This Old-School Rule Turns You Into a Weapon Master

Comments · 54

• CL

  @ClassicRollPlayer · 2 weeks ago (edited) · pinned

  What weapon would YOUR character be known for? (Longsword? Rapier? Bow? Bardiche!?) &nbsp;And how do you feel about adding this to your game?<br><br>I put the free &nbsp;PDF handout in the description if you want to steal the idea for your own table. &nbsp;The numbers aren’t the magic...the fantasy is.

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• RO

  @robertcain7630 · 11 days ago

  I&apos;ve never played D&amp;D that much but played much more the original Warhammer Quest from &apos;95 which was basically a more stripped down and dungeon-crawling focused version of D&amp;D. However we added a lot of extra rules to it and extra characters and made it a lot more detailed, role-play and character focused and more unique. <br><br>One character I remember creating was an unfairly disgraced Empire knight who was now reduced to mercenary work and questing. He was partially based on the Pit Fighter only he exclusively carried a war-sword. (based on the barbarian&apos;s broad-sword) He never used a shield, instead using a 2-handed technique with the weapon. (In WQ only a greatsword officially couldn&apos;t be used with a shield) <br><br>He had a unique skill table that I crafted for him to roll on when he trained, the table drew skills from the barbarian and pit fighter skill and others and worked much like the ideas here. These skills allowed him bonuses such as extra attacks, bonuses to hit, the ability to feint or parry and so on, but ONLY when using his one particular style of sword. He became very proficient with his sword and while he had enchantments and runes placed on it to add extra benefits he never used anything else, even very powerful, Objective-Room level weapons that he found.

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• RI

  @rickcarson591 · 6 days ago

  The big problem with all the weapon mastery and specialization stuff is that while it does give you a bigger bonus up front (which of course no player is going to turn down when everything else is equal) ... what happens when you find a magic weapon? &nbsp;Odds are very high that it&apos;s not going to be the one you specialised in, and so instead of being excited about treasure, it&apos;s a constant source of disappointment.<br><br>Whereas if there&apos;s no specialization and generalist fighter guy picks up a +1 trident well I guess he&apos;s now trident guy for a while (i.e. until something better comes along). &nbsp;Each treasure hoard is an opportunity for his character to change and grow. &nbsp;He&apos;s not stuck in groundhog day because every adventure he can change and grow.<br><br>But one trick pony over in the corner? &nbsp;He&apos;s still smashing that one paper button he built at level 1, and most likely he&apos;ll be button mashing that one thing until level 20. &nbsp;(Or until the campaign ends because everyone hates how every combat is exactly the same, because of the choices they made).<br><br>And that&apos;s another problem with super-specialist one trick glass cannons, all the most interesting decisions for them happen away from the table, not at the table.

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• CR

  @crazypetec-130fe7 · 11 days ago

  I&apos;ve done SCA heavy armor and rapier combat for years, as well as HEMA (mostly Fiore) and I totally support the weapon specialization rules. If you spend more time training with one particular kind of sword, you&apos;ll be better with it. And you will have less time to learn other weapons or skills. Totally believable to me.

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• BE

  @BennyBartez · 12 days ago

  I genuinely thought this might be a guide to life by comparing rpg to life - &nbsp;becoming focused on one area of a skill, job or career etc to become more successful in life 😂<br>In some ways it still was!

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• RE

  @retrodmray · 6 days ago

  Yes, always such a cool rule and unique fighter-type qualities in the game! Nothing like it from UA and 2E, really. Others have tried, but like you said, it&apos;s just not the same! Great video! 🤓👊

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• CO

  @CooperativeWaffles · 10 days ago

  The other weapon proficiency rule worth using is Weapon Groups. &nbsp;Spending multiple weapon proficiency points to gain proficiency to Axes, Hammers, Bows, etc.

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• TH

  @ThomasStell · 10 days ago (edited)

  I changed Proficiency for 5e.<br><br>NONPROFICIENT = you fight with DISADVANTAGE. &nbsp;You do gain any Attribute bonuses.<br><br>BASIC PROFICIENCY = This allows you to fight without any bonus. You still get any Attribute bonuses.<br><br>MARTIAL or EXPERT PROFICIENCY (Expert is non-weapon Proficiency). = You gain your Proficiency bonus to hit and damage. You also get any Attribute bonuses.

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• AD

  @AdlerMow · 10 days ago

  My standard AC is 8. Faster deadlier combat. Fighters get +1AC from the start. <br><br>Shields should give + 2 or 3 AC, helmets + 1 or 2 AC (open faced vs enclosed), while armor a bit less, so this gives the real importance of equipment.<br><br>Also, defensive and offensive stance (+- 1 to 2 AC, +- 1 to 2 to hit).<br><br>All out attack (+4 to hit, -4 AC). All out defense (+4 AC, no attacks).<br><br>That way you can armor up to take risks or fight defensively.<br><br>On weapons:<br>Non proficient (-2 to hit)<br>Proficient (no modifiers)<br>Specialized (+1 to hit and damage).<br>Double Specialized (+2 to hit and damage).<br>You can either specialize in 2 weapons or double down on a single one.<br><br>To do this you need either to use it almost exclusively (changing weapons only in desperate occasions) up to a high level (6 and 12 in BX) or spend 3 months practicing daily under a master (no questing, just training).<br><br>That&apos;s how I do.

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• CH

  @ChuckBarchuk · 11 days ago (edited)

  This is fantastic. Do you think this would work well with the BX Fighter? That&apos;s definitely one class that I feel really needs some love. I would probably have normal specialization give +1 to hit &amp; damage while double specialization would give +2.

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• KI

  @kieranhasler9952 · 10 days ago

  What about specialization with taking out the trash with toilets? How poetic ...<br>(- Rorschach)

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• TO

  @tomyoung8563 · 12 days ago (edited)

  Love UA, and long sword is the way to go when you factor in how magic item tables work<br><br>But the trick is to have a long sword guy and a bow guy… hopefully your bow guy is a halfling fighter thief

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