Soldier Edge- Working as intended?

[Matchstickman]

The Soldier Edge states

they treat their Strength as one die type higher when determining Encumbrance and Minimum Strength to use armor, weapons, and equipment without a penalty
so I would expect that the damage dealt by e.g. a min Str d10 weapon (Great Axe) by a d6 Str character with this edge would be 1d6+1d8 but it rolls 2d6. OK, maybe I'm misunderstanding the Edge.
However, if I raise my Str to d8, it rolls 1d8 + 1d10, which seems inconsistent. Why does it increase the damage of the weapon in one case and not the other? Is this a bug or me misunderstanding a thing?

[Mike Serfass]

The axe requires d10 Str, the character has d6, the edge raises determined Str to d8, which is still below the weapon's min d10. Not meeting min Str rolls character's strength (d6) for weapon damage.
If the character has d8 Str, treating it one die type higher makes it d10, which meets the minimum for the axe, thus rolling normal weapon damage (d10).

[Matchstickman]

which is still below the weapon's min d10. Not meeting min Str rolls character's strength (d6) for weapon damage.
I don't understand that bit. Minimum Str has nothing to do with the damage you roll for a weapon. You are limited by your Str, not how far under minimum Str you are.

I think that Soldier either does or does not apply to all damage rolls, it can't apply sometimes and not others.

[zarlor]

I don't understand that bit. Minimum Str has nothing to do with the damage you roll for a weapon. You are limited by your Str, not how far under minimum Str you are.

I think that Soldier either does or does not apply to all damage rolls, it can't apply sometimes and not others.

I would have to agree with Mike on this one. The wording in the Edge says Minimum Strength by one die type, and that does directly have to do with the potential damage you roll for a weapon because the Minimum Strength rules for damage state the are capped by the characters Str if they do not meet the minimum. Since the presumed d8 from Soldier still would not mee the Minimum then that rule would still apply, BUT instead of STR+d10 being capped by that d6 of the character, Soldier gets to treat it one higher, and thus d6+d8. That seems pretty consistent to me and Pinnacle is known for packing a lot into succinct phrasing like that, intending knock-on effects in those kinds of situations. For a truly official answer, though, you might want to bring that up over on the Pinnacle Discord server to see what they say.

EDIT: I accidentally set the damage as STR + wpn damage and bumped the STR part, which is not how I read the Soldier Edge, rather it should have been STR + wpn dmg reduced to the increased str cap that the Soldier Edge would seem to imply.

[Doswelk]

I thought Soldier would affect the penalty to Fighting for not having enough strength to use a weapon, NOT modify the damage, if you have a d6 strength using a d10 damage weapon you only roll 2d6.

If the weapon was ranged min str d10 and you have d6 strength then without the soldier edge your shooting rolls are at -2, if you have the edge then they are at -1.

If you have a melee weapon your damage does not change, AND you do not get parry bonus or reach if the weapon provides it. If you had d8 strength and the soldier edge you can wield d10 strength weapons and get the positive benefits BUT still only do 2d8 damage!

[Jiminimonka]

Not meeting minimum Strength doesn't stop a character using a weapon it is just less effective.

[Matchstickman]

you might want to bring that up over on the Pinnacle Discord server to see what they say.
I would do, only there isn't one. I figured that as this is the official adaptation of Savage Worlds, developers here might have more insight/contacts than me.


If you have a melee weapon your damage does not change, AND you do not get parry bonus or reach if the weapon provides it. If you had d8 strength and the soldier edge you can wield d10 strength weapons and get the positive benefits BUT still only do 2d8 damage!
Pretty much I thought it would work, (then changed my mind, then changed it back again, then changed it again and had to settle on something for my OP) but that's not how it works in Fantasy Grounds, hence my question!

[zarlor]

* MELEE/THROWN WEAPONS: A thrown or melee weapon’s damage die is limited by the user’s Strength die. If a scrawny kid (Strength d4) picks up a long sword (Str+d8), he rolls d4 + d4 damage instead of d4 + d8. Also, if the user’s Strength is less than its Minimum Strength, he doesn’t benefit from any of the weapon’s positive abilities such as Reach or Parry bonuses. He still retains any penalties, however.
* RANGED WEAPONS: The user suffers a −1 attack penalty for each die step difference between his Strength and the weapon’s minimum


So for Melee weapons I read that limit as the Strength Die, but since solider allows you to treat that as 1 die higher for the concept of min. str then the example in the book (using d4) becomes d4 + d6. The penalties all still apply. For a Ranged weapon that would be a -1 penalty to Shooting instead of -2 (for a Min Str d8 bow, for example) because of the effective die type increase from the Edge. That's how I read it, anyway.

As for the Discord, now that I think about it it's technically "Unofficial" but pretty sure Shane and Co. hang out there somewhat regularly. I know they respond on their Facebook page, too, and there's always the contact form on the Pinnacle website.

EDIT: Sorry, had to fix that damage right. Essentially the real STR + a damage limited by their effective STR, if I am reading that right)

[kronovan]

It's also important to keep in mind the armor wearing perks of the Soldier edge:

"...they treat their Strength as one die type higher when determining Encumbrance and Minimum Strength to use
armor, weapons, and equipment without a penalty."

And the rules around wearing armor with a strength that's below the minimum requirement:

"ARMOR/WORN GEAR: Each die type difference between the character’s Strength and the item’s Minimum Strength inflicts a −1
penalty to Pace (minimum of 1″), Agility, and Agility-related skill rolls."

Very beneficial for heavily armored PCs with low-midling strength, when being quick or dodging grenades comes into play.

[Mike Serfass]

The armor weight calculation takes the Soldier Edge into account.