LexStarwalker
First Post
I thought I'd solicit opinions on a D&D house rule I've been thinking about. I'm looking for feedback from other DMs, as I already know most players aren't going to like a house rule that would possibly nerf their character. 
It seems to me that Dexterity in 5e is rather overpowered compared to other ability scores, especially Strength. Now that Dexterity gives a damage bonus to all attacks that use it, and it can be used with finesse weapons like daggers, shortswords, and rapiers, I think the system really favors a Dex fighter over a Strength fighter. Not only does Dexterity also benefit your armor class (unless you're wearing heavy armor), but you also encounter Dex saves more often in the game than Strength saves.
I've always seen this as an issue, but could never think of a way to address it without doing a major hack to the game. Last night, as I was falling asleep, I had an idea. It's very simple and straightforward, and doesn't totally nerf Dex, but does put a little bit of a limitation on it so the Strength fighters can still compete. I also think it makes sense in a mechanical and in-world sense.
The house rule would be simply this: I would change the damage of rapiers from 1d8 piercing to 1d6 piercing. This would decrease its damage output by one. It's not a huge shift, but it would mean that Strength fighters would be able to use one-handed weapons which do a little more damage (1d8) than Dex fighters (1d6). I think that makes more sense. I would also maybe change rapier to a light weapon, so PCs could dual wield it without needing a feat. I think that would be fair because the rapier would do the same damage as a shortsword, which is a light weapon. The only difference would be in flavor, really. Well, that and I allow shortswords to do piercing or slashing damage (not that I've ever seen that matter mechanically).
So, in summary, the change would be:
Rapier: 1d6 piercing damage, finesse, light
Shortsword: 1d6 piercing or slashing damage (wielder's choice), finesse, light
Another thing this addresses is that I often see Dex characters use a rapier even though they really don't want to just because it does the 1d8 damage. That would remove that problem (and remove what I think is an over-abundance of rapier wielders). It also makes the elven racial proficiency with longswords (instead of rapiers) seem less odd.
I think it would also clean up the system a bit, as the rapier is odd in that it's the only finesse weapon that does 1d8 damage and isn't also a light weapon.
As a caveat, I wouldn't make this change in the beginning of a campaign, but would do it before character creation of a new campaign, so players would know ahead of time. If nothing else, I think it would be interesting to see its effect (if any) on the character builds I see.
Thoughts?
It seems to me that Dexterity in 5e is rather overpowered compared to other ability scores, especially Strength. Now that Dexterity gives a damage bonus to all attacks that use it, and it can be used with finesse weapons like daggers, shortswords, and rapiers, I think the system really favors a Dex fighter over a Strength fighter. Not only does Dexterity also benefit your armor class (unless you're wearing heavy armor), but you also encounter Dex saves more often in the game than Strength saves.
I've always seen this as an issue, but could never think of a way to address it without doing a major hack to the game. Last night, as I was falling asleep, I had an idea. It's very simple and straightforward, and doesn't totally nerf Dex, but does put a little bit of a limitation on it so the Strength fighters can still compete. I also think it makes sense in a mechanical and in-world sense.
The house rule would be simply this: I would change the damage of rapiers from 1d8 piercing to 1d6 piercing. This would decrease its damage output by one. It's not a huge shift, but it would mean that Strength fighters would be able to use one-handed weapons which do a little more damage (1d8) than Dex fighters (1d6). I think that makes more sense. I would also maybe change rapier to a light weapon, so PCs could dual wield it without needing a feat. I think that would be fair because the rapier would do the same damage as a shortsword, which is a light weapon. The only difference would be in flavor, really. Well, that and I allow shortswords to do piercing or slashing damage (not that I've ever seen that matter mechanically).
So, in summary, the change would be:
Rapier: 1d6 piercing damage, finesse, light
Shortsword: 1d6 piercing or slashing damage (wielder's choice), finesse, light
Another thing this addresses is that I often see Dex characters use a rapier even though they really don't want to just because it does the 1d8 damage. That would remove that problem (and remove what I think is an over-abundance of rapier wielders). It also makes the elven racial proficiency with longswords (instead of rapiers) seem less odd.
I think it would also clean up the system a bit, as the rapier is odd in that it's the only finesse weapon that does 1d8 damage and isn't also a light weapon.
As a caveat, I wouldn't make this change in the beginning of a campaign, but would do it before character creation of a new campaign, so players would know ahead of time. If nothing else, I think it would be interesting to see its effect (if any) on the character builds I see.
Thoughts?
