Fighting with one handed weapon & no shield

[nikolai]

Hi all,

One of the classic architypes in fantasy fiction is the swordsman who fights using a longsword and no shield. How can you go about recreating this using D&D? It seems to me that this is going to be suboptimal whatever you do and that there are absolutely no advantages whatsoever compared to a two-handed weapon, using a shield or two weapon fighting. Is this correct?

yours,

nikolai.

 

[Crothian]

Who cares about sub optimal, it's cool looking. Challenge your opponent to drop his shield to make the fight even. Ridicule him as you defeat him with you less optimal style.

 

[Fenes 2]

There is the duelist Prestige Class from "Sword and Fist", which could be adapted for a similar one-handd fighting style.

 

[Dingleberry]

I wouldn't underestimate the value of being able to freely utilize the other hand: hold a torch, retrieve a potion, grab a rope, catch a thrown item, etc. Depending on the nature of your campaign (and how strictly your DM enforces such rules), that can be very beneficial.

 

[Caliber]

In 2e there were certain ... uhm ... Proficiencies in the 2e nomenclature ... that you could take to give you AC bonuses as if you were using a Shield.

I would think a Feat like that wouldn't be too terribly unbalanced. But then you're getting into House Rules.

 

[Enkhidu]

My PC does exactly that, drawing a sword with one hand while he keeps this bow in his off hand - if he suddenly fells an opponent close by, he has the opportunity to drop his sword and take the rest of his iteratives against a foe farther away.

 

[Valmur_Dwur]

My paladin of Pholtus justs uses a longsword. Like was mentioned its nice to be able to grab something with the free hand. Of course power attack and using the longsword 2-handed at times for the 1.5 x str it provides means the tougher foes can go down quicker

 

[AuraSeer]

It's a useful style if you're a melee cleric, or some other combination of fighter and spellcaster. The free off-hand is necessary if you want to cast without dropping your weapon. (You could use Still Spell on everything, but the one-level hit on every spell is arguably worse than the simple lack of a shield bonus.)

 

[Darklone]

Wanted to say that about casting with the free hand too... but make sure your DM allows that. Not all do.

 

[Kraedin]

It's a useful style if you're a melee cleric, or some other combination of fighter and spellcaster. The free off-hand is necessary if you want to cast without dropping your weapon. (You could use Still Spell on everything, but the one-level hit on every spell is arguably worse than the simple lack of a shield bonus.)

You're probably better off using a two-handed weapon, and holding it in one hand as you cast, however.

Wanted to say that about casting with the free hand too... but make sure your DM allows that. Not all do.

That's bizare. By the rules, its perfectly legal.