D&D 5E Attack bonus equals Strength AND Dexterity, not Strength OR Dexterity.

[DND_Reborn]

I was thinking this morning about making your attack modifier equal to your proficiency bonus plus your Strength modifier plus your Dexterity modifier, but you cannot exceed +5.

So, a STR 20 = DEX 20 = STR 14 + DEX 16 (in terms of adding modifiers, that is).

Further "rules" if desired around weapon properties could be Heavy weapons limit DEX by STR and Finesse weapons limit STR by DEX.

Examples:

A greatclub would not gain +3 from DEX 16 if it only gained +2 from STR 14. The STR mod caps the DEX mod. The total would be +4, not +5.
A shortsword would not gain +3 from STR 16 if it only gained +2 from DEX 14. The DEX mod caps the STR mod. The total would be +4, not +5.

Note: this is for attack rolls only, not damage. Damage would still come from STR or DEX as normal according to the weapon.

The idea is it allows a more balanced STR/DEX build to compete in attack rolls to those with just high STR or high DEX.

Thoughts???

 

[auburn2]

I am not a fan. Fighting characters will be substantially more powerful than non-martial characters unless you did similar for spellcasting traits (clerics get Wisdom+Charisma, Wizards Int+Wis ......).

This would also make monsters a lot weaker relative to characters of a given level unless you spent a lot of time modifying them as well.

Finally this means better hit rolls and more damage, making armor class less effective and biasing characters away from armor towards dexterity, hp and damage resistance. The bias against armor is already a problem, this would make it more so.

The best way to address the problem you allude to is to roll abilities in my opinion. If you are dead set against dice for abilities and still want to do this then I recommend you go with half-strength bonus plus half dexterity bonus rounded down. A player could optionally keep full bonus for one ability for heavy or finesse weapons and not get the half-bonus for the other.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I am not a fan. Fighting characters will be substantially more powerful than non-martial characters unless you did similar for spellcasting traits (clerics get Wisdom+Charisma, Wizards Int+Wis ......).

This would also make monsters a lot weaker relative to characters of a given level unless you spent a lot of time modifying them as well.

Finally this means better hit rolls and more damage, making armor class less effective and biasing characters away from armor towards dexterity, hp and damage resistance. The bias against armor is already a problem, this would make it more so.

The best way to address the problem you allude to is to roll abilities in my opinion. If you are dead set against dice for abilities and still want to do this then I recommend you go with half-strength bonus plus half dexterity bonus rounded down. A player could optionally keep full bonus for one ability for heavy or finesse weapons and not get the half-bonus for the other.

Yeah, IMO monsters don't need to weaker against PCs than they already are. It seems like you would need math fixes across the board to make this work.

 

[Horwath]

I would rather have str or dex as melee/thrown attack&damage for all melee weapons. And dex for all ranged weapons

And remove simple/martial weapon category.

Add min str score for all weapons.

I.E.

dagger, 1d4 P damage, thrown 20/60ft, minimum strength 6

Greataxe, 2d8 S damage, minimum strength 18

basic bow, 1d6 P damage, range 100/400, minimum str 10

dragonbone longbow, 2d6 P damage, range 200/800, minimum strength 20

 

[NotAYakk]

Have each weapon have a str/dex required. And each point under suffer a -1 to hit.

Shortsword: 14 dex 12 str
Longsword: 14 str 12 dex
Greatsword: 16 str 10 dex
Rapier: 16 dex 12 str
Dagger: 10 str 14 dex
Scimitar: 14 str 14 dex
Maul: 18 str 8 dex
Warhammer: 16 str 10 dex
Throwing Hammer: 14 str 14 dex

But this doesn't quite do what you want.

Another idea is permitting added 1/2 of the lower bonus, and roundnup if both bonuses are equal. So 16 str/14 dex adds +4, 16/16 adds +5, 18/16 +5, 18/18 +6, 20/20 +8

 

[the Jester]

Not a fan. This seems like a free power up that doesn't actually fix a problem in the game, especially given that attacks typically hit far more than they miss already.

 

[NotAYakk]

Not a fan. This seems like a free power up that doesn't actually fix a problem in the game, especially given that attacks typically hit far more than they miss already.

It isn't free.

It is a powerup for suboptimal characters.

And barbarians.

Paladins, Fighters should go 16/8 in str or dex either way. Having the other stat positive is a nearly dead weight loss.

Rangers should dump strength. Monks same.

Only barbarians must go strength and wear medium/light/no armor.

Boosting suboptimal builds is not "a free boost".

Now, it does mean the optimal build is now 16/14 split at level 1 (or even 16/16). Then neglect other stats. Because +3 to hit is worth more than +3 hp/level.

 

[auburn2]

nm

 

[Minigiant]

Not a fan.
A base goblin has 8 str 14 dex. Normalling this is +4 with its weapon. With that houserule it is +3.
Kobolds go from+4 to +2
And poor animals.

That's a housrule that you would need to change AC calculations as well to fix. It's a lot of work.

 

[ZeshinX]

Can't say I'm a fan. This leans more into a simulation approach to the rules, rather than the abstract (which I personally favour). I mean, your table to do as you please, of course. If you feel 5e needs some more simulation, power to you, but 5e isn't a particularly good platform for simulation-style rules without needing to make a lot of follow-up changes. Doable, but a LOT of work.