D&D 5E Dex-based greatsword?

[Mercule]

I don't think it'd be horrible, for a one-off. I definitely wouldn't put it in to the general rule set, for a variety of reasons, though. Yes, it somewhat deprecates Strength, but it's not the end of the world.

As a bigger guy who has sparred, IRL, with some bigger weapons, I can tell you that my strength is a prerequisite for wielding a greatsword without penalty, but it's my dexterity that actually gives me a bonus. Trying to map real life to game stats is always dubious, but I wanted to point out that Dex isn't absurd for use with a greatsword. The real issue is balance, not realism. Balance isn't totally borked, in this case, but beware the precedent.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Put me down as another one that would either say stick with the longsword with finesse property (giving you a 1d10 damage weapon from Versatile) if the PC ever hopes to find a magical version of it... or go with a 2d6 greatsword that can use DEX with the knowledge that her ever finding a magical version of that weapon will be virtually non-existent. That "mithril greatsword" *is* the most magical weapon she'll ever find.

So she has to decide whether the added damage now at lower levels makes up for the lack of additional attack bonuses from magic at later levels.

 

[JediGamemaster]

you know after sleeping on it, I wonder why a rogue with a 2 handed 2d6 dex weapon is soo bad...

I took 5th 9th and 13th level and did some math....

5th dagger 1d4+3d6 short sword 4d6 rapier 1d8+3D6 the 3d6 average is 10.5 even the d8 is average 4.5... 3/4 the damage is sneak attack not weapon... give them a 2d6 greatsword and that goes form average dagger damage of 13 to 18...

9th dagger 1d4+5d6 short sword 6d6 rapier 1d8+6D6 the 5d6 average is 17.5 even the d8 is average 4.5... 4/5 the damage is sneak attack not weapon... give them a 2d6 greatsword and that goes form average dagger damage of 20 to 25...


13th dagger 1d4+7d6 short sword 8d6 rapier 1d8+7D6 the 7d6 average is 24.5 even the d8 is average 4.5... 5/6 the damage is sneak attack not weapon... give them a 2d6 greatsword and that goes form average dagger damage of 27 to 32.....


the difference between doing a d3 damage 1-3 and 2d6 damage 2-12 (I think that's the biggest range of weapon damage) is really not that big of an issue when you start adding d6's to either... since the rogue is already adding an average of 3.5 per two levels to damage as you go up in level the weapon matters less and less...

 

[Merchant of Shadows]

1d10 finesse two handed weapon is perfectly fine. It isn't even atractive to a rogue unless he has access to haste or extra attack. Actually it is not attractive to almost noone else besides a lore bard or an archer ranger.

 

[shadowmane]

Magic weapon. Rare. Possibly an heirloom.

 

[Dausuul]

I will say that if presented in a book a finesse 2 hander would lead to broken and abusable situations, in a home game as a one off it isn't to bad. If the player isn't a powergamer my suggestion would be go for it.

Yup, this pretty much sums it up.

Dexterity is the god-stat (Dex users get to add it to their attack bonus, their damage, their AC, and several extremely useful skills). The limitation on finesse weapon damage dice ensures there's still a reason to play a Strength fighter, as well as capping the damage output of rogues. However, for an archery-focused ranger, it wouldn't do any real harm.

Just make sure the sword in question stays in the ranger's hands; maybe it's a weapon blessed by some woodland deity. You don't want it ending up with the party rogue.

 

[Hriston]

Make it a rapier with an elongated grip to give it the versatile property, basically a katana, no bonus to damage. Done.

The terms broadsword, claymore, and greatsword are all appropriate for such a weapon.

 

[pdegan2814]

As a one-off, heck do whatever you want. If it ends up being broken you'll know not to do something like that in future games. I would say that I'm not keen on the idea of allowing someone to use Dex to wield a type of weapon that the game specifically geared for Str-based combatants. If you want to flavor it as being specially crafted so that it was light enough, such as with Mithral or some Elven design, I suppose that works from an RP perspective. I'd avoid making it a full-on "finesse" weapon, though. It should either benefit from abilities/feats/etc that boost great weapons, or finesse weapons. It shouldn't benefit from both. I'm with the poster who said it should simply have the property "You can use Dex as your attack stat for this weapon". Proficiency won't be an issue for the Ranger, as they're proficient in all martial weapons. If you were planning to make it more than a one-off, I'd recommend a minimum Strength score to make use of such a weapon. Even if you're using Dexterity as the attack stat, it's still a two-handed weapon. SOME degree of raw power should be required in order to wield it properly.

And for your one-off campaign, because a weapon like this is such an exception to the normal combat rules, don't have them just find it somewhere. Send them on a quest where it's the final reward. Make them earn it. Heck, have them pull it out of a stone at the end, just to embrace the cliche.

 

[Vael]

If one is really worried about potential bad combos, make it a magic item that simply allows one to use DEX in place of STR. But it doesn't grant finesse, just like the Monk Unarmed strike allows for DEX, but doesn't turn those two-handed weapons into finesse weapons.

You could, technically, even do this with a basic weapon or even a feat.

So, because there are many ways to skin this cat, here's some brainstorms.

1. New weapon:
Whooshsword: 60gp, 1d12 slashing, 1 lb. Properties: two-handed, special.
Special: Those proficient with the Whooshsword can use DEX in place of STR with attack and damage rolls.

2. New Feat:
Lighter than Air
Prerequisite: DEX 13
In your hands, even the largest weapons seem to move with grace. You gain the following benefits:

• Increase your Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
• When wielding a Greatsword or Glaive, you can use Dexterity in place of Strength when attacking with these weapons. They lose the Heavy weapon property when you do so, but do not gain the Finesse property.

3. Magic Items
Gauntlets of Waif-fu
Wondrous Item, rare (requires attunement)
When you are attuned to this item, large weapons in your hands seem even larger, but are wielded with speed and grace. Whenever you attack with a two-handed melee weapon with the Heavy Property, you can choose to use Dexterity instead of Strength for attack and damage rolls. If you do so, this weapon no longer has the Heavy Property.

Sword of Julienne
Weapon (Greatsword), rare (requires attunement)
You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage with this sword.
When you are attuned to this item and attack you can choose to use Dexterity instead of Strength for attack and damage rolls. If you do so, this weapon no longer has the Heavy Property.

 

[the Jester]

So I'm running a PotA campaign, and one of my players envisioned her character as using a massive greatsword. Which is cool in my book, but for some reason the actual PC is a dex-based ranger. I told her that this was extremely sub-optimal for a great weapon user, but she went with it anyway.

Then she made her choice, and it was an informed decision. Kudos to her for putting her character vision above mechanical considerations.

In the two sessions we've done her PC has mostly relied on archery.

Sounds like she is playing realistically.

How OP would it be if she found a greatsword that had the finesse property?

If someone suggested this to me at my table, honestly, I would laugh at them with my DM face turned to maximum scorn. But that's my table. I do think this would be broken, but that's a gut feeling not based on analysis of any kind. If you mean a magic greatsword, it might be a different story; perhaps a Rare weapon without an attack or damage bonus but that simply let you use Dex instead of Str? ... or I might make it +1 and Very Rare, actually. Finesse on a greatsword is very problematic, potentially. Suddenly the rogue can sneak attack with it. Sure, the rogue might not have it now, but what about when the ranger dies or retires, or if the ranger multiclasses?

I think I'm sticking with my "wouldn't do it" answer.