Topic: Question about Strength Modifiers & Melee Attack Damage

From what I gather reading the rules, any Strength modifiers do not affect melee weapon damage.

Is that correct?

Re: Question about Strength Modifiers & Melee Attack Damage

I have seen absolutely no reference to Strength affecting damage, so I imagine no.

Dennis Higgins, The Higgipedia.
So mellow, he's probably not REALLY a grognard.

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Re: Question about Strength Modifiers & Melee Attack Damage

That is correct. One thing I never liked about strength affecting damage is that it raised the minimum possible damage. I'd be all for strength increasing damage potential by one, but in the sort of "if you have a +1 STR mod, a sword does d9 instead of d8 damage. A dagger does d5."

I wasn't going to introduce that mess though.

Re: Question about Strength Modifiers & Melee Attack Damage

See, I never quite got the whole "Strength makes you hit better" thing.  A Strength based damage bonus makes more sense to me than a Strength based accuracy bonus.

I'm glad you didn't introduce that mess, either.  d9?  yeesh.

Dennis Higgins, The Higgipedia.
So mellow, he's probably not REALLY a grognard.

Check out Gaming All Over The Place: http://gamingallover.blogspot.com/

Re: Question about Strength Modifiers & Melee Attack Damage

poolboy wrote:

See, I never quite got the whole "Strength makes you hit better" thing.  A Strength based damage bonus makes more sense to me than a Strength based accuracy bonus.

D&D's combat system is frustratingly abstract.  Why does armor make you harder to hit in the first place?  In the real world, soft armor provides extra resistance to sharp edges and points, and rigid armor (or Kevlar) diffuses the force of a blow.  Trying to simulate the interactions of weapon mass, velocity, and sharpness against armor thickness, density, and tensile strength would create, well, Rolemaster.  Most games simplify somewhat.

Under the "passive defense" mechanic that D&D uses, armor either deflects the force of a blow or fails catastrophically, with Strength increasing the chances of armor failure.  D&D characters gain more hit points as they progress through their class, implying hit points represent luck, stamina, and combat position as much or more than physical damage.

Under the "damage resistance" mechanic used by RuneQuest, GURPS, HERO, and others, armor reduces the force of a blow by a fixed (or occasionally variable) amount, transmitting the rest of the force as hit point damage.  DR-style games usually treat hit points as actual physical damage.  (HERO uses "stun" damage to represent comic-book reality, with "body" damage as a side-effect.)  As a result, strength adds to hit points of damage, e.g. RuneQuest's Damage Bonus or GURPS's base thrusting/cutting damage.

Last edited by fmitchell (2010-09-06 06:04:41)

Frank Mitchell
"The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread." -- Anatole France