DEX & STR Based Speed System - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

DEX & STR Based Speed System

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
willfuqua
Mar 07, 2009 5:39:30 Think it's odd how your Wizard with a STR 8 & DEX 8 can move as fast as the Ranger with STR 14 & DEX 18? Seems a bit illogical for something weaker and slower to move the same speed. Well, I thought up this just a few minutes ago.

Your speed is adjusted from your normal race average by the lowest modifier of your DEX and STR. You may be asking why it's not base it purely on just one or the other. Quickness of feet also needs leg strength behind it to utilize quickness. Ever see the sprinters in the Olympics? They have large leg muscles for a good reason. And speed in D&D is usually focused on short distances, not very long distance where endurance is more important.

So you look at your races speed in the PHB, then your lowest modifier of STR and DEX. If your lowest is a +2, then you can move 2 extra squares. So if your speed is normally 5, it's now 7. If your lowest modifier is -1, then instead of of your speed being 6 it's 5.

Thougts?
Will
#2
Dionon
Mar 07, 2009 11:42:03 Not too shabby from my perspective. One complaint though.... If I have an 8 strength, and an 18 Dex, why am I moving so slowly?
#3
EmpactWB
Mar 07, 2009 11:58:15 Maybe average mod, rounded down?

Either way, this can actually get pretty ridiculous in high levels, so be careful about implementing it. It's not impossible to get a character with 28 in two stats, and a Ranger or BS Rogue will be able to get a speed of Race+9. That's a very, very potent bonus.
#4
Dark_Stryke
Mar 07, 2009 12:17:13 Why not remove racial speeds entirely?

Your speed is now your strength + dex divided by 4. So if you have 8 str and 18 dex (total 24) your speed is 6. The lowest possible speed is 4 (8 str, 10 dex, rounded down) and the highest is 14 (28 str, 28 dex).

If you want race to factor in, just give elves +1 speed and dwarves -1 speed.

Rules like this hurt non-wand wizards, warlocks, and lazer clerics. They benefit str/dex fighters and brutal rogues most.

Overall, this will produce higher character speeds, especially at high levels.
#5
willfuqua
Mar 07, 2009 17:19:40
Not too shabby from my perspective. One complaint though.... If I have an 8 strength, and an 18 Dex, why am I moving so slowly?

That's a good question, and what was going through my head is the amount of pure pushing power it takes to move quickly a short distance. Like I mention before about sprinters, they have huge leg muscles. In my mind, you'll need the strength to backup the speed, and vice versa, to go a certain speed.

Something else I was thinking about is some of the fastest martial arts fighters are not extremely fast when it comes to running. Sure they are faster than those of us who don't to aerobic work outs at all, but for there amazing quickness in kicks and punches their sprinting speed isn't equally as remarkable.

Also, I was thinking about basing the speed off of two abilities to make it so it's more balanced. I didn't want one ability to have such a huge effect over that part of the game. By limiting based on another ability score it keeps it more in check.

Either way, this can actually get pretty ridiculous in high levels, so be careful about implementing it. It's not impossible to get a character with 28 in two stats, and a Ranger or BS Rogue will be able to get a speed of Race+9. That's a very, very potent bonus.

Yeah, that's a huge bonus to speed. But after I thought about it, a character so far beyond the average person maybe should be allowed to move at around three times as fast. All that quickness and strength should have some tangible evidence.

Why not remove racial speeds entirely?

When I was thinking about racial speeds, it made a certain amount of sense that the smaller races with much smaller legs would move slightly slower. As to why the elves can move faster, I don't know about that.

Your speed is now your strength + dex divided by 4. So if you have 8 str and 18 dex (total 24) your speed is 6. The lowest possible speed is 4 (8 str, 10 dex, rounded down) and the highest is 14 (28 str, 28 dex).

That's not too bad actually, but my only problem is the idea of a character could having a huge amount of STR and low DEX but still move pretty fast. What comes to mind are body builders with massive STR. Sure they have brute force, but their legs can't move quick enough to take advantage of it. Think about Arnold Schwarzenegger. The man is STR focused, with a little DEX and he just can't run fast at all.

I personally think that this idea could be fined tuned or used as is if I'm lucky enough. I'd really appreciate any more idea or help people have.

Thanks Will
#6
aluman
Mar 07, 2009 18:09:14 Strength score is the maximum speed you can have as base
5+Dex modifier is your base movement

The only real problem with this is makes Dex even more important than Int, which means that Int is def. the new Cha. (Classes that don't need Int won't have good int).
#7
lady_ishtar
Mar 07, 2009 19:07:08 i would do this differently. add your Str and Dex mods together. for every 5 points you increased movement speed by 1. so your Str 8 Dex 18 dude gets only a +3 bonus (-1 from Dex and +4 from Dex), and gets no speed bonus.
#8
EmpactWB
Mar 07, 2009 22:07:58
i would do this differently. add your Str and Dex mods together. for every 5 points you increased movement speed by 1. so your Str 8 Dex 18 dude gets only a +3 bonus (-1 from Dex and +4 from Dex), and gets no speed bonus.

This could be workable. The only possible way to get a penalty is do 8/10 in Str/Dex, and even then it's only a -1. Getting both to 28 nets you only a +3 to base speed, and it's impossible to maintain a penalty into Epic with the point buy system. And it's not hard to get a +1 speed at 1st level for either a Str or Dex focused character (18 after racials in the main and 12+ in the other, and you can do it with the standard array, let alone full on point buy).
#9
lady_ishtar
Mar 07, 2009 22:23:26 any system will work, but if you give too much bonus too early it might cause some balance issues. a +1 or +2 bonus to speed in heroic for a melee class shouoldnt be too much of an issue. and by epic, you can do so many crazy things that running all over the place should not be too problematic.
#10
zeratulcraft
Mar 07, 2009 22:44:30 Here's a question though, why does all my leg training (getting my Strength bonus up) make my spindly little arms so much stronger when I'm bashing someone in the face with a mace?
#11
EmpactWB
Mar 08, 2009 9:25:48 Because you're holding it in your toes. Duh. ;)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 willfuqua Mar 07, 2009 5:39:30	Think it's odd how your Wizard with a STR 8 & DEX 8 can move as fast as the Ranger with STR 14 & DEX 18? Seems a bit illogical for something weaker and slower to move the same speed. Well, I thought up this just a few minutes ago. Your speed is adjusted from your normal race average by the lowest modifier of your DEX and STR. You may be asking why it's not base it purely on just one or the other. Quickness of feet also needs leg strength behind it to utilize quickness. Ever see the sprinters in the Olympics? They have large leg muscles for a good reason. And speed in D&D is usually focused on short distances, not very long distance where endurance is more important. So you look at your races speed in the PHB, then your lowest modifier of STR and DEX. If your lowest is a +2, then you can move 2 extra squares. So if your speed is normally 5, it's now 7. If your lowest modifier is -1, then instead of of your speed being 6 it's 5. Thougts? Will
#2 Dionon Mar 07, 2009 11:42:03	Not too shabby from my perspective. One complaint though.... If I have an 8 strength, and an 18 Dex, why am I moving so slowly?
#3 EmpactWB Mar 07, 2009 11:58:15	Maybe average mod, rounded down? Either way, this can actually get pretty ridiculous in high levels, so be careful about implementing it. It's not impossible to get a character with 28 in two stats, and a Ranger or BS Rogue will be able to get a speed of Race+9. That's a very, very potent bonus.
#4 Dark_Stryke Mar 07, 2009 12:17:13	Why not remove racial speeds entirely? Your speed is now your strength + dex divided by 4. So if you have 8 str and 18 dex (total 24) your speed is 6. The lowest possible speed is 4 (8 str, 10 dex, rounded down) and the highest is 14 (28 str, 28 dex). If you want race to factor in, just give elves +1 speed and dwarves -1 speed. Rules like this hurt non-wand wizards, warlocks, and lazer clerics. They benefit str/dex fighters and brutal rogues most. Overall, this will produce higher character speeds, especially at high levels.
#5 willfuqua Mar 07, 2009 17:19:40	Not too shabby from my perspective. One complaint though.... If I have an 8 strength, and an 18 Dex, why am I moving so slowly? That's a good question, and what was going through my head is the amount of pure pushing power it takes to move quickly a short distance. Like I mention before about sprinters, they have huge leg muscles. In my mind, you'll need the strength to backup the speed, and vice versa, to go a certain speed. Something else I was thinking about is some of the fastest martial arts fighters are not extremely fast when it comes to running. Sure they are faster than those of us who don't to aerobic work outs at all, but for there amazing quickness in kicks and punches their sprinting speed isn't equally as remarkable. Also, I was thinking about basing the speed off of two abilities to make it so it's more balanced. I didn't want one ability to have such a huge effect over that part of the game. By limiting based on another ability score it keeps it more in check. Either way, this can actually get pretty ridiculous in high levels, so be careful about implementing it. It's not impossible to get a character with 28 in two stats, and a Ranger or BS Rogue will be able to get a speed of Race+9. That's a very, very potent bonus. Yeah, that's a huge bonus to speed. But after I thought about it, a character so far beyond the average person maybe should be allowed to move at around three times as fast. All that quickness and strength should have some tangible evidence. Why not remove racial speeds entirely? When I was thinking about racial speeds, it made a certain amount of sense that the smaller races with much smaller legs would move slightly slower. As to why the elves can move faster, I don't know about that. Your speed is now your strength + dex divided by 4. So if you have 8 str and 18 dex (total 24) your speed is 6. The lowest possible speed is 4 (8 str, 10 dex, rounded down) and the highest is 14 (28 str, 28 dex). That's not too bad actually, but my only problem is the idea of a character could having a huge amount of STR and low DEX but still move pretty fast. What comes to mind are body builders with massive STR. Sure they have brute force, but their legs can't move quick enough to take advantage of it. Think about Arnold Schwarzenegger. The man is STR focused, with a little DEX and he just can't run fast at all. I personally think that this idea could be fined tuned or used as is if I'm lucky enough. I'd really appreciate any more idea or help people have. Thanks Will
#6 aluman Mar 07, 2009 18:09:14	Strength score is the maximum speed you can have as base 5+Dex modifier is your base movement The only real problem with this is makes Dex even more important than Int, which means that Int is def. the new Cha. (Classes that don't need Int won't have good int).
#7 lady_ishtar Mar 07, 2009 19:07:08	i would do this differently. add your Str and Dex mods together. for every 5 points you increased movement speed by 1. so your Str 8 Dex 18 dude gets only a +3 bonus (-1 from Dex and +4 from Dex), and gets no speed bonus.
#8 EmpactWB Mar 07, 2009 22:07:58	i would do this differently. add your Str and Dex mods together. for every 5 points you increased movement speed by 1. so your Str 8 Dex 18 dude gets only a +3 bonus (-1 from Dex and +4 from Dex), and gets no speed bonus. This could be workable. The only possible way to get a penalty is do 8/10 in Str/Dex, and even then it's only a -1. Getting both to 28 nets you only a +3 to base speed, and it's impossible to maintain a penalty into Epic with the point buy system. And it's not hard to get a +1 speed at 1st level for either a Str or Dex focused character (18 after racials in the main and 12+ in the other, and you can do it with the standard array, let alone full on point buy).
#9 lady_ishtar Mar 07, 2009 22:23:26	any system will work, but if you give too much bonus too early it might cause some balance issues. a +1 or +2 bonus to speed in heroic for a melee class shouoldnt be too much of an issue. and by epic, you can do so many crazy things that running all over the place should not be too problematic.
#10 zeratulcraft Mar 07, 2009 22:44:30	Here's a question though, why does all my leg training (getting my Strength bonus up) make my spindly little arms so much stronger when I'm bashing someone in the face with a mace?
#11 EmpactWB Mar 08, 2009 9:25:48	Because you're holding it in your toes. Duh. ;)