Friends don't let friends use greatswords...

Hi Guys,

I think that there must be some mistake with the Greatword entry,
as written in the PHB they are +3 weapons that deal 1d10 damage and with no other effects. In comparison a Longsword is a +3 weapon that deals 1d8 damage and is also versatile so when taken in two hands it deals the same average damage as the Greatsword. The Greataxe is a +2 weapon that deals 1d12 damage and is also high crit. Why would anyone take Greatswords?

To be frank I think that there is a general problem with two-handed weapons as +1 to hit with a two-handed weapon is not equal to +1 to hit with single handed weapons, when the single handed weapons can be taken in two hands to deal the same damage and the wording seems to imply they will still get the bonus to hit. And this is without taking into account the effect loss of two-virtual feats (Light and Heavy shield use).

I hope that Greatswords can be errated to be +3 1d12 weapons giving the same relationship between a Greataxe and Greatsword as between a Longsword and Scimitar i.e you trade +1 to hit for high criticals. As it stands at present friends should not let friends use Greatswords...

Sorry I did not see this thread. There are some interesting point there, though the historical arguments were both irrelevent (were talking about balance in a game system) and also just plain wrong in many cases.

However the main point still stands, a Greatsword is uniquely sub-obtimal when compared with all other weapons. Throughout the rest of the document there is a formula that basically goes you can have +1 to hit or +1 average damage or high crit to differentiate weapon types. The Greatsword breaks this rule. I hope that it is simply a mistake that can be rectified.