Weapon Training

Shalewind · Aug 13, 2002

Adding another complexity level...

Some of my players complained one day that a fighter was just as good with a bow, even if he had never used one before, than a ranger whom focused on one. I exaplined that feats make up for that difference and it is assumed that the fighter is training in all weapons (what else does he have to do).

But. In order to appease them, I developed a system that we used for several months. Let me know what you think. Again, this isn't for everyone:

Weapon Groups are split from Martial/Simple/Exotic to

Axes and Hammers
Bows
Clubs, Maces, & Flails
Crossbows
Daggers
Lances
Polearms
Spears & Javalins
Swords (Short,Long)
Large Swords (Bastard,Great)
Slings
Fighting Staves

You are still restricted by the Martial / Simple guidelines. I.E. if you can't use martial weapons then most categories are out.

Now, every time your base attack bonus increases, you get six points of Base Attack to spread out between the above categories. You can't ever exceed your MAX base attack bonus as dictated by your level.

Feats that require a general base attack bonus use your level max. Individual weapon feats that require a base attack bonus require that you have a base attack with that weapon category.

What do you think.

As a side note I went back to the old system after about 20 games. I still like some of the aspects of this one though.

Crothian · Aug 13, 2002

THis isn't to bad. How do exotic weapons fit into this? And what do you do with the extra points for like Wizards who aren't proficient in enough weapons.

Bendris Noulg · Aug 13, 2002

Interesting.

Personally, I went with Cultural Familiarity. Generally, every culture has a number of weapons related to it. Thus, while a Fighter starts with the Proficiencies gained at Level 1, they are only Familiar with the weapons to their culture.

Now the reason for this is to remove Feat expense; In short, while having the Proficiencies, Familiarity is handled the same as Non-Proficiency, except that training and using the weapon is enough to gain Proficiency. No Feat is required.

Thus, a PC from my more primitive cultures doesn't just walk into a region inhabited by an advanced culture, pick up a Bastard Sword, and start using it unimpaired. At the same time, as there is no actual "mechanical" expense to learning to use the weapon, there's no real penalty for having a primitive background.

Anyhow, that's just my way of doing it. Has worked rather well for a good year now.

Shalewind · Aug 14, 2002

Interesting. Thanks for the alternate ideas. Cultural weapons seem to accomplsh kind of the same thing.

Exotic weapons fit into one of the other categories if you have the feat. For instance, katanas fit into the Large Swords category if you have the base proficiency to match.

We didn't handle the wizard problem. I'd imagine that they need to receive less weapons points.

Crothian · Aug 14, 2002

So, your system is gets rid of exotic weapons? That seems a bit generous. Fighters not having to spend feats to weld a bastard sword one handed or even to learn to use a spiked chain. Then you have the wierd exotic weapons and it would be difficult to place them in a catagory.

Shalewind · Aug 14, 2002

Misunderstanding. Or perhaps my bad wording.

Exotic Weapons still require feats to learn. Most of them then count in the normal categories. I suppose two new ones could be added:

Spikes and Chains

Martial Arts / Body Weapons

As I said, this is far from perfect and only has been tested in a cursory fashion.

Crothian · Aug 14, 2002

Many things here are not perfect, that's why we post them and talk about them.

What about lowering the amount of points people get per class. Fighter would get 8, Barbarians, Paladins, Rangers get 6, Rogues, Clerics, Bards, Druids get 4, and then Wizards and Sorcerers get 2. Psions would get 2 and Physhic Warriors would get 6. THis would show the difference between the classes and their training. You can also get a feat that increases your number by +2.

I think your system is pretty good sounding. It might be a little heavy on the paperwork, but that would depend on the PCs and DM. Some of us do better with more paperwork then others.