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I was making a character for fun, a fighter who used both a THW and a sword/board combo, depending on the situation.
But when I started making him, I quickly realized there's a lot of cost associated with trying to go both styles. At-wills tend to favor one or the other, so I can normally only use one at a time to any great success. And certain feats only work with one at a time. There's a fair amount of action cost in switching between the weapons (especially with the shield). And I have to have more magic items to keep my gear competitive with each other.
The last straw was the fighter's +1 to attack rolls. I get it with one style or the other. Considering how rare bonuses to attack are, that's a steep gap in power.
So I ask, does the fighter need to be limited in his +1? Considering all of the other costs I've mentioned, it seems the fighter who wants to go for flexibility in his fighting styles already has a pretty strong cost to balance it out. There doesn't seem to be a good balance reason to also tack on another +1 attack bonus cost.
I was hitting a similar problem when making a fighter for LFR, because I don't know if I'll be the only defender or a backup defender sometimes, so I'd like to swap to 2H when I'm backup (like having a paladin on a solo)
But, no dice. Maybe, there's some lack of clarity on how it works with versatile weapons where it was suggested to me that versatile weapons still count as 1H weapons for all purposes (which rules out reaping and power attack, but makes swapping viable)
Course, I'd really like to be able to swap between glaive and sword and board at paragon+...
I guess you could just get a bastard sword, take the bonus to one-handed weapons, and either use it one-handed or two-handed depending on the situation. I think it still counts as a one-handed weapon even if it's being wielded two-handed.
As for your suggestion, I don't really see it unbalancing anything. You could make it a feat to gain the +1 bonus with the weapon type you didn't select at character generation, perhaps.
I guess you could just get a bastard sword, take the bonus to one-handed weapons, and either use it one-handed or two-handed depending on the situation. I think it still counts as a one-handed weapon even if it's being wielded two-handed.
This is correct, to my understanding. Of course, it limits you to bastard swords.
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As for your suggestion, I don't really see it unbalancing anything. You could make it a feat to gain the +1 bonus with the weapon type you didn't select at character generation, perhaps.
Me either. I don't see why it's not just a flat +1 to everything. Maybe they just wanted to emphasize that different kinds of fighters do stuff better than others?
Interesting variant: Give each fighter the +1 attack bonus to all melee weapons of a particular group. Thus, you could pick Heavy Blades and switch between glaive and sword&board, or you could pick Axes and switch between greataxe and battleaxe&board, etc.
I think this retains the flavor of "fighter as weapon specialist" without expanding their attack bonus to cover all of everything.
Interesting variant: Give each fighter the +1 attack bonus to all melee weapons of a particular group. Thus, you could pick Heavy Blades and switch between glaive and sword&board, or you could pick Axes and switch between greataxe and battleaxe&board, etc.
His Feats and Encounter powers already reward that distinction, though.
His class features should key off something else, or apply generally.
Cheers, -- N
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Sorry, Nifft, but I have to disagree. I think 77IM's solution is a sound one that allows the versatility we're looking for. After all, not all class features are meant to be so general. Take the Warlord's Inspiring/Tactical Presence feature as an example: once selected, it benefits some very specific powers.
It seems that, unlike some classes, the fighter is limited on two fronts when looking at powers: weapon size and weapon type. The first limitation is a result of the current class feature choice, while the second is inherent in the fighter's power selection. Many other classes are limited on only one front. Choosing a weapon type for the Fighter's bonus would be a new approach to that tension between versatility and specialization that seems like it could pan out well.
Sorry, Nifft, but I have to disagree. I think 77IM's solution is a sound one that allows the versatility we're looking for.
No worries.
IMHO the original poster was asking if the bonus could be expanded without breaking anything, and I think it could be. Changing the bonus to apply to groups instead of "handedness" is both an expansion and a contraction, and IMHO the contraction part is unnecessary -- though it does clear up some annoying grey areas in the rules.
Cheers, -- N
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