Question 1

1. Is the Great Weapon Master overpowered?

Accepted Answer

The answer is both yes and no. It will depend on when and how often it is used. You will have to worry about it getting overpowered when you effectively mitigate your -5 penalty to attack rolls. If you/ your party have any spell, ability, or feat which can offer bonuses to your attack rolls and still allow you to hit the target reliably, you’ll realize that the Fighter has all the reason to use it.

The tradeoff between damage and accuracy is a limiting factor. So, only that goes out of the scene; you are good to go. You are potentially looking at an extra 10 damage with almost every hit. That might be overpowered soon!

Though, unlike in the early game, as ACs go higher, mitigating your -5 to attack may not be worth it. For targets with very high AC, your warrior needs every point of BAB possible to land a hit. Moreover, higher-level targets have a higher health pool. So, if you thought of one-shotting enemies, that’ll only work in the early game.

Question 2

2. Does Great Weapon Master damage apply to critical hits?

Accepted Answer

No, the +10 damage from the D&D Great Weapon Master feat does NOT double since only damage that comes from the dice is doubled on a critical hit. The +10 is just an add-on, so it remains +10 regardless of the hit being critical or not.

Question 3

3. Can Great Weapon Master be used by versatile weapons?

Accepted Answer

It does work, but it is not optimal. The first benefit will hold true for all melee weapons, so the added attacks from cutting down targets or crits will apply. But you cannot apply the +10 damage to a versatile weapon, even if you use both hands. Some DMs home rule that, so always ask!

Feats And Spells

Great Weapon Master 5E Guide

Shield Master 5e | D&D 5E Shield Master Feat FAQs

Polearm Master 5E | D&D Polearm Master Guide

Thaumaturgy 5E | D&D 5E Thaumaturgy Guide

D&D 5E Booming Blade Guide

Compelled Duel 5E | D&D 5E Compelled Duel Guide

War Caster 5E | D&D 5E War Caster Guide

Sharpshooter 5E | DnD 5E Sharpshooter Guide

DnD 5e Witch Bolt Explained | How Good Is It?

Toll The Dead 5E | DnD 5E Toll The Dead Guide

Sentinel 5E | DnD 5E Sentinel Feat Guide

Defensive Duelist 5E | D&D 5E Defensive Duelist Guide