This actually makes me wonder if we are on the wrong forums here.
We should probably be petitioning WotC to make sure we can play D&D instead of Shove'n'Throw Whac-a-Mole with surfaces when BG3 comes out.
Then again there's probably a clause in the contract that Larian can make whatever changes to 5e for "video game" needs. Video games are much more expensive to make than tabletop games anyway and the financial risks are greater. That would also explain why Sword Coast Legends was so heavily altered from D&D, and failed horribly because the videogamey fun wasn't so much fun in the end after all.
They brought Jeremy Crawford onto PfH2 at least partly to give his=WotC's blessing for Larian to make changes to 5e rules since "designing for a tabletop game is very different than designing for a videogame". So I doubt appealing to WotC will do anything. Which I honestly agree with - requiring all non-WotC published 5e content to exactly match 5e RAW wouldn't be the greatest.
Larian should have the freedom to make changes...I just disagree with a lot of the changes they're making. (I agree with some of them too - e.g., at least the concept of weapon abilities if not the actual implementation.)
I actually like throw, especially for a Barbarian to be able to do. Makes sense. Ogres, trolls, minotaurs, yes. Throw makes sense.
What I don't like is Shove = Bonus so Throw and Shove can occur in one turn AND the distances are ridiculous. You shouldn't ever shove or throw a creature 30 feet.
Again, 2-3 pound axe range should be 20 feet with 60 max (at disadvantage beyond 20 feet). So, the most you should be able to Shove/Throw a creature is maybe a max of 15 feet at best.
I was thinking something like Shove/Throw Range = Athletics + 5 feet and requires an Athletics vs. Athletics/Acrobatics roll to successfully just shove or throw. To throw into another target, a Ranged Attack roll. Max range = Strength Score. Anything above normal range requires disadvantage to attempt to throw one into another.
Example: Dorn has Strength 15, Athletics +4. He can shove/throw 9 feet. If he does either, opposed roll is made. If he throws one enemy into another, Ranged Attack must be also made. If target of throw is 10-15 feet away, he can still throw one goblin into another, but he has to make the Ranged Attack against the AC of the Target, and he gets disadvantage because it's beyond normal range.
As for Damage, Throw should be 1d4+Strength Modifier Blunt Damage if within normal range (so Blunt Resistance applies). If you throw one enemy into another, the damage is split between them. So, Dorn's Strength Modifier is +2, so the most damage he could do is 6, and if he throws one into another and gets 6 Damage, each take 3. Intellect Devourers and Imps would then take only 1 since they are Resistant to Blunt Damage.
If you throw more than your normal range, the throw was harder, therefore, though you got Disadvantage to maybe throw an enemy into another enemy, you might do more damage since the distance is further. So, increase damage die by 1, making it similar to fall damage. So, beyond normal range, damage would be 1d6+ Strength Modifier Blunt Damage - and again split between enemies. So, Dorn throws a goblin 15 feet into a rock wall. He rolls 1d6+2 damage and gets a 6 total. Goblin takes 6 bludgeoning damage. No Ranged Attack roll necessary since there is no living target he's throwing the goblin into. He had to make the opposed Athletics vs. Athletics/Acrobatics of the goblin, but no Ranged Attack roll.
However, same scenario, he throws Goblin 1 into Goblin 2. He needs to get a 14 or higher since Goblin 2 has AC 14. He has to make this attack roll with Disadvantage. If he misses, Goblin 1 still takes 6 damage. If he hits, both goblins take 3 damage.
Oh, and those who are thrown or shoved should be knocked prone, and BOTH should be Actions so you can't do both in the same turn.
Now, some might ask, why would you then ever Shove as opposed to Throw? I mean, if you need to do the same opposed roll for both, why ever Shove? The answer is simply this: Anyone can Shove. No Strength requirement necessary. Make your opposed roll and you're good. Throw, however, which does damage, has a Strength Score prerequisite. This, it seems, they already have, which is good, so I won't touch those mechanics. It seems well done that you need certain strength to throw since you can deal damage with it. That I like.
The point is that the Strength Requirement/Damage should be the only major differences between Shove and Throw. Shove and Throw should both require Athletics vs. Athletics/Acrobatics rolls, and they should have a severely limited range, and the damage should be much more nerfed for Throw.
These are my suggestions for a better homebrew for both of these. PLEASE Larian!!!! I'm begging you to do SOMETHING like this. It doesn't even have to be this exact thing I've just outlined, but SOMETHING similar. You've GOT to nerf Shove/Throw. It's too much. I feel like enemies are just shoving my characters all over the game map all the time, off cliffs and ledges, and they do more damage from making me take fall damage than anything else... and from WAY too great a distance. It really does ruin the game a lot for me. I REALLY REALLY don't like getting shoved into lava - and it was Lae'zel who got shoved in! Lae'zel! With 18 Strength! 30 feet from the edge!
