DND_Reborn
The High Aldwin
Let's be honest: Great Weapon Fighting Style sort of sucks.
The effective bonus to damage is a paltry amount and make the style hardly worth taking as it is written.
d10 => 6.3 average, 0.8 increase
d12 => 7.33 average, 0.83 increase
2d6 => 8.33 average, 1.33 increase
Considering the trade-off of either a worse AC (no shield) or losing an additional attack (no bonus action TWF attack), why would anyone bother? Every Great Weapon Fighter-type I've made I end up choosing Defense Style for the +1 to AC instead of GWF style! When you put it side-by-side with Dueling, for example, your damage increase is only decent for 2d6 weapons (8.33 GWF vs. 6.5 for d8+2 dueling), and that comes at the loss of the +2 AC bonus for a shield.
Am I missing something? Is it somehow "worth it" that I've overlooked? Frankly, I am just not seeing much of a benefit, especially if you are using a d10 weapon (reach weapons).
The effective bonus to damage is a paltry amount and make the style hardly worth taking as it is written.
d10 => 6.3 average, 0.8 increase
d12 => 7.33 average, 0.83 increase
2d6 => 8.33 average, 1.33 increase
Considering the trade-off of either a worse AC (no shield) or losing an additional attack (no bonus action TWF attack), why would anyone bother? Every Great Weapon Fighter-type I've made I end up choosing Defense Style for the +1 to AC instead of GWF style! When you put it side-by-side with Dueling, for example, your damage increase is only decent for 2d6 weapons (8.33 GWF vs. 6.5 for d8+2 dueling), and that comes at the loss of the +2 AC bonus for a shield.
Am I missing something? Is it somehow "worth it" that I've overlooked? Frankly, I am just not seeing much of a benefit, especially if you are using a d10 weapon (reach weapons).
I've been considering a few options for fixes:
1. If you roll half the maximum on the die or lower, reroll the die. (e.g. roll 1-5 on d10 means reroll)
d10 => 6.75 average, 1.25 increase
d12 => 8.00 average, 1.50 increase
2d6 => 8.50 average, 1.50 increase
This yields a better increase overall, and keeps the "big weapons" (d12 and 2d6) at equal increases. It isn't quite the +2 damage for dueling, but an improvement.
2. You make damage rolls with advantage. (i.e. on 2d6, you would roll two sets of 2d6)
d10 => 7.15 average, 1.65 increase
d12 => 8.49 average, 1.99 increase
2d6 => 8.94 average, 1.94 increase
Obviously this gives a much better increase than RAW, and nearly matches Dueling's +2 bonus, but I am worried this is almost too much?
3. If you roll below average, the roll is treated as average. (e.g. a roll of 1-4 on d10 becomes 5; 1-2 on d6 becomes 3).
d10 => 6.50 average, 1.00 increase, minimum 5
d12 => 7.75 average, 1.25 increase minimum 6
2d6 => 8.00 average, 1.00 increase minimum 6
While the increase (on average) isn't as much, it has the benefit of raising the floor from 1 to 5 or 6, which is pretty nice in a way.
What do you think of those 3 options?
1. If you roll half the maximum on the die or lower, reroll the die. (e.g. roll 1-5 on d10 means reroll)
d10 => 6.75 average, 1.25 increase
d12 => 8.00 average, 1.50 increase
2d6 => 8.50 average, 1.50 increase
This yields a better increase overall, and keeps the "big weapons" (d12 and 2d6) at equal increases. It isn't quite the +2 damage for dueling, but an improvement.
2. You make damage rolls with advantage. (i.e. on 2d6, you would roll two sets of 2d6)
d10 => 7.15 average, 1.65 increase
d12 => 8.49 average, 1.99 increase
2d6 => 8.94 average, 1.94 increase
Obviously this gives a much better increase than RAW, and nearly matches Dueling's +2 bonus, but I am worried this is almost too much?
3. If you roll below average, the roll is treated as average. (e.g. a roll of 1-4 on d10 becomes 5; 1-2 on d6 becomes 3).
d10 => 6.50 average, 1.00 increase, minimum 5
d12 => 7.75 average, 1.25 increase minimum 6
2d6 => 8.00 average, 1.00 increase minimum 6
While the increase (on average) isn't as much, it has the benefit of raising the floor from 1 to 5 or 6, which is pretty nice in a way.
What do you think of those 3 options?