In this short series I’ll be looking at the weapon
properties and, later, the armoury list for my homebrew campaign.
As a rule, I’ve found that DnD emphasizes the special powers
you employ while holding any given weapon rather than the weapon itself.
Speaking from the dreary pit of 5th Edition weapon choices, most every
character has the work cut out preemptively: it’s a bare matter of gunning for
the platonic solid with the greater number of faces and take it from there. If
you can dual-wield with d8s you don’t spare the d6s a glance, if you can wield
a two-handed d12 you can’t be bothered with the d10. It’s all very linear and
dry: a handful of properties that just could not be avoided, a couple of
cornercase special rules and that’s it; the weapon list is rife with
duplication and redundance. I would comment on the damage types, which seem
equally redundant, but I don’t really have enough system knowledge to dwell on
the issue. On the whole it seems like 5th edition was shot while traversing
no-man’s land between OD&D's simplicity and gamist complexity.
I decided for a bit more granularity, aiming – for
simplicity is a virtue – for a measure of complexity just
a step above the current one, wanting just enough of the thing to drive
players to make interesting and meaningful decisions.
The design choice came about while deciding that encumbrance
and equipment breakage would both be things I’d implement. It is much more
interesting to decide what weapons you will carry when the room you’ve got
available is limited, when you know different weapons will come into their own
against different types of opponent and the threat of
equipment integrity failure looms above you.
The widest reaching effect that I’m seeking to put into
place is the classic design triad of “rock-paper-scissors”, between chosen
weapon and target armour class or, to put it another way, a triad of properties
directed at low AC, generalist and high AC targets. To wit, versus
light-armoured opponents the character will be better off using fleshbiting
weapons such as a battleaxe while, against heavily-armoured ones, concussive
weaponry like the warhammer will be the answer. Rending is left as the
all-rounder face of the triangle, generally in the shape of swords. All of
these properties imply, in a more overt or indirect way, an overall increase in
damage output. I opted for this approach due to 5th Edition’s monsters
possessing ample reserves of hit-points. I don’t yet know for sure how it’ll
all interact with PC levels of Hp, accounting for the dismemberment table.
Pilgrimages to playtestland are sure to abound.
The tally comes at twenty weapon properties (to the boxed
game’s twelve). I’d like to shave down a couple, but don’t feel like it is
utterly necessary. I believe they’re intuitive enough that they can be handily
explained and assimilated by players, turning the campaign’s armoury into a
toolshed instead of a one-stop-shop.
Knowing that only a trained fighter should be able to fully
exploit certain capabilities of the weaponry, properties marked with an
asterisk(*) require proficiency with the weapon to be counted as active.
The list of weapon properties and respective rationale:
Ammunition
Expended for ranged attacks. Drawing ammunition from a
quiver costs the round’s free action. Treat as improvised in melee (a sling
must be loaded to deal damage).
Pared down the bloated reminder text from the PHB and added
the free action limitation clause.
Chargebreaker*
Prepared attacks against charging foes roll the weapon's
damage die twice.
Allows you to receive charges in advantageous conditions; my
heartfelt thanks to Lamentations of the Flame Princess.
Concussive
Attacks that hit just the target’s base AC (natural plus
DEX) cause the weapon’s minimum damage, with halved positive
modifiers (round down).
A way to bypass even the heaviest armour through sheer blunt
force trauma. I mulled over this one the longest but I’m really happy with it.
Enables bludgeoning well-armoured targets through attrition.
Finesse
Uses your choice of Strength or Dexterity for the attack
and damage rolls. Must use the same modifier for both rolls.
Unchanged from the book.
Fleshbiting*
If the unmodified attack roll exceeds target’s AC roll
additional d4 damage or d6 if the weapon is two-handed.
Here’s where heavy blades come into their own as light troop
killers. I deliberately associated the property with the unmodified roll (and
thus independent of to-hit bonuses) so as to both make it easy on the math and
to not have this be the lone weapon of choice for high-statted/levelled
characters.
Heavy
Unsuitable for Small creatures. Costs an extra
encumbrance point to carry.
As per the book, plus encumbrance notation reminder.
Lashing*
Bypasses shields and may not be parried. On a fumble,
suffer weapon's damage die in addition to any other consequences.
Somewhere in the DIY blogs (Last Gasp?) I found this concept
of flails ignoring shields, spawning this property. It’s agressive but
with a downside, which goes a bit against the “always positive” flow of 5th
edition design.
Light
Small and easy to handle, ideal for dual weapon use. May
not parry heavy weapons, unless used in tandem.
Straigthforward. Just added a small parrying notation.
Loading
For every damage die that the weapon deals, a full round
is required to reload between shots.
This effectively differentiates Crossbows from Bows (which
now have a Strength minimum to be used).
Minor
Easy to conceal, usable in a clinch and may be carried
three to a slot. May only parry light or finesse weapons.
A little thematic something for the Rogues. Differentiates
daggers & family.
Rending*
You may reroll odd results on the damage dice, accepting
the second roll.
Got this from Last Gasp. A sweet way to spice up Swords in
opposition to Hammers & Axes, turning minor gaps into major
wounds. Probably the most powerful of the trifecta, as it is useful against all
opponents.
Range (y/z)
Numbers in parentheses express normal and maximum range.
Shots beyond normal range made at disadvantage. No shots possible beyond
maximum range.
No changes, as I’m satisfied with the “normal-long” range
duality.
Reach (r)
Has longer effective reach than normal. Disadvantage
against adjacent enemies, unless weapon’s staff is used.
Deliberately codified a disadvantage that could well just
have been a ruling, like one would do with tight enclosed spaces. I did this to
underline the necessity of a side-arm.
Shield [s]*
Grants bonus to AC of 1 or as equal to the Strength
bonus, capped by the number in brackets, this number is also used to determine
AC bonus vs. missile attacks.
Read this somewhere in the DIY gestalt. Great idea, engaging
an additional stat other than DEX for defense and preventing shields from being
such no-brainer choices in tandem with finesse weaponry (pretty much the golden
standard of offence + defence for a DEX-maxed character). It also nicely forces
the high strength character to choose between fully exploring a two-handed
weapon or being more defense-oriented about his strength bonus.
Special
Has unusual rules governing its use, explained in the
weapon’s description.
Don’t tell me you’re not excited?
Swift*
May trade reaction for an additional attack
at Disadvantage as bonus action.
Mined this one out of the Monster Manual. Trades shock power
for sheer viciousness and enables differentiation between mid-sized weapons.
Thrown
Throwable. If a melee weapon, use the same modifier for
that attack damage rolls that you would use for a melee attack.
Unchanged.
Two-Handed
Requires two hands to use.
Gee, thanks, WotC!
Versatile
Can be used with one or two hands. Damage in parentheses
for two-handed use.
Unchanged.
Improvised
Any weaponizable object you wield or throw. Deals 1d4
damage; if thrown has a fixed Range of (20/60).
146 words to say that you basically deal 1d4, have 20/60
range and don’t get proficiency bonus. The PHB’s paid-by-the-word editing
should have run by the DIY’s hands, this’ like shearing wool off new zealander
sheep.
Part the second to follow...
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