcasters are equal or better than full attack bonus meleers (not grossly so since buffs were cut back slightly)
Im a fan of double the damage for powerattack with twohanded weapons as long as you give them an equal penalty to attack and AC (-5 to attack +10 to damage, -5 to AC for the round, or maybe one half, so -2 to AC)
I also love the idea of double expertise with shields (let the stat be DEX not INT though)
Yeah!!! Dex for combat expertise!!