The Souljourner said:
Put my vote in for keeping 3.5 weapon sizes. It's makes SO much more logical sense, and is actually *easier* to deal with in game than 3.0's version.
DM: Ok, the ogre was using a longsword
PC: wait, when you say longsword, do you actually mean a greatsword that he's just wielding in one hand?
DM: No, it's an ogre sized longsword.... which I guess means it's like a greatsword for you. Right. Ok.
PC: Ok, great, I have weapon focus in greatsword
DM: But it's a longsword....
PC: but to me it's a greatsword...
As opposed to this:
DM: The ogre had a large longsword.
PC: hmm, damn, I guess I could wield that in two hands and get a -2 penalty... probably not worth it
Why have weapon size rules at all, then? Just say "no, dude, you're not an ogre. Give it up."
As for the "I want my players to be able to use the loot from the bodies" .... that is, honestly, the most ridiculous reason I've ever heard for not wanting 3.5 weapon rules.
Yeah, because the idea of getting upgrades off the bodies of the fallen is WAY out of the mainstream for D&D.
Ogres don't use weapons that are appropriate for human sized people to wield. It's ridiculous for the PCs to think that they should get usable items from every encounter.
Re-read the thread: Halflings and gnomes (and half-ogres, for that matter) will either get the lion's share of gear, or next to no gear, unless the DM contorts the game world to provide gear for everyone, or provides Halaster's Used Weapon Emporium for them to trade things in at.
How is the game improved by saying "sorry, Frodo, you chose to play a small character. Enjoy the masterwork small shortsword you'll be using for the next eight levels."
I can't tell you how often I've fought salamanders and had to carry around huge longspears, trying to find *someone* that will buy them from the party. I guess we needed to go find some giants to sell them to.
Hooray?
3.5's way is much more logic
And it's entirely bizarre that they decided to skip hit points and armor class and a hundred other illogical things in D&D to jump on the huge problem of weapon sizes to impose realism at last.
D&D is an inherently stylized game. If you're looking for gritty realism, this is the wrong place.
It's no more complicated, and in fact is *less* complicated because you don't have to know what weapon magically converts into what other weapon when someone of a different size picks it up.
And since no one but a complete idiot would use a differently sized weapon in 3.5, unless they're playing a highly cheesy race or have a highly cheesy feat, the rules might as well not exist anyway. The DM just has to say "no," and move on.
The 3.5 weapon rules are a whole lot of verbiage dedicated to giving a rationale for saying "no," when people on this thread have adequately demonstrated that weapons of different sizes wouldn't be easily used by different sized creatures anyway. They smack of someone in a position of high authority at WotC having a personal bugaboo over the old rules and, despite it not being a real problem, decided to fix it anyway.
Again, how is the game
better under the new rules? And if you say you want realism, be prepared to make some wholesale changes in the game, because this is just the tip of the iceberg.