I've begun running WOTR, and one of my players is working towards the mythic build below. Utilizing a few feats and relatively low end gear, he is able to generate nearly 1,000 damage with a single strike at level 15/M 4. I'm looking to the community to scrutinize. Are we interpreting something incorrectly or is this for real?
Level: 14 druid/1 ranger
Feats: Power Attack, Shapeshifting Hunter, Shaping Focus, Vital Strike, Improved Vital Strike
Spell/ability effects in effect: Wild Shape (Beast Form III, behemoth hippopotamus), strongjaw, greater magic fang
Strength Score:
15 (base score from point buy)
+1 (leveling progression)
+4 (belt of giant strength +4)
+6 (Wild Shape (see above))
=28 Total Str
Damage:
4D8 (base weapon dice for bite attack)
+4D8 (additional weapon dice for strongjaw effect)
+16D8 (additional weapon dice for improved vital strike)
=24D8 Total weapon dice (24-192 damage)
+13 (Str mod x 1.5)
+9 (Power Attack)
+3 (greater magic fang)
=37-217 Total Damage
(+2 to +8 if favored enemy)
Now, let's look at the exact same druid with as little as four mythic levels added:
Additional Feats: Mythic Power Attack, Mythic Vital Strike
Additional Strength: +4 (mythic ability increases)
Damage:
4D8 (base weapon dice for bite attack)
+4D8 (additional weapon dice for strongjaw effect)
+16D8 (additional weapon dice for improved vital strike)
=24D8 Total weapon dice (24-192 damage)
16 (Str mod x 1.5)
+13 (Mythic Power Attack)
+3 (greater magic fang)
=32 static bonuses to damage
+768 (Mythic (Improved) Vital Strike (32 x 24))
=824-992 Total Damage
(+50 to +200 if favored enemy (static favored enemy bonuses x 24))
There you have it, almost a thousand damage in a single attack - never mind other spell effects, the animal companion, summonable allies, better itemization, a suboptimal pre-item Str score, other feats... and a free grab attack paired with the bite. Is this for real?
How I would houserule it (and potentially RAI) would be that you only get the damage from Mythic vital strike not based on total number of dice but from the number of vital strike multipliers (i.e. Vital Strike = 2x bonus damage, Improved = 3x bonus damage, Greater = 4x bonus damage).
Just so you know, a mythic 20th level Fighter poops out 16 hundred damage a round. Almost Guaranteed.
Mythic optimized DPR is ridiculous.
Also how are you getting so much favored enemy damage? The most I see you getting from that is like 8 or 16?
Oh lol this is all wrong. Be back with how it's supposed to be in a second.
EDIT: This comes from a misinterpretation of "Weapon Damage Dice" in which there are two different meaning for the same term. A Greatsword's Weapon Dice is 2d6. A Morning Star's Weapon Dice is 1d8. Your beefed up Strongjaw is 8d8. They all benefit the same from Mythic Vital Strike. You roll additional weapon damage dice to represent Vital Strike's effect. The number of additional weapon damage dice is what you use to multiply. In your case 2. So you would deal 32x3+24d8 damage. (Still quite mighty for a mythic hero)
Mythic and "Is it Overpowered?" Flowchart (made by someone who sucks at making flowcharts):
Is it being compared to non-Mythic stuff?
Yes: Yes.
No: Is it crushing CR and MT appropriate Mythic encounters?
Yes: Maybe.
No: No.
If Yes, is it significantly more powerful than an alternate Mythic build?
Yes: Probably.
No: No.
If you're one-shotting Cthulhu, you're overpowered, no matter what level or mythic tier.
If you're one-shotting Cthulhu, you're overpowered, no matter what level or mythic tier.
Any Mythic character that invests in DPR can one-shot and/or one-round Cthulhu if they get within range.
Them's the breaks.
Now since he has 40 ft. Reach, the highest Str of any monster in the books, 6 attacks, and Grab the "getting within range" is the hard bit.
EDIT: This comes from a misinterpretation of "Weapon Damage Dice" in which there are two different meaning for the same term. A Greatsword's Weapon Dice is 2d6. A Morning Star's Weapon Dice is 1d8. Your beefed up Strongjaw is 8d8. They all benefit the same from Mythic Vital Strike. You roll additional weapon damage dice to represent Vital Strike's effect. The number of additional weapon damage dice is what you use to multiply. In your case 2. So you would deal 32x3+24d8 damage. (Still quite mighty for a mythic hero)
This at least seems like it's more in line with other builds.
How I would houserule it (and potentially RAI) would be that you only get the damage from Mythic vital strike not based on total number of dice but from the number of vital strike multipliers (i.e. Vital Strike = 2x bonus damage, Improved = 3x bonus damage, Greater = 4x bonus damage).
That's not a house-rule. That is RAI. I believe I've even seen a dev or two make that perfectly clear. The mythic version uses the same definition of weapon dice as the non-mythic version.
Where you will still have problems is when they burn a mythic power for another standard action.
I also banned mythic vital strike the first time I saw it used, it wasn't the type of campaign that I wanted to run.
I would also agree that the vital strike chain should only multiple the base damage, so the initial 4d8.