Weapons and Ability Bonuses

Generally, a character may apply his Strength bonuses to any weapon powered by his own muscle. Any hand-held weapon used to slash, bludgeon, or thrust at an enemy certainly counts, but weapons that don’t inflict damage or don’t have a type don’t allow a character to use his attack bonuses. For example, a character’s Strength has no effect on the use of a lasso or net.

Characters may use their reaction adjustment for high Dexterity when throwing or firing any kind of missile weapon. However, they do not use their Strength bonuses unless the weapon is thrown and complies with the conditions above. Firearms, bows, slings, and crossbows are not normally affected by a character’s Strength.

Bows can be made to take advantage of a character’s Strength bonuses, but must be custom-made. Refer to Chapter 6: Money and Equipment in the Player’s Handbook.

The 16th-level Dart Specialist: It’s ludicrous to allow a high-Strength character the full benefit of his muscular power if he insists on using tiny little weapons such as darts. A good way to address this kind of min-maxing is to limit the damage bonus granted by high Strength to the maximum roll of the weapon’s base damage. A dart normally causes 1d3 points of damage against size M targets, so a character with exceptional Strength could gain a total of +3 to his dart’s damage—but no more, even if he is normally entitled to a damage bonus of +4 or more.

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