D&D Combat & Rules [Rebalancing 3.5]

[RobbyPants]

A month or so back I started a thread on Rebalancing 3.5.  It's gotten huge to the point that I was asked to split it into several sub-threads in the house-rules page.

Just so we're on the same page, what I'm looking to do is help close the gap between the drastically overpowered and the underpowered.  I'm trying to remove some of the worst abuses.  If you're familiar with JaronK's Tier system, I'm aiming for roughly a tier 3 game.

I will try to update these first posts with the current versions of what we've "agreed on."  Any recent additions will be in red so they're easier to find.

That being said, we can begin the work below.


(Cross-post links:)

Rebalancing Compendium

Races 
Core Classes
Other Classes 
Skills & Feats 
Spells 
Combat & Rules 
Equipment 

[RobbyPants]

General Combat


Iterative attacks are all -5 from the BAB, instead of a cumulative -5 penalty.  So, a full BAB attack routine at level 20 would be +20/+15/+15/+15 instead of +20/+15/+10/+5


The following forms of precision damage work against creatures immune to critical hits, but they deal half damage:

• Sneak Attack
• Sudden Strike
• Skirmish
• Precise Strike

___


Charging:
Per the PHB except:

When determining the line on which you charge, you do not have to take the shortest route to your opponent.  Instead, you may charge in any straight line on which you would threaten your opponent.  You must make your attack when you enter the first square in which you threaten your opponent.  In all other ways, the path you take must still be "open", as described in the PHB.

You may overrun as part of a charge.

Overrun:
You may overrun as part of a charge.

[RobbyPants]

Special Combat Options



Turn Undead
I wanted to make a slightly less clunky mechanic.


Turn Undead
You create a burst of positive energy centered on yourself with a thirty foot radius.  All undead creatures in the area take 1d6 points of damage per Cleric level. A successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 cleric level + Cha mod) halves the damage.  All living creatures in the area are ]healed the same amount (Will save for half, harmless).  You are not affected by your own turn attempts.

Undead creatures with Turn Resistance take less damage.  For each point of turn resistance, reduce the number of damage dice by one.  So if a ninth level Cleric (9d6 turn damage normally) would turn a vampire (turn resistance 4), he would roll 4d6 damage less, so he would only deal 5d6 damage to the vampire.


Bolster Undead (replace rebuke undead)
You create a burst of negative energy centered on yourself with a thirty foot radius.  All undead creatures in the area are healed 1d6 points of damage per Cleric level (Will save for half, harmless).  All living creatures in the area take the same amount of damage, with a Will save for half damage (DC 10 + 1/2 Cleric level + Cha mod).  You are not affected by your own bolster attempts.


Improved Turn Undead
Prerequisite: Ability to turn undead
Benifit: When you turn undead, all undead creatures in the area are dazed for a number of rounds equal to half your Cleric level plus your Cha mod.  If they succeed on the Will save for half damage from turning, they are not dazed.


Rebuke Undead
Prerequisite: Ability to bolster undead
Benifit: When you bolster undead, all undead creatures in the area must make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 Cleric level + Cha mod) or risk falling under your control.  If your Cleric level is at least double the undead creature's hit dice and it fails its Will save, it is under your mental control.  You may control any number of undead creature's whose total hit dice does not exceed your Cleric level.

[RobbyPants]

Other Rules



Repairing Magical Equipment
If a magical item is destroyed, but can still be physically repaired, then it is possible to restore it's enchantment. 

First, the item must be fully physically repaired to its original masterwork quality.  If the item has been partially or wholy destroyed (disintegrated, burned, disolved, etc), then it cannot be physically repaired.

Second, the enchantment needs to be "repaired".  The broken pieces still contain residual magical energies, so once the item is made whole, those energies need to be refocused to get the item to full working order.  Repairing the enchantment requires the person to have the approriate item creation feat, and any other special creation prerequisites for the specific item.  This repair costs 1/10 of the market price of the item, and 1/25 of that cost in XP.  As usual, the repair takes one day per 1,000 gp of the repair cost.

For example, if a +1 longsword is sundered, and later repaird, the enchantment can be repaired for 200 gp (one tenth the original 2,000 gp cost to enchant it), and would cost 8 XP (1/25 of 200).

[RobbyPants]

* Reserved Q & A *

[Mister_Sinister]

My first suggestion would be to have the following as options available to everyone, with the feats making you a master, rather than simply not inept:

- Power Attack
- Combat Expertise
- Improved Bull Rush, Trip, Disarm, etc
- All fighting styles (including OHF, 2HF, TWF, S&B)

The feats for each would be option-expanding, rather than numerical, and preferably scalar.

[RobbyPants]

My first suggestion would be to have the following as options available to everyone, with the feats making you a master, rather than simply not inept:

- Power Attack
- Combat Expertise
- Improved Bull Rush, Trip, Disarm, etc
- All fighting styles (including OHF, 2HF, TWF, S&B)

The feats for each would be option-expanding, rather than numerical, and preferably scalar.

Well, I think I agree with the bulk of this, but I don't want to hand out Improved versions of Trip, Disarm, Bullrush, or Sunder for free.

Also, I think you should be able to choose +Str or Dex to attack.  Weapon Finesse can be used for adding +Dex to damage, in place of Str.  I also like the idea of a feat that gives +Dex to damage on ranged attacks, but possibly only within the first range increment or 30 feet.  Any thoughts?

[Elennsar]

Its tempting. But why only 30 feet? (Particularly with D&D's exagerated bow ranges)

Would this be "only versus foes which can suffer a critical hit", since presumably it is accurate placement rather than raw power?

[RobbyPants]

Its tempting. But why only 30 feet? (Particularly with D&D's exagerated bow ranges)

Well, I suggested 30 feet or one range increment (which could be over 100 feet for some bows).  Perhaps it could be whichever is greater, allowing it to work on thrown weapons at over ten feet.

Would this be "only versus foes which can suffer a critical hit", since presumably it is accurate placement rather than raw power?

It could be precision damage.  Perhaps you add 1/2 your Dex mod to damage against creatures immune to crits.

[Elennsar]

Ah, I was dense and missed the "or one range increment". Yeah, I'd do whichever is greater. "Short range" if redoing the range of weapons entirely, but that's off topic.

And I think precision damage makes the most sense if one uses this. Not sure on the idea of "Add half Dex mod to damage against creatures immune to crits.", I'd want to think on that.

[RobbyPants]

And I think precision damage makes the most sense if one uses this. Not sure on the idea of "Add half Dex mod to damage against creatures immune to crits.", I'd want to think on that.

The only reason I suggest it is because it's my current "rogue fix" in the classes thread.  I'll allow rogues to roll half (round down) the number of Sneak Attack dice against targets immune to crits, so the ability isn't so binary (as Sunic likes to call it).

[Elennsar]

I understand the idea, I'm just not sure I agree with it. I'd rather have Sneak Attack be much more limited about when it applies to begin with (sneak attack from flanking or feinting gets my goat, but that's a discussion for the classes thread) so I'm not fond of making it less "binary".

Still, finding out that something can't be critted should be a problem to deal with, not a "Well, I guess I should take Total Defense and wait for you guys to finish it off." That's dreadfully boring.

[Midnight_v]

Also, I think you should be able to choose +Str or Dex to attack.  Weapon Finesse can be used for adding +Dex to damage, in place of Str.  I also like the idea of a feat that gives +Dex to damage on ranged attacks, but possibly only within the first range increment or 30 feet.  Any thoughts?

Doing that. Ready for this? Doing that upsets the game.

I want you to think about Mad. Really think about it.
What does strength do? Adds to your to-hit, damage, a few non-combat skill checks. Grapple


What does DEX do?
Adds to:
Saves
AC
Initiative
Tumble
Grapple (read Escape artist.)
Anti-trip
And now you want to add it to your "To hit" for free. And to damage with a feat with no pre-reqs.

You've Made swashbuckling a no brainer there. People who want to swashbuckle will love you, but thats by no means balanced from a mechanical standpoint.

[RobbyPants]

Well, we could keep Weapon Finesse as-is.  How about Improved Weapon Finesse to add Dex to damage?  That's a two feat investment of your overall seven feats.  Is that better?

[Elennsar]

I think one fix to that is to make Strength more useful (or affordable). There is a reason why most fighters have valued both. I'm not sure D&D does enough justice to Strength.

But yeah, Dexterity is extremely useful. Too much so.

I'd suggest having Weapon Finesse (if adding to damage) gain a requirement...and not a Dex one. Make it one of the "you have mastered doing X" feats.

[Midnight_v]

I think one fix to that is to make Strength more useful (or affordable). There is a reason why most fighters have valued both. I'm not sure D&D does enough justice to Strength.

But yeah, Dexterity is extremely useful. Too much so.

I'd suggest having Weapon Finesse (if adding to damage) gain a requirement...and not a Dex one. Make it one of the "you have mastered doing X" feats.

+1

However I think its fine but really what else can one use stregnth for?

I don't mink the improved weapon finesse, its bascially "Shadow Blade" without the prereqs. So you don't have to take thate level or SS.

No, come to think of it. We should make it balanced with Shadow blade completely. So it may need some other prereq.
1. It's simply harder to use dex instead of str,
2. and when you finally can, you get so much more for it.
Fight much IRL? You know I'm telling the truth.  #2 applies to a game world as well.

[Elennsar]

No. I do know that being a Strength 13 equivalant in our world is not a very good idea, even if being a Dexterity 18 will pay off more than a Strength 18 in terms of the various things being Dexterous boosts.

That means that being strong has to be easier...since its not ignored. Strong fighters hit harder. I think that means we have to keep Dexterity from boosting damage.

[Midnight_v]

I'm not sure what your "No" is refering to.

To an extent you're right though.
However, not allowing dex to damage ever, not even allowing for precision is not accurate either.
I give example of this:

Important for my argument 1

Please skip to 1:09 Important for my argument 2.

So at somepoint Dex to damage as precision damage is valid. How much you should have to pay for it is the only question in my book.
M_v

Maybe monks should get it for free...

[DaveoftheRave]

I think weapon finesse should be free.  Dex to hit but only for finessable weapons should be fine.

Definitely not for damage though, that's what sneak attack is for.

[Elennsar]

No (I don't fight much in real life).

As to Dex for "precision"...I'd rather have "hitting well" (say, beat someone's AC by 10 or more) reflect "hit with great accuracy".

Called shots and such. Rewarding Dexmasters by having them hit more often and with more effect winds up making Strength far too irrelevant.