Weapon damage dice

[Fennris]

I would like to see the amount of damage dice you get from weapon attacks tied to Something other than magic weapon pluses. I feel it’s weird that a lvl 1 fighter could do more damage then a 20th lvl fighter could just because they have a magical weapon.
I think scaling weapon dice to either your proficiency level, so expert would be 2, master 3, and legendary 4 dice. Maybe tie it to class levels. Make weapon die amount scale similarly to the way cantrips scale with caster levels. Just a thought

[Guez]

Yeah, it should be every 4 level starting from 5

[charissi]

Fennris wrote:

I would like to see the amount of damage dice you get from weapon attacks tied to Something other than magic weapon pluses. I feel it’s weird that a lvl 1 fighter could do more damage then a 20th lvl fighter could just because they have a magical weapon.

...

The weapon dice on magical weapons is a change i really like. It makes magic weapons so much more rewarding and exciting.

The hypothetical lv1-fighter with the +5 weapon vs. the lv20-fighter with non-magical weapon seems absurd to me, though a fun thought-experiment.

I guess every standard campaign should reward the players at some point with some magical gear and the system is balanced around that, imho.

High level characters with low level equipment could be a fun intermezzo in a campaign (like fleeing from a prison or something), and would of course have to be adjusted to the loss of power level of martial characters.

[Fennris]

Yes, I admit the level 1 vs level 20 is a bad example and a bit hyperbole. I still believe tying ones combat effectiveness to magic items is a bad choice. Magic items will be somewhat rare and not every martial is going to get a magic item at the same time. So now one martial character is doing most the damage during combat. Not fun for the other characters.
This to me, is similar to them telling casters your spells can only x damage untill you have a magic weapon. Then your spell damage will go up incrementally per plus.

If we go with your example of high levels with low level gear the only ones affected are the martials. Casters will be relatively unaffected. This is why I believe damage dice should be related to the characters ability, not items

[Castilliano]

The 20th level warrior is not a 1st level warrior w/ better stats & equipment. They've unlocked lots of powerful combat options that apply conditions, aid mobility, or whatever crazy stuff the Barbarian or Paladin chose. But the stats may be enough because that 20th level warrior has a +14 attack advantage which adds up to a lot more crits, and can just grab the sword out of the 1st level PC's hands!

A martial with a magic weapon should only do most of the martial damage if there's only one other martial. The extra die is excellent, and I find it far more cinematic to have the guy w/ a magic weapon actually stand out as having a freakin' magic weapon.

What I find funny is that you find it funny to tie effectiveness to magic when most fantasy heroes had magical weapons, many of which they needed to have a chance on their quest!

[Fennris]

I’ll agree to disagree. I admitted the 1st vs 20th level was a bad example, but since you want to bring it back up I’ll counter your critique. Even with all these combat feats a 20th level fighter will still do less than the level 1 if he hits.

As for your other point about characters needing magical items to complete their quests, those magic items were mostly artifact quality or legendary at least.

Again trying to make a fighter have to have a magic weapon to be any good at combat is lame.

[Vidmaster7]

It has always been that way. D&D character have always needed magic items to function. If you want them to function without magic items you have to make magic items very weak so their presence isn't game breaking then. Then you will have people complaining that magic items are useless. Their really is no winning.

[ChibiNyan]

Vidmaster7 wrote:

It has always been that way. D&D character have always needed magic items to function. If you want them to function without magic items you have to make magic items very weak so their presence isn't game breaking then. Then you will have people complaining that magic items are useless. Their really is no winning.

The power level they've had since AD&D to PF1e wasn't that bad... Only complaint was the opportunity cost of special abilities compared to the +1.