Hi, all. Sorry if this has been answered elsewhere but I have not found a definitive answer.
I am a newb GM having a great time with my party of rogue, cleric, sorcerer and fighter. Good balance of talents, etc. and it's made for some fun game sessions. However, I think I have been too lax with a rule interpretation for my fighter and that is making my CR calculations feel pointless. Here's the specific issue:
My level 1 fighter has wisely chosen to wield a falchion and take the falchion weapon focus. It is my understanding that, while wielding the falchion two-handed they should add 1.5x their Strength modifier (+3 in this case) to damage rolls. They have been taking (and I have been allowing) damage rolls of 2d4+4, which seems straightforward. The +3 Strength modifier x 1.5 and rounded down to 4, yes? However, they are rolling (1d4+4)+(1d4+4). I think it should be (1d4+1d4)+4.
I love the crits they make but, coming back to my original point, it seems like that interpretation breaks my CR calculations in a very real way. Fights that should be challenging, with 1 of the 4 PCs getting seriously injured, turn out to be a walk in the park (when the dice are willing).
At the end of the day, if I have been too lax thus far I want to nip it in the bud so we don't have other loose interpretations slip into the campaign in level 2 and beyond. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!
I understand the confusion. It would be easier if you looked at the damage on the weapons table as the "damage die", regardless of the number of actual dice rolled. You add bonus damage from strength, specialization, and magic once per base damage die. When you crit with a x2 weapon, you add the bonuses twice, once for each damage die. If you crit with a x3 weapon, you add the bonuses thrice.
This, of course, doesn't happen when the rules say otherwise, such as with Vital Strike. You also don't multiply bonus damage dice, like sneak attack or flaming.
So if a weapon deals 2d4, has +4 in bonus damage from strength, x3 crit, and +1d6 for sneak attack, you deal 2d4+4 +1d6 on a successful successful sneak, and if you crit you deal 6d4+12 +1d6 on a crit that's also a sneak.
I hope that helps!
You are correct, it is (1d4+1d4)+4.
While it may seem strange, the damage die of a falchion is A 2d4, meaning it is counted as one die for all effects, so vital strike would make it 4d4 not 3d4 and strength mod is only applied once even though you're rolling two dice.
As they have said 2d4+4 is the correct damage for what you described.
To be honest, however, that is not great damage for a low level fighter. It is good, but not great.
I would usually take Power Attack at 1st level if I was a fighter and be able to do 2d4+7 with your fighter’s stats. Of course I would probably go with a greatsword and an 18 strength and do 2d6+9 at 1st level. Marshal types do great at lower levels while casters turn it on during the upper levels.
Good luck with your group and keep it up!
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At level 1 the encounters you face have 7-ish hit points. 2d4+4 is still going to drop most creatures in a single blow. Accuracy is the bigger issue at low levels when you count that a goblin has AC 16 and you're at a +4 or 5 to hit when using power attack. TBH as a strength fighter getting power attack at level 1 isn't a total necessity, level 2 or 3 would be fine.
As other have said the damage from STR is +4 not +8. If the player is still complaining make sure he understand that it is actually in his best interest to add it per roll than per dice. Once he levels up and starts facing larger creatures the extra damage they do using this rule will be over powering. Most large creatures have high STR and use large weapons that do multiple dice. A fire giant uses a large great sword that does 3d6 points of damage and has a 31 STR. His way of doing things would mean that the damage bonus from STR would be +45 instead of +15. Looking up the Fire Giant in the book you can see that is not the case.
To each his own, but for me the -1 for Power Attack to get 3 more points of damage with a two-handed weapon is worth it. If I am a 1st level fighter with an 18 strength and Weapon Focus, then I would be at +5 to hit with Power Attack and that is about a 50% chance to hit many low level opponents. The -1 to attack is not much to pay to get the extra 3 points and make sure you lay your opponent down.
I get Power Attack early and turn it on and never look back.
Plus, it gets you into the Cleave line of feats earlier and there is nothing better than a Cleaving Finish to get a little more ouuu your attack.
Different strokes for different folks, but that is my way of doing it.
Re: distasteful: During the next dozen combats, try tracking the number of times they miss by exactly 1 versus the number of times they miss by more than 1. The result ought to be convincing.
Plus its such a high crit weapon that maximizing your static damage bonuses make a big big difference in long term combat effectiveness.