Chapter 1: Weapons Remastered, Revised
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Chapter 1: Weapons Remastered, Revised he goal of this remaster is to increase the Secondly, I believe that, as a whole, non-magical weapons variety in weapons for the Fifth Edition of leave a lot to be desired in terms of power, and an overall Dungeons and Dragons. I feel that the current increase in versatility and damage is not unwarranted. I do, list of arms is lacking in the following ways: however, believe this applies mostly to the martial weapons, lack of variety in the feel of weapons when used which by all accounts do not represent nearly a large enough to attack, lack of utility options from different improvement over simple weapons. My go-to example is the Tweapon options, and the existence of so-called statistically identical spear and trident in the PHB, despite a “strictly better” armament that results in the near universal trident weighing more and being considerably more difficult picking of certain weapons. to wield in-game. As such, martial weapons will tend to be To counteract this, I will be presenting the following more effective, and I firmly believe that this is perfectly weapon list in two parts, much as it appears in the Player’s reasonable. Handbook (PHB). First is a list of all the possible traits a Addendum: this work has been modified from its original weapon can have. There are many more options here than are version. Properties have been altered and more weapons have included in the PHB, and not all of the traits from the base been added, some of which are highly anachronistic but then, weapon list remain unchanged. Second is the list of weapons D&D is already a combination of multiple time periods and themselves. locations from the real world and fiction. The commentaries Changes I have made include altered damage dice and are almost entirely the word of the first author, but some damage type options, as well as weight in some instances. mechanical descriptions have been edited or changed, and This section also includes a few new options of gear not pages explaining the reasoning behind some features have previously included in the PHB. Shields are also included been removed. The "Equivalent Alternatives" section was here, as I expand on the anemic single option offered in the added later as well, and all errors and opinions are my own PHB. fault. The unrevised Weapons Remastered can be found at It is important to bear in mind the design philosophy I am this address. approaching this task with. The first thing I will say is that I want to somewhat adhere to the principles of Fifth Edition. This is to say, I would like to keep weapon properties as relatively straightforward and intuitive as possible. For instance, if a weapon allows an additional action to occur on hit, it will be an action that is already in the system such as a shove or opportunity attack, or will provide a static bonus or key off of the player character’s (or monster’s) stat modifier or proficiency bonus. This keeps it intuitive to check a character sheet and see where the numbers for an ability or effect come from. Introduction 1 This is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. Heavy Weapon Properties The weapon is more weighty and large than a standard weapon, lending it unique advantages and challenges. Small Ammunition creatures makes attacks with heavy weapons at disadvantage, You can use a weapon that has the Ammunition property to and cannot be used to make more than one attack per make a ranged Attack only if you have Ammunition to fire turnunless the wielder has a Strength score of 13 or higher. A from the weapon. Each time you Attack with the weapon, you Heavy weapon takes a bonus action to draw or stow. expend one piece of Ammunition. Drawing the Ammunition from a Quiver, case, or other container is part of the Attack A heavy weapon allows the wielder to make an attack (you need a free hand to load a one-handed weapon). At the relying more on raw strength instead of accuracy. When an end of the battle, you can recover half your expended attack is made with a heavy weapon that the attacker is Ammunition by taking a minute to Search the battlefield. proficient in, the attacker can forego adding their proficiency bonus to the attack roll. If the attack hits, the attacker may add Ensnaring that proficiency bonus to the damage roll. They must decide to The weapon features chain, rope, or other parts that can aid do this before making their attack roll. Any attempts to disarm in the entanglement of combatants. When you hit with a the wielder of heavy weapons are made at disadvantage. You weapon attack, you may use your bonus action to attempt to must be proficient in heavy weapons to make use of this grapple the target, disarm them, or shove them prone, using feature. your weapon attack modifier in place of the Strength (Athletics.) Light A light weapon is small and easy to handle, making it ideal for Finesse use when fighting with two Weapons. When you take the The weapon lends itself to dexterous combat due to precise Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you’re blades or heads, grips that offer enhanced handling or control, holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with or features that make aiming the weapon for precise strikes a different light melee weapon that you’re holding in the other far easier. When making an attack with a finesse weapon, you hand. You don’t add your ability modifier to the damage of the use your choice of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative. If either attack and damage rolls. You must use the same modifier for weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, both rolls. instead of making a melee attack with it. Finisher Loading The weapon is particularly adept at making the most of The weapon requires a more complicated process of readying advantageous situations or an enemy at your mercy. When the a piece of ammunition or otherwise preparing an attack with weapon is used to attack a prone creature, roll an additional it. Because of the time required to load this weapon, you can weapon damage die on a hit. fire only one piece of ammunition from it when you use an action, bonus action, or reaction to fire it, regardless of the number of attacks you can normally make. Nonlethal The weapon is designed to incapacitate or is otherwise capable of delivering a hit that does not kill the target. Damage dealt with this weapon that reduces the target to zero hit points immediately puts them in the unconscious state instead of killing them if the wielder declares it to be a nonlethal attack. They are considered stable in this state. Improvised weapons have this property if they can deal bludgeoning damage. All weapons may still be used to deal nonlethal strikes, but must deal 1+STR bludgeoning damage instead of their typical value. Weapons with the nonlethal property still deal their full damage. Parry The weapon has some weapon catching or deflecting feature, allowing it to be used to parry incoming attacks. When the wielder is attacked by a melee weapon attack from a target they can see, they can use their reaction to attempt to parry the attack so long as they are wielding a parrying weapon. This parry adds +3 to the wielder’s AC for that single attack, and must be declared before the result of the attack is known. 2 This is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC. Prone Fighting Sweeping The weapon is able to be used while the wielder is laying on The weapon makes attacks in broad, sweeping motions. When the ground just as effectively as if they were standing. When making an attack the wielder can declare it to be a sweeping prone, attacks with this weapon are not made at disadvantage. attack. When such an attack with this weapon reduces a creature to 0 hit points, you may deal the weapon’s die in Range damage to another creature adjacent to the slain creature. If The weapon can be used to make attacks at a range beyond there are two or more walls, friendly characters size medium melee. A weapon that can be used to make a ranged attack or larger, or other such obstructions adjacent to the first has a range in parentheses after the ammunition or thrown target, a sweeping attack is made at disadvantage. property. The range lists two numbers. The first is the weapon's normal range in feet, and the second indicates the Thrown weapon's long range. When attacking a target beyond normal If a weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the range, you have disadvantage on the attack roll. You can't weapon to make a ranged attack. If the weapon is a melee attack a target beyond the weapon's long range. weapon, you use the same ability modifier for that Attack roll and damage roll that you would use for a melee attack with Reach the weapon.