D&D 5E Fighter Weapon Choice

S_Dalsgaard · May 29, 2015

The ongoing thread about scaling the number of off-hand attacks for TWF made me wonder how much weapon choice is based on a roleplaying concept for your characters and how much is based on potential damage output. I (and the players in my group) tend to choose weapons based more on what would fit the character and his background, than on what damage potential the weapons have, but the various threads with precise calculations on the theoretical damage of TWF vs. GWF vs. Polearm, etc. makes me think that that isn't actually the norm.

So, how do you chose which weapon(s) to use when you make a fighter character?

To get the ball rolling, I should mention that my current elven Eldritch Knight uses a elven blade (re-skinned longsword) and sometimes shield and my next character will probably be a rogue dual-wielding shortsword and dagger.

brehobit · May 29, 2015

I generally go mechanical and then as needed discuss with the DM on flavor. So my rapier wielding fighter is "really" using a cutlass because it fits the game's theme (and character idea) a bit better.

The Crimson Binome · May 29, 2015

If a character uses a weapon which is mechanically inferior - like a short sword instead of a rapier, when the character isn't trying to dual wield or anything - then that character is suicidally incompetent and a liability to the team. Other, competent characters will ridicule this character in-game, and refuse to work with such a moron.

jgsugden · May 29, 2015

The majority of role players don't get into the details of the math and play what superficially seems fun. The majority of them do not post on message boards. The majority of D&D message board posters are math-centric players.

There is a broad spectrum of choices for weapons for fighters that exceeds an efficient threshold. Outside of choosing a clearly inferior weapon, you're good to go - even if your choice does not rise up to great.

Sunseeker · May 29, 2015

Saelorn said:
If a character uses a weapon which is mechanically inferior - like a short sword instead of a rapier, when the character isn't trying to dual wield or anything - then that character is suicidally incompetent and a liability to the team. Other, competent characters will ridicule this character in-game, and refuse to work with such a moron.

In-game, characters would be utterly unaware of the mechanical probabilities of weapons and their interaction with class features. Anyone who took this attitude at my table would promptly get the boot, literally.

That said, I compromise: I tend to pick the mathematically superior weapon that fits my character.

Thyrwyn · May 29, 2015

My Rogue uses short sword and dagger or two short swords depending on whether or not he needs to throw something.

My Bard wears a rapier which she has never drawn. But rapiers look better with evening wear.

The Crimson Binome · May 29, 2015

shidaku said:
In-game, characters would be utterly unaware of the mechanical probabilities of weapons and their interaction with class features. Anyone who took this attitude at my table would promptly get the boot, literally.

Characters know way more about how their world works than the players do. In-game, characters know about the real world details which are merely modeled by the stats we see in the book. It is a truth of their world that the rapier is more likely to cause a lethal injury than a shortsword, though it is much easier to dual wield shortswords rather than rapiers. It is a truth of their world that, given the choice between the two, the fighter who chooses a single shortsword over a single rapier is less likely to disable an opponent in the first strike, and more likely to die.

S_Dalsgaard · May 29, 2015

Saelorn said:
If a character uses a weapon which is mechanically inferior - like a short sword instead of a rapier, when the character isn't trying to dual wield or anything - then that character is suicidally incompetent and a liability to the team. Other, competent characters will ridicule this character in-game, and refuse to work with such a moron.

Even when figuring out the math, the difference between shortsword and rapier should only be 1 hp per attack (if my math is right). Combined with various stat bonuses that really seems like a small difference to make anyone actually shun the character.

But this is actually why I posted the question. It is interesting to get both perspectives and neither view is wrong, but seems to be very different from table to table. I would assume that when you have this view on damage potential, it is rather important to you, that the various feat options (like TWF, GWF, etc.) are somewhat equal in power?

S_Dalsgaard · May 29, 2015

jgsugden said:
The majority of role players don't get into the details of the math and play what superficially seems fun. The majority of them do not post on message boards. The majority of D&D message board posters are math-centric players.

There is a broad spectrum of choices for weapons for fighters that exceeds an efficient threshold. Outside of choosing a clearly inferior weapon, you're good to go - even if your choice does not rise up to great.

Yeah, it could very easily be a forum thing and EnWorld even seems to be rather neutral ground. Other forums basically has nothing but threads on the best "builds".

Wik · May 29, 2015

As has been stated before, the forums are not a good testing ground for what is "normal" - these are the people who are so into the game, that they congregate onto a site to discuss minutiae. I know that at my table, which can often be fairly mathy, there's not a whole lot of looking at Damage Per Round sort of thinking... and the player that DOES pay attention to that sort of thinking is the only guy playing a fighter - who took the protection fighting style and rarely even uses his weapon!

To be honest, I think the best fighting style is actually protection. A fighter who does nothing but protect allies with reaction, and either dodge or help allies make attacks, is actually a HUGE contributor to the party's success, without ever swinging his weapon.

As for me, I go for whatever thematically makes sense. The difference between a d8 and a d6 is small enough that I'm willing to do that, regardless of math. Right now, I'm about to start playing a tempest cleric with a sailor background, and I'm trying to decide what's a good seaworthy weapon for him (I'm leaning towards battle axe, for cutting lines).

D&D 5E Fighter Weapon Choice

S_Dalsgaard

First Post

brehobit

Explorer

The Crimson Binome

Hero

jgsugden

Legend

Sunseeker

Guest

Thyrwyn

Explorer

The Crimson Binome

Hero

S_Dalsgaard

First Post

S_Dalsgaard

First Post

Wik

First Post

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