Laurefindel
Legend
Boldly going where everyone and their dog has gone before, I'd like your opinion on a modification of the two-weapon fighting rules I'm cautiously exploring. Here it goes:
[sblock=original post]
Fighting With Two Weapons
When you take the Attack action and attack with alight melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand. To make an attack as a bonus action this way, both weapons used for these attacks must be light, or one of them must be a dagger. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative.
Conversely, when you use your bonus action to make a attack with a weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can make another attack against the same creature with the weapon you are holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of this additional attack, unless that modifier is negative.
If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.
There are two elements in this rule change:
"both light or one is a dagger" allows for rapier/dagger right of the bat without much increase in the average damage compared to a d6/d6 combo, and not just a pointlessly inferior combo to rapier/rapier.
The second part attempts to make TWF compatible with other sources of attacks as bonus action (like scimitar of speed, frenzy rage, extra attack from GWM etc) without completely removing the competition with other bonus actions.
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Take two.
Let forget about the "or must be a dagger" part for a moment to keep things clear.
Two-Weapon Fighting
When you're fighting with a weapon that you're holding in one hand and a different weapon in your other hand, the following rules apply:
- When you use a bonus action to make an attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can make an additional attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand.
- If you take the Attack action while holding a melee weapon that you're holding in one hand but do not possess the ability to make an attack with it as a bonus action, you can use your bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand.
- In either case, you don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack made with the weapon held in the other hand, unless that modifier is negative.
- If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.
Here's the reasoning behind all of this:
I'm cool with the fact that there should be an opportunity cost to use TWF in combat. The way I see it, making an additional attack with an "offhand weapon" should be yet another option of bonus action among all that are available to a character. For that reason, I'm hesitant to remove the "as a bonus action" part of TWF.
BUT, some of these options are already "make an additional attack as a bonus action", and it is in these situations that I feel that TWF doesn't feel as satisfying as other combat style. The dueling fighting style - and the advantage of wearing a shield - applies when attacks are made as a BA. The great weapon fighting style - and the advantage of having bigger damage dice - applies when attacks are made as a BA. The archery fighting style - and the advantage of being at range - applies when attacks are made as a BA. Even the defense and protection fighting styles are fully effective when attacks are made as a bonus action.
However, the benefits of the two-weapon fighting style - and of the TWF as a combat technique as a whole - becomes moot in the case of attacks made as a BA because you'd need another bonus action to take advantage of it.
Hence the "free" offhand attack when an melee weapon attack is made as a bonus action.
Question for RaW enthusiasts here: How "when you use your bonus action to make an attack with a weapon you are holding in one hand" applies to the monk's martial arts unarmed strikes? The goal is definitively not to give monks yet another attack...
[sblock=original post]
Fighting With Two Weapons
When you take the Attack action and attack with a
Conversely, when you use your bonus action to make a attack with a weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can make another attack against the same creature with the weapon you are holding in the other hand. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of this additional attack, unless that modifier is negative.
If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.
There are two elements in this rule change:
"both light or one is a dagger" allows for rapier/dagger right of the bat without much increase in the average damage compared to a d6/d6 combo, and not just a pointlessly inferior combo to rapier/rapier.
The second part attempts to make TWF compatible with other sources of attacks as bonus action (like scimitar of speed, frenzy rage, extra attack from GWM etc) without completely removing the competition with other bonus actions.
[/sblock]
Take two.
Let forget about the "or must be a dagger" part for a moment to keep things clear.
Two-Weapon Fighting
When you're fighting with a weapon that you're holding in one hand and a different weapon in your other hand, the following rules apply:
- When you use a bonus action to make an attack with a light melee weapon that you're holding in one hand, you can make an additional attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand.
- If you take the Attack action while holding a melee weapon that you're holding in one hand but do not possess the ability to make an attack with it as a bonus action, you can use your bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you're holding in the other hand.
- In either case, you don't add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack made with the weapon held in the other hand, unless that modifier is negative.
- If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.
Here's the reasoning behind all of this:
I'm cool with the fact that there should be an opportunity cost to use TWF in combat. The way I see it, making an additional attack with an "offhand weapon" should be yet another option of bonus action among all that are available to a character. For that reason, I'm hesitant to remove the "as a bonus action" part of TWF.
BUT, some of these options are already "make an additional attack as a bonus action", and it is in these situations that I feel that TWF doesn't feel as satisfying as other combat style. The dueling fighting style - and the advantage of wearing a shield - applies when attacks are made as a BA. The great weapon fighting style - and the advantage of having bigger damage dice - applies when attacks are made as a BA. The archery fighting style - and the advantage of being at range - applies when attacks are made as a BA. Even the defense and protection fighting styles are fully effective when attacks are made as a bonus action.
However, the benefits of the two-weapon fighting style - and of the TWF as a combat technique as a whole - becomes moot in the case of attacks made as a BA because you'd need another bonus action to take advantage of it.
Hence the "free" offhand attack when an melee weapon attack is made as a bonus action.
Question for RaW enthusiasts here: How "when you use your bonus action to make an attack with a weapon you are holding in one hand" applies to the monk's martial arts unarmed strikes? The goal is definitively not to give monks yet another attack...
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