Question on Ki damage

[ShiffDrgnhrt]

Always the one to voice his opinion  Just dont get in trouble

[osxmallard]

Ki damage is straight max damage without the +5 or +10 from PA/IPA.

So, for a weaponmaster weilding a copper longsword with a rod-4 with a 30 strength who has epic weapon specialization (+6) the normal damage would be...

minimum damage on non-critical hit:
1d6 + 10 (str mod) + 6 (EWS) + 1d8 (rod 4) = 18
maximum damage on non-critical hit:
6 + 10 + 6 + 8 = 30

minimum damage on critical hit:
= 18 x 3 = 56
maximum damage on critical hit:
= 30 x 3 = 90

Using Ki-Damage you are guaranteed 30 or 90 points of damage depending on whether you rolled a crit (which as a LS WM > level 7, you have a critical range of 15-20 which isn't too shabby).  Instead of having a variance of damage between 18-30 or 56-90.

Using Power Attack (PA)... that brings your damage range to:
1d6 + 10 + 6 + 1d8 + 5 = 23 (min)  -- (69 crit)
6 + 10 + 6 + 8 + 5 = 35 (max) -- (105 crit)

Using Improved Power Attack (IPA)
1d6 + 10 + 6 + 1d8 + 10 = 28 (min) -- (84 crit)
6 + 10 + 6 + 8 + 10 = 40 (max) -- (120 crit)

In summary, Ki-Damage does not outweigh the benefits of using IPA, but a significant percentage of the time it does outweigh the benefits of using standard PA.  And since you get Ki Damage 1x/day per WM level it can add up over time.

[jan]

epic weapon specialisation gives + 4

For the rest the calculations are correct * gives a A- for calculations *

[osxmallard]

Ah, yes it does give +4... but it should stack with regular weapon specialization (+2), which you should have as well -- giving you the +6 total.  

Also what is not factored into the calculations above is your increased miss percentage of -5 AB for PA and -10 AB for IPA, whereas Ki Damage gives you your full AB on an attempt.  =)