The discussion about weapons for small characters got me thinking about ways that 4th Edition has abstracted and/or constrained things that in previous
editions led to a lot of rampant min/maxing.
What if the base damage done by a character was independent of their weapon and was instead based on the character's class/role and size, with keywords that modify attack rolls, damage rolls, or crit effects?
This would allow players to choose weapons for their characters based primarily on roleplaying flavor. Weapon damage might use a simple steps like 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12, 2d6, 2d8, 2d10, 2d12, etc. Class/role determines your base weapon damage step, while size modifies it by 1 step for each size different from medium. Base damage by role might be: striker: 1d10, defender 1d8, leader 1d6, controller 1d4. Weapons might have keywords that modify their base damage. Keywords could modify both the attack and damage rolls in interesting ways, or add interesting crit effects. Two-handed weapons might simply increase damage by one step.
Such a system would remove the sense that "it's stupid for a halfling to use any weapon other than a X", and allow for a variety of keywords on weapons. A "brutal" weapon might be -1 to hit but +1 damage. A "jagged" weapon might do one step lower damage but inflict ongoing damage. Etc.
Weapons can still be grouped as they are for proficiency purposes, but actual damage would be based on the role, size, number of hands, and keywords.
Thoughts?
What if the base damage done by a character was independent of their weapon and was instead based on the character's class/role and size, with keywords that modify attack rolls, damage rolls, or crit effects?
This would allow players to choose weapons for their characters based primarily on roleplaying flavor. Weapon damage might use a simple steps like 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12, 2d6, 2d8, 2d10, 2d12, etc. Class/role determines your base weapon damage step, while size modifies it by 1 step for each size different from medium. Base damage by role might be: striker: 1d10, defender 1d8, leader 1d6, controller 1d4. Weapons might have keywords that modify their base damage. Keywords could modify both the attack and damage rolls in interesting ways, or add interesting crit effects. Two-handed weapons might simply increase damage by one step.
Such a system would remove the sense that "it's stupid for a halfling to use any weapon other than a X", and allow for a variety of keywords on weapons. A "brutal" weapon might be -1 to hit but +1 damage. A "jagged" weapon might do one step lower damage but inflict ongoing damage. Etc.
Weapons can still be grouped as they are for proficiency purposes, but actual damage would be based on the role, size, number of hands, and keywords.
Thoughts?
