Falchion, how useful?

[Conners]

I have a character using a Falchion. My strategy revolves around hitting a lot of people, Great Cleave, Weapon Specialization and most importantly Improved Critical (considering it lowers my critical range to, 15?), are my main feats in the arsenal.
How good would you say this strategy works out? Also, do you have any tips on strategy?

Feel free to discuss the weapon and how it compares to other weapons.

[Kaelaroth]

I think they look pretty damn cool.
Yet, my PHB is not to hand, so I cannot comment otherwise.

[Dhavaer]

Weirdly, I was just reading a thread on the Wizards boards where someone did a mathematical breakdown of falchion vs. greatsword. With keen/improved crit., the falchion wielder needs 38 bonus damage to keep pace with the greatsword wielder. Difficult, but not impossible to get.

[Zincorium]

The real reason that falchions fall well below greatswords or greataxes in the grand scheme of things is that so many things at high levels (and some at low) are simply immune to criticals, meaning that additional range of crits is meaningless and the additional average damage the greatsword or greataxe deals means they pull out ahead.

I personally like falchions, both the heavy scimitar in the PHB and the historical, one handed falchion. I tend to use them a lot. But I don't pretend they're superior to the other offerings out there.

[Quietus]

Mechanical comparisons to greatswords aside, I like it. Greatswords strike me as the "civilized barbarian's" weapon - a huge honking hunk of metal with which to hew through one's foes, but it's still an actual sword. I associate falchions with weapons similar to the two-handed weapons that the orcs were using in the Lord of the Rings movies, very rough, but lots of bladeyness - perfect for use as a giant cleaving chunk of metal, less damage due to the roughness, but so many jagged edges make it far more likely you'll hack into someone's vitals.

[Freshmeat]

Greatsword is technically better, but then again, I'd say GS is slightly above the curve anyway. There's a reason everyone takes it, after all.

The falchion is a pretty cool weapon though, and not much worse than the greatsword. If you like a change of pace, or need a different weapon for flavor reasons I highly recommend it.

Improved critical is the real kicker for Falchion, but keep in mind that you can only get it at a relatively high level (unless you can score a quick Keen enchantment). Estimated character level are things you might want to keep in mind when making your choice.

Right out of the box though, the Falchion deals 2 damage less than the greatsword, but criticals 1/20 more.
Yeah, pretty bad tradeoff.

[Brawnspear]

There is another specific instance when the falchion has the best chance for down right awesomeness. And that is when using the relatively broken tome of battle. A chaotic crusader in a certain stance can reroll and add all max damage dice. Especially with imp crit on a falchion, that's a chance for some massive damage. Also, I concur that the falchion is just cool in general.

[Akennedy]

In my campaigns, I allow the falchion to be weapon finessed, to try and attract players into using it. I also see the falchion to be more of an elegant weapon than savage. Looks like a flourish-y weapon to me..

[Ted_Stryker]

I might go with a keen falchion instead of spending a feat on improved critical -- you should be able to afford it by the time your BAB gets high enough for you to qualify for improved crit.

Great Cleave is great against mooks, but once you start facing opponents that you can't drop with one swing, its utility is greatly reduced. It also ties up three feats, which is less of a problem for a fighter, but if you are another PC class, feat scarcity could be an issue.

[lord_khaine]

its a misconseption that tome of battle is broken, there is nothing in there thats more powerfull than what you can find in the core books.

that aside, i would replace great cleave if i were you, its usualy a waste of time, only good when you are in melee combat with hordes of very weak opponents you can take down in hit.

[Saph]

At very very very high levels (probably epic, although builds with cheesily high Strength scores can also qualify) the falchion becomes better than the greatsword, since the extra damage from a multiplied critical becomes so huge as to make the difference between 2d4 and 2d6 not very important. I think that's the 38 number that Dhavaer was quoting.

But for 95% of games, the greatsword's higher base damage makes it a better general weapon. On the other hand, there's something to be said for a bit of variety. It gets a little dull when every single fighter is using the same weapon.

- Saph

[Freshmeat]

Correct. Great cleave is rarely all that useful. Depending on your meta it could be awesome though, if your DM loves to throw mooks at you.

However...hordes of enemies aren't all that frequent because it makes for long combat rounds, lots of rolling and lots of modifiers you have to keep track of (for example, after a slow, a glitterdust and a grease, try to keep note who is affected by which effect and how they may even affect each other).

Great cleave requires you to consistently kill more than two enemies in a single round. That's not very likely.
If it is the case however, chances are you'd win the battle easily anyway.

Alternatively, if they can be cleaved so easily, why doesn't the wizard just cast fireball? He'll have enough spell slots anyway, and you can spend your feat on something better. Preferably something that works well against bosses, rather than increase your skill at what, killing mooks? Seriously.
Verdict: Weak effect with a very narrow application.

[Spiryt]

In my campaigns, I allow the falchion to be weapon finessed, to try and attract players into using it. I also see the falchion to be more of an elegant weapon than savage. Looks like a flourish-y weapon to me..

I think it would be kinda broken. There are weapons that are one or two handed (power attack) and can be used with weapon finesse. But they are exotic, just for that reason.

I have always seen "enchanced crit" as stronger than others. At slighty higher levels with greatsword you have possible 1-4 damage, but with keen falchion you have really often x2 attacks.

falchion to be more of an elegant weapon than savage.

Dunno, there were historical "falchion like" weapons, some guys are even doing them for sale, and there is nothing especially elegant in them. Devastating cuts, but of course handling and versality worse than "classic" straight blades.

From some reason there is common assumtion that everything that is curved or eastern must be more finesse, fast and generally "kung fu kapoof".

[Kioran]

The Falchion is a savage and burtal, but relatively effective weapon - I like it, and besides, losing 2 damage might be a hassle, but due to all kinds of damage boni abounding, not a tragedy. And you still have good crits......

In fact, if you use Travesty of Blades (ToB), your class features make base damage almost a non-issue.

[PlatinumJester]

Falchions are pretty decent considering they have a 25% critical chance with the Improved Critical feat.

[Akennedy]

Falchions are pretty decent considering they have a 25% critical chance with the Improved Critical feat.

[nitpick] Well, 30%... 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20. So, 6 numbers, 5% each.. 6*5% = 30% [/nitpick]

[de-trick]

Falchion I had a paladin wield 1, he got a +1 to attack and damage for favored weapon, so was all good.

but anyways if yo try to compare weapons to different ones everyones going to be using the greatsword, so care about the fluff more than crunch for weapons.

I see Falchion more as a middle eastern weapon, I also wished they were finnessible, and able to use 1 handed(with a feat)

[Spiryt]

I see Falchion more as a middle eastern weapon, I also wished they were finnessible, and able to use 1 handed(with a feat)

One handed falchion is called a scimitar...

[Conners]

Hmmm..... It would seem that great cleave won't do me much good.... What about normal Cleave? Would it be better to keep that or toss it as well?

[Spiryt]

Well, great cleave is going to be rarely any good, most experienced players also keep saying that Weapon Specialisation is a waste of feat.

I don't know what books does your GM allow/have, but things like this would be more practical than Greater Cleave, even if no so good. Also Improved Trip is almost always good, aditional attacks against prone opponent, with so much critical chance...

[Dullyanna]

Historically, falchions were essentially slightly over-sized meat cleavers, machetes, or butcher's knives. They're definitely not finessable, as they were designed to be heavy (They usually weighed about 2 pounds). Also, they were one-handed. Then again, this is DnD we're talking about, where drowning restores you to a stable condition if you're dying.

In an attempt to stay on topic, I'd say the weapon specializtion feats dpend on how nice your DM is. If he is, then you're sure to get a nifty falchion. If he's not, you might not even see a regular one during the campaign. Also, If you think you're going up against alot of humanoids, I suggest (DC 14) that you get either improved trip or improved disarm.

[Citizen Joe]

Hmmm..... It would seem that great cleave won't do me much good.... What about normal Cleave? Would it be better to keep that or toss it as well?

Cleave is good because you weill always eventually drop a creature with damage, this gives you an extra attack when you finish off a creature. Great Cleave isn't as useful because you would need to finish off your next opponent with a single shot of the cleave attack.

I think that there needs to be an agreement between the players and the DM as to the nature of the adventures. In theory, the PC's should be able to reject plot hooks that wouldn't be favorable for the characters. Thus, if a PC loads up on some technique/specialty, it stands to reason that they'll go for that sort of adventure. Whereas, if the DM decides to screw the PC and not provide a situation where that PC can shine, don't be surprised when the Player feels unsatisfied or rejects the plot hook.

That cuts the other direction too. If a PC over specializes, don't be surprised if your specialty doesn't come up naturally, or you have to actively seek out adventures to fill your role.

[ocato]

Well, my old DM house-ruled that any two handed weapon should be able to be one handed with the exotic weapon proficiency, not just the bastard sword and dwarven waraxe. I didn't care for it, but then when DM duty shifted he played a fighter with two Falchions who crit so much that it wasn't even a game any more. Once DM status shifted to me, that rule was revoked after great debate.

The moral of the story? When playing pass the DM hat, just make all major rulings/house rule rulings communal or not at all.

[Zim]

Any chance of you using a large or larger falchion? That would be super hurty. Combine that with charge-based feats and you have a potential for lots of damage!

[Quirinus_Obsidian]

In the grand scheme of things...

the 2 possible max damage ye get from a Greatsword is not something to write home about. When it gets down to it... ye can always find things to crit, or help with critting.

Ghost Touch/Ghost Strike (Synergy stuff from the Magic Item Compendium): Can hit incorp. undead like anything and can crit undeads

Greater Demolition Crystal: 12,000 GP for the ability to overcome DR, crit, and deal extra damage to Constructs. That means ye can spend the cash for a Cold Iron or Alchemical Silver Falchion, and still take out the constructs that the DM throws at ye. Also in the MIC.

If ye are a 4th level fighter, or a 6th level warblade, ye can take Weapon Spec, if ye are so inclined (I would be aiming towards melee weapon Mastery [slashing] at that point anyway).

Your problems are going to come from Elementals. But a banishment or dismissal spell could work for them. =)

[Matthew]

In my campaigns, I allow the falchion to be weapon finessed, to try and attract players into using it. I also see the falchion to be more of an elegant weapon than savage. Looks like a flourish-y weapon to me..

Dunno, there were historical "falchion like" weapons, some guys are even doing them for sale, and there is nothing especially elegant in them. Devastating cuts, but of course handling and versality worse than "classic" straight blades.

From some reason there is common assumtion that everything that is curved or eastern must be more finesse, fast and generally "kung fu kapoof".

Historically, falchions were essentially slightly over-sized meat cleavers, machetes, or butcher's knives. They're definitely not finessable, as they were designed to be heavy (They usually weighed about 2 pounds). Also, they were one-handed. Then again, this is DnD we're talking about, where drowning restores you to a stable condition if you're dying.

A lot depends on what you think a D&D Falchion is supposed to represent in the 'real' world. The design mentality behind 3e was to explicitly not create weapons with exact real world equivalents, but to some degree there are always going to be similarities (particularly when they use 'real world' terminology).

The difference between a straight blade and curved blade tends to be exaggerated. One is not intrinsically more 'finessable' than the other; a curved blade will generally chop better and a straight blade will generally thrust better, but the difference is not very great.

A D&D Falchion can be a big meat cleaver type thing or it can be an elegantly balanced blade, it doesn't really matter, but I wouldn't recommend equating any D&D Weapon with an exact real world equivalent. In D&D, a Falchion is a designation for a Two Handed Single Edged Sword.

I imagine it looking something like this: The Knecht

[Nerd-o-rama]

I gather that the numbers are better on a Keen Greatsword than a Keen Falchion...but I have a question.

What if, thanks to a rather obscure Prestige Class, I could automatically confirm all crits, explicitly including with weapons modified by Keen or Improved Crit?* How does this change the math? Is a Greatsword still mechanically better?

*Actually, this only works on Smite Evil attacks, but I'm curious in the abstract. And if you're curious where this is coming from, it's the Fist of Raziel from the BoED.

[Matthew]

I did a lot of Maths to work this out once, but I think Yakk and Peregrine came up with a better formula for it. Here's some basic stuff:

+0 Damage Bonus

Spoiler

Show

[Normal Number of Hits x Average Damage] + [Unconfirmed Critical Hits x Average Damage] + [Confirmed Critical Hits x (Average Damage x Multiplier)

1.
1D10 20/x4 [(360 x 5.5 = 1,980) + (1 x 5.5 = 5.5) + (19 x 22 = 418)] = 2,403.5
1D12 20/x3 [(360 x 6.5 = 2,340) + (1 x 6.5 = 6.5) + (19 x 19.5 = 370.5)] = 2,717
1D12 19-20/x2 [(340 x 6.5 = 2,210) + (2 x 6.5 = 13) + (38 x 13 = 494)] = 2,717
1D10 18-20/x2 [(320 x 5.5 = 1,760) + (3 x 5.5 = 16.5) + (57 x 11 = 627)] = 2,403.5

2.
1D10 20/x4 [(360 x 5.5 = 1,980) + (1 x 5.5 = 5.5) + (19 x 22 = 418)] = 2,403.5
1D12 20/x3 [(360 x 6.5 = 2,340) + (1 x 6.5 = 6.5) + (19 x 19.5 = 370.5)] = 2,717
1D12 19-20/x2 [(340 x 6.5 = 2,210) + (2 x 6.5 = 13) + (38 x 13 = 494)] = 2,717
1D10 18-20/x2 [(320 x 5.5 = 1,760) + (3 x 5.5 = 16.5) + (57 x 11 = 627)] = 2,403.5

3.
1D10 20/x4 [(340 x 5.5 = 1,870) + (2 x 5.5 = 11) + (18 x 22 = 396)] = 2,277
1D12 20/x3 [(340 x 6.5 = 2,210) + (2 x 6.5 = 13) + (18 x 19.5 = 351)] = 2,574
1D12 19-20/x2 [(320 x 6.5 = 2,080) + (4 x 6.5 = 26) + (36 x 13 = 468)] = 2,574
1D10 18-20/x2 [(300 x 5.5 = 1,650) + (6 x 5.5 = 33) + (54 x 11 = 594)] = 2,277

4.
1D10 20/x4 [(320 x 5.5 = 1,760) + (3 x 5.5 = 16.5) + (17 x 22 = 374)] = 2,150.5
1D12 20/x3 [(320 x 6.5 = 2,080) + (3 x 6.5 = 19.5) + (17 x 19.5 = 331.5)] = 2,431
1D12 19-20/x2 [(300 x 6.5 = 1,950) + (6 x 6.5 = 39) + (34 x 13 = 442)] = 2,431
1D10 18-20/x2 [(280 x 5.5 = 1,540) + (9 x 5.5 = 49.5) + (51 x 11 = 561)] = 2,150.5

5.
1D10 20/x4 [(300 x 5.5 = 1,650) + (4 x 5.5 = 22) + (16 x 22 = 352)] = 2,024
1D12 20/x3 [(300 x 6.5 = 1,950) + (4 x 6.5 = 26) + (16 x 19.5 = 312)] = 2,288
1D12 19-20/x2 [(280 x 6.5 = 1,820) + (8 x 6.5 = 52) + (32 x 13 = 416)] = 2,288
1D10 18-20/x2 [(260 x 5.5 = 1,430) + (12 x 5.5 = 66) + (48 x 11 = 528)] = 2,024

6.
1D10 20/x4 [(280 x 5.5 = 1,540) + (5 x 5.5 = 27.5) + (15 x 22 = 330)] = 1,897.5
1D12 20/x3 [(280 x 6.5 = 1,820) + (5 x 6.5 = 32.5) + (15 x 19.5 = 292.5)] = 2,145
1D12 19-20/x2 [(260 x 6.5 = 1,690) + (10 x 6.5 = 65) + (30 x 13 = 390)] = 2,145
1D10 18-20/x2 [(240 x 5.5 = 1,320) + (15 x 5.5 = 82.5) + (45 x 11 = 495)] = 1,897.5

7.
1D10 20/x4 [(260 x 5.5 = 1,430) + (6 x 5.5 = 33) + (14 x 22 = 308)] = 1,771
1D12 20/x3 [(260 x 6.5 = 1,690) + (6 x 6.5 = 39) + (14 x 19.5 = 273)] = 2,002
1D12 19-20/x2 [(240 x 6.5 = 1,560) + (12 x 6.5 = 78) + (28 x 13 = 364)] = 2,002
1D10 18-20/x2 [(220 x 5.5 = 1,210) + (18 x 5.5 = 99) + (42 x 11 = 462)] = 1,771

8.
1D10 20/x4 [(240 x 5.5 = 1,320) + (7 x 5.5 = 38.5) + (13 x 22 = 286)] = 1644.5
1D12 20/x3 [(240 x 6.5 = 1,560) + (7 x 6.5 = 45.5) + (13 x 19.5 = 253.5)] = 1,859
1D12 19-20/x2 [(220 x 6.5 = 1,430) + (14 x 6.5 = 91) + (26 x 13 = 338)] = 1,859
1D10 18-20/x2 [(200 x 5.5 = 1,100) + (21 x 5.5 = 115.5) + (39 x 11 = 429)] = 1,644.5

9.
1D10 20/x4 [(220 x 5.5 = 1,210) + (8 x 5.5 = 44) + (12 x 22 = 264)] = 1,518
1D12 20/x3 [(220 x 6.5 = 1,430) + (8 x 6.5 = 52) + (12 x 19.5 = 234)] = 1,716
1D12 19-20/x2 [(200 x 6.5 = 1,300) + (16 x 6.5 = 104) + (24 x 13 = 312)] = 1,716
1D10 18-20/x2 [(180 x 5.5 = 990) + (24 x 5.5 = 132) + (36 x 11 = 396)] = 1,518

10.
1D10 20/x4 [(200 x 5.5 = 1,100) + (9 x 5.5 = 49.5) + (11 x 22 = 242)] = 1,391.5
1D12 20/x3 [(200 x 6.5 = 1,300) + (9 x 6.5 = 58.5) + (11 x 19.5 = 214.5)] = 1,573
1D12 19-20/x2 [(180 x 6.5 = 1,170) + (18 x 6.5 = 117) + (22 x 13 = 286)] = 1,573
1D10 18-20/x2 [(160 x 5.5 = 880) + (27 x 5.5 = 148.5) + (33 x 11 = 363)] = 1,391.5

11.
1D10 20/x4 [(180 x 5.5 = 990) + (10 x 5.5 = 55) + (10 x 22 = 220)] = 1,265
1D12 20/x3 [(180 x 6.5 = 1170) + (10 x 6.5 = 65) + (10 x 19.5 = 195)] = 1,430
1D12 19-20/x2 [(160 x 6.5 = 1040) + (20 x 6.5 = 130) + (20 x 13 = 260)] = 1,430
1D10 18-20/x2 [(140 x 5.5 = 770) + (30 x 5.5 = 165) + (30 x 11 = 330)] = 1,265

12.
1D10 20/x4 [(160 x 5.5 = 880) + (11 x 5.5 = 60.5) + (9 x 22 = 198)] = 1,138.5
1D12 20/x3 [(160 x 6.5 = 1,040) + (11 x 6.5 = 71.5) + (9 x 19.5 = 175.5)] = 1,287
1D12 19-20/x2 [(140 x 6.5 = 910) + (22 x 6.5 = 143) + (18 x 13 = 234)] = 1,287
1D10 18-20/x2 [(120 x 5.5 = 660) + (33 x 5.5 = 181.5) + (27 x 11 = 297)] = 1138.5

13.
1D10 20/x4 [(140 x 5.5 = 770) + (12 x 5.5 = 66) + (8 x 22 = 176)] = 1,012
1D12 20/x3 [(140 x 6.5 = 910) + (12 x 6.5 = 78) + (8 x 19.5 = 156)] = 1,144
1D12 19-20/x2 [(120 x 6.5 = 780) + (24 x 6.5 = 156) + (16 x 13 = 208)] = 1,144
1D10 18-20/x2 [(100 x 5.5 = 550) + (36 x 5.5 = 198) + (24 x 11 = 264)] = 1,012

14.
1D10 20/x4 [(120 x 5.5 = 660) + (13 x 5.5 = 71.5) + (7 x 22 = 154)] = 885.5
1D12 20/x3 [(120 x 6.5 = 780) + (13 x 6.5 = 84.5) + (7 x 19.5 = 136.5)] = 1,001
1D12 19-20/x2 [(100 x 6.5 = 650) + (26 x 6.5 = 169) + (14 x 13 = 182)] = 1,001
1D10 18-20/x2 [(80 x 5.5 = 440) + (39 x 5.5 = 214.5) + (21 x 11 = 231)] = 885.5

15.
1D10 20/x4 [(100 x 5.5 = 550) + (14 x 5.5 = 77) + (6 x 22 = 132)] = 759
1D12 20/x3 [(100 x 6.5 = 650) + (14 x 6.5 = 91) + (6 x 19.5 = 117)] = 858
1D12 19-20/x2 [(80 x 6.5 = 520) + (28 x 6.5 = 182) + (12 x 13 = 156)] = 858
1D10 18-20/x2 [(60 x 5.5 = 330) + (42 x 5.5 = 231) + (18 x 11 = 198)] = 759

16.
1D10 20/x4 [(80 x 5.5 = 440) + (15 x 5.5 = 82.5) + (5 x 22 = 110)] = 632.5
1D12 20/x3 [(80 x 6.5 = 520) + (15 x 6.5 = 97.5) + (5 x 19.5 = 97.5)] = 715
1D12 19-20/x2 [(60 x 6.5 = 390) + (30 x 6.5 = 195) + (10 x 13 = 130)] = 715
1D10 18-20/x2 [(40 x 5.5 = 220) + (45 x 5.5 = 247.5) + (15 x 11 = 165)] = 632.5

17.
1D10 20/x4 [(60 x 5.5 = 330) + (16 x 5.5 = 88) + (4 x 22 = 88)] = 506
1D12 20/x3 [(60 x 6.5 = 390) + (16 x 6.5 = 104) + (4 x 19.5 = 78)] = 572
1D12 19-20/x2 [(40 x 6.5 = 260) + (32 x 6.5 = 208) + (8 x 13 = 104)] = 572
1D10 18-20/x2 [(20 x 5.5 = 110) + (48 x 5.5 = 264) + (12 x 11 = 132)] = 506

18.
1D10 20/x4 [(40 x 5.5 = 220) + (17 x 5.5 = 93.5) + (3 x 22 = 66)] = 379.5
1D12 20/x3 [(40 x 6.5 = 260) + (17 x 6.5 = 110.5) + (3 x 19.5 = 58.5)] = 429
1D12 19-20/x2 [(20 x 6.5 = 130) + (34 x 6.5 = 221) + (6 x 13 = 78)] = 429
1D10 18-20/x2 [(0 x 5.5 = 0) + (51 x 5.5 = 280.5) + (9 x 11 = 99)] = 379.5

19.
1D10 20/x4 [(20 x 5.5 = 110) + (18 x 5.5 = 99) + (2 x 22 = 44)] = 253
1D12 20/x3 [(20 x 6.5 = 130) + (18 x 6.5 = 117) + (2 x 19.5 = 39)] = 286
1D12 19-20/x2 [(0 x 6.5 = 0) + (36 x 6.5 = 234) + (4 x 13 = 52)] = 286
1D10 18-20/x2 [(0 x 5.5 = 0) + (36 x 5.5 = 198) + (4 x 11 = 44)] = 242

20.
1D10 20/x4 [(0 x 5.5 = 0) + (19 x 5.5 = 104.5) + (1 x 22 = 22)] = 126.5
1D12 20/x3 [(0 x 6.5 = 0) + (19 x 6.5 = 123.5) + (1 x 19.5 = 19.5)] = 143
1D12 19-20/x2 [(0 x 6.5 = 0) + (19 x 6.5 = 123.5) + (1 x 13 = 13)] = 136.5
1D10 18-20/x2 [(0 x 5.5 = 0) + (19 x 5.5 = 104.5) + (1 x 11 = 11)] = 115.5

Average Damage = (126.5 x 209 =26,438.5) / (8,000) = 3.3048125
Average Damage = (143 x 209 = 29,887) / (8,000) = 3.735875
Average Damage = 136.5 + (143 x 208 =) / (8,000) = 3.7350625
Average Damage = 115.5 + 242 + (126.5 x 206 = ) / 8,000 = 3.3020625

+30 Damage Bonus

Spoiler

Show

[Normal Number of Hits x Average Damage] + [Unconfirmed Critical Hits x Average Damage] + [Confirmed Critical Hits x (Average Damage x Multiplier)

11.
2D4 19-20/x4 [(160 x 25 = 4,000) + (20 x 25 = 500) + (20 x 100 = 2,000)] = 6,500
1D10 19-20/x4 [(160 x 25.5 = 4,080) + (20 x 25.5 = 510) + (20 x 102 = 2,040)] = 6,630
1D12 19-20/x3 [(160 x 26.5 = 4,240) + (20 x 26.5 = 530) + (20 x 79.5 = 1,590)] = 6,360
2D6 19-20/x3 [(160 x 27 = 4,320) + (20 x 27 = 540) + (20 x 81 = 1,620) = 6,480
2D6 17-20/x2 [(120 x 27 = 3,240) + (40 x 27 = 1,080) + (40 x 54 = 2,160)] = 6,480
1D12 17-20/x2 [(120 x 26.5 = 3,180) + (40 x 26.5 = 1,060) + (40 x 53 = 2,120)] = 6,360
1D10 15-20/x2 [(80 x 25.5 = 2,040) + (60 x 25.5 = 1,530) + (60 x 51 = 3,060)] = 6,630
2D4 15-20/x2 [(80 x 25 = 2,000) + (60 x 25 = 1,500) + (60 x 50 = 3,000)] = 6,500

11.
2D4 19-20/x4 [(160 x 35 = 5,600) + (20 x 35 = 700) + (20 x 140 = 2800)] = 9,100
1D10 19-20/x4 [(160 x 35.5 = 5,680) + (20 x 35.5 = 710) + (20 x 142 = 2,840)] = 9,230
1D12 19-20/x3 [(160 x 36.5 = 5,840) + (20 x 36.5 = 730) + (20 x 109.5 = 2,190)] = 8,760
2D6 19-20/x3 [(160 x 37 = 5,920) + (20 x 37 = 740) + (20 x 111 = 2,220) = 8,880
2D6 17-20/x2 [(120 x 37 = 4,440) + (40 x 37 = 1,480) + (40 x 74 = 2,960)] = 8,880
1D12 17-20/x2 [(120 x 36.5 = 4,380) + (40 x 36.5 = 1,460) + (40 x 73 = 2,920)] = 8,760
1D10 15-20/x2 [(80 x 35.5 = 2,840) + (60 x 35.5 = 2,130) + (60 x 71 = 4,260)] = 9,230
2D4 15-20/x2 [(80 x 35 = 2,800) + (60 x 35 = 2,100) + (60 x 70 = 4,200)] = 9,100

You can probably extrapolate from there.

If not, try looking here for the discussion: Custom Weapon Builder

Basically, there is a damage threshold where one overtakes the other.

[Freshmeat]

In the grand scheme of things...

the 2 possible max damage ye get from a Greatsword is not something to write home about. When it gets down to it... ye can always find things to crit, or help with critting.

True, but not every campaign goes into high levels. I'd say that before keen/improved critical greatsword outweighs the falchion, at which point it only becomes about equal.
In most situations, the 2 damage (which is not solely '2 possible max damage', but rather '2 extra damage per hit, on average') is still nothing to dismiss so easily. Sure, considering power attack and a 1.5x strength modifier it's not like the greatsword-wielder will completely outshine the falchion-wielder, but nonetheless, the greatsword-wielder will deal more damage.

Given the cost for a mere +1 enchantment (not to mention further ones), I'd say a quick +2 damage by simply choosing another base weapon is nothing to scoff at.
Sure, these +1 weapons also give +1 to your attack bonus, but that effect takes up only a small portion in the price (compare it to the cost of masterwork weapons, for example).

[Iku Rex]

Weirdly, I was just reading a thread on the Wizards boards where someone did a mathematical breakdown of falchion vs. greatsword. With keen/improved crit., the falchion wielder needs 38 bonus damage to keep pace with the greatsword wielder. Difficult, but not impossible to get.

That doesn't seem right.

The average damage on hit for a keen greatsword is (7+bonus damage)*1.2. The average damage on hit for a keen falchion is (5+bonus damage)*1.3. (Provided you hit with a roll of 15 or better.)

They deal the same average damage on a hit with +19 bonus damage. If you don't have keen/improved crit the falchion is better from +38 (edit: or rather, equal at exactly +39), so that's probably what you remember (edit: or not).