1:300 Power Attack?!

[Aximili]

Ok, I heard about a Character Build that could add up to 300 damage for each -1 penalty sufered from power attack. At first I simply dismissed it as no more than exagerated rumors. However, I can't tell how many times I've been surprised by what people can do with the rules, and, while this simply screams to me "not possible!", I thought it'd be better to just ask around.

So here I am. Have you heard of it?

[Bears With Lasers]

No, that's an exaggeration. You can get it up to 1:8-ish, though.

[ExHunterEmerald]

Yeah, lemme see...
Start with the pally-standard Greatsword, held two-handed for a 1:2 ratio.
Add leaping attack ups that again for 1:3...

...and that's as far as I can take it. :P
Sorry, my min-max fu is weak.

[Thomas]

Frenzied Berserker figures into it, obviously. Add Leap Attack. And... I think that's about it.

[Aximili]

Well, I don't recall the exact numbers, by I remember you can get to double digits (though I remember the build was epic level). In fact, I wouldn't even asked this if I didn't know for sure you can get at least further than 1:20. But that third digit really scared me.

[Frosty Flake]

Doesn't the Exotic Weapon Master have the option to do some nifty stuff with bonus damage? I can't remember and don't have the right book here...

[WildBill]

How do you get as high as 1:10?

[Bears With Lasers]

Combine Power Attack, Leap Attack, the Battle Jump regional feat if you're allowed to take it, Combat Brute, and the Frenzied Berserker class. Sprinkle in things that multiply damage on a charge, like the Valorous weapon enhancement, and a pounce ability from somewhere.

[Penguinizer]

Nothing close to hulking hurler. 1000d6 damage with a huge ball of lead ftw :P

[ExHunterEmerald]

Nothing close to hulking hurler. 1000d6 damage with a huge ball of lead ftw :P

Captain Ennet and his 150+ UMD-bearing crewmen with high-CL wands of fireball beg to differ.

...no, I'm not planning on doing that to my DM! That would be just AWFUL.

[Coffee_Dragon]

There's some major disagreement whether things like Leap Attack follow the normal rules of multiplication or are applied sequentially to the Power Attack ratio. Supposedly WotC customer service even said that the FAQ is wrong and should/will be changed.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Favoured Enemy Power Attack (and the 3.0 Shadowlands Power Attack it appears to be based off) lets you increase it but it's too specific.

[Yakk]

Charging on Lances?

[Ikkitosen]

Charging on Lances?

Leap-Attack Centaur?

[AtomicKitKat]

Frenzied Berserker goes as high as 4:1
Combat Brute brings it further to 5:1 or 6:1
Couple of Feats from Draconomicon will bring a weapon's multiplier up as much as 3 grades(so x4 becomes x7, for example), as high as 12:1
Leap Attack simply doubles everything, so 24:1

Note that all these presume you're either using a Heavy Pick or Scythe in both hands.

If you go by the Savage Species optional extra-hand-rule, you could further extrapolate the Power Attack progression, making it go up by 1 multiplier(*3 on basic PA with none of the above stuff yet) for the third hand, 2(*4) for using in four hands, etc. That's absolutely disgusting though.

[menschenfresser]

but that 24:1 would only be on a critical then, or what ? 0_o ?

[Fax Celestis]

That is indeed correct.

[Ramza00]

A thri keen or similar build with multiple hands, all of which are used to manhandle one weapon?

[Deathcow]

Hey, what books are Leap Attack and Shock Trooper from? CWar?

[Thomas]

Hey, what books are Leap Attack and Shock Trooper from? CWar?

Yep, Complete Warrior.

[Ikkitosen]

Leap Attack simply doubles everything, so 24:1

Is there a rules reference for why Leap Attack doesn't use the normal combining multiples rules?

[Fax Celestis]

It reads "...you can double the extra damage dealt by your use of the Power Attack feat. If you use this tactic with a two-handed weapon, you instead triple the extra damage from Power Attack."

[Zherog]

Leap Attack is from Complete Adventurer, not Complete Warrior. And the errata for the feat reads as follows:

Page 110: Leap Attack
The second sentence of the Benefit paragraph should read as follows:

If you cover at least 10 feet of horizontal distance with your jump, and you end your jump in a square from which you threaten your target, you deal +100% the normal bonus damage from your use of the Power Attack feat.

So, Leap Attack only doubles the normal damage of your weapon on a Power Attack. Or, in other words, it doesn't multiply the stuff from (for example) Frenzied Berserker.

[Mewtarthio]

A thri keen or similar build with multiple hands, all of which are used to manhandle one weapon?

Pity the Hecatoncheires has trouble coordinating his hundred arms...

[Ramza00]

So in sum leap attack just adds one more number to the power attack ratio.

[Yakk]

Multipliers in D&D add, they don't multiply.

[Ikkitosen]

So in sum leap attack just adds one more number to the power attack ratio.

Multipliers in D&D add, they don't multiply.

This is what I thought too. Thanks for the reference Zherog.

[Aximili]

Ok, I'm putting together what's been said here, and I'll post it when it's over. Though it won't even get close to 1:300.

Where's the valorous weapon enhancement?

[Yuki Akuma]

There's some major disagreement whether things like Leap Attack follow the normal rules of multiplication or are applied sequentially to the Power Attack ratio. Supposedly WotC customer service even said that the FAQ is wrong and should/will be changed.

This of course means the FAQ is perfectly correct in every way, as cust serv are dirty rotten liars.

[Mewtarthio]

This of course means the FAQ is perfectly correct in every way, as cust serv are dirty rotten liars.

But what if they know we know they're dirty rotten liars, and so they're telling us the truth in hopes that we'll mistake it for a lie?

...Even worse, what if they know we know they know we know, and so they're lying again to pre-empt us?

Yes, that sentence really does follow the rules of English grammar and really does make perfect sense. Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.