toucanbuzz
No rule is inviolate
Issue: D&D weapons are pretty simplistic by design. While previous systems recognized some weapons were better than others at certain things, it became a chore to remember all the modifiers. E.g. a flail gets around a shield better, maces are good against chain, stilettos are great for penetrating plate in close combat.
I want to make weapon and armor choice more meaningful without bogging down the system. I started then retracted a system of armor vs. weapon type. There's no good way to make that work and not delay the game checking tables or asking who's wearing what. It's too much even if the realist in me cries for more reasons to pick a particular weapon or armor.
Still, some modifications I think can be easily implemented. Looking for constructive criticism and feedback!
Reach Attacks Can Go First:
A creature with a reach quality weapon, a Spear wielded with two hands, or 10' or greater attack (collectively called "Reach") may use its Attack Action to strike first with those attacks if an opponent without Reach enters his threat zone, regardless of initiative. If the foe leaves the threat zone and re-enters, whether voluntarily or not, this rule applies.You're not getting extra attacks, just an option to act first when you normally wouldn't in melee. [sblock] This gives no extra attacks but provides a simple rule to recognize the advantage reach has in keeping a foe at bay by giving the combatant with superior reach a chance to strike first. Once a foe is inside the threat zone, this advantage goes away. There is no benefit if the reach is greater than 10', to keep this rule simple. If a creature has multiple attacks, only the attack with Reach applies, and further attacks only occur on the creature's regular initiative. For example, an adult Red Dragon with a 10' bite and two 5' claws faces Fighter with long sword. Fighter wins initiative and enters threat zone. Dragon has option to attack first with Bite only and chomps at Fighter. Fighter gets inside and swipes. On its initiative, because the Dragon chose to Attack using multi-attack, its only allowed Action is to continue the attack (5' claws).
However, the Dragon could opt to forgo the first strike opportunity because on its turn it planned to breathe fire.[/sblock]
Spears used 2-handed have reach: We don't have long spears in this game, so let's assume all spears are long and when used 1-handed we're choking up on the grip while 2-handed lets us extend. Mordenkainen's Tome mentions spears being used from the Ogre Howdah to attack adjacent enemies, so we're in an area that seems intended.
Crossbows Need Help in Many Areas:
If you begin combat with a loaded crossbow, advantage on initiative.
If within 30', advantage on the damage dice (reflects the power a crossbow has at close range. Take the better of two rolls of the base damage dice. This does not apply to anything else, such as critical hits, DEX bonus, sneak attacks, etc. For example, a light crossbow fired at close range will roll 2d8 for the damage dice and pick the higher one. Then we'll calculate any other damage as normal.)
You can buy bludgeoning ammo (bullets) for Light Crossbows, same price but 1/2 the range. Early crossbows fired stone pellets.
More realistic crossbows, courtesy of nerdovore[sblock]
Add following crossbows, keep original bows as "old crappy" versions with a hand-crank. Reloading the PHB versions requires use of a Bonus Action or 5' of movement. Cannot reload if grappled or at movement 0.
Light Crossbow, stirrup: 35p, 1d10 pierce, 6lbs. Range 90/360, moderate loading, two handed
Light Crossbow, windlass: 50g, 2d8 pierce, 7lbs. Range 100/400, long loading, two handed
Heavy Crossbow, stirrup: 60g, 2d6 pierce, 20lbs. Range 125/500, heavy, moderate loading, two handed
Heavy Crossbow, windlass: 100g, 2d10 pierce, 21lbs. Range 150/600, heavy, long loading, two handed
Moderate Loading: Must use an Action or forfeit all movement for the round. Cannot reload if mounted, grappled, if at movement 0, or otherwise being jostled. Cannot fire more than 1x per round, unless Hasted, which permits the reload to be done as a Bonus action. If the character uses his movement at all, he cannot reload this weapon unless utilizing an Action. Brutus cannot move 10' and forfeit the rest of his movement. It is all his movement.
Long Loading: Must use all actions and forfeit movement to reload, including reactions and bonus actions. Follows same rules as moderate except Haste has no effect on reload.[/sblock]
Bows Are Hard to Pull: It takes strength to pull back a bow. If you have a Strength penalty, you must apply it to damage rolls. See if a low strength elementary kid can pull back a longbow. In prior editions, you couldn't use the bow at all if you didn't meet the minimum STR score, but we're being a little more lenient and with less tracking.
Daggers are good close up: Knights carried a dagger for a reason. If grappling, daggers have damage advantage (as above). Yeah, it's not much, but every little bit helps.
Shields are Boring: In reality, there were a lot of shields, and they did different things. Now we have a one-size-fits-all shield. Boring.
Don't want to get too advanced, but there should be a difference between a tiny buckler and a tower shield. For simplicity's sake, we're keeping the cost the same.
Buckler: 5 lbs. +1 AC. Only effective against 1 attacker per round, chosen by character before the attack roll is made. Can still gain AC benefit when using shield hand for other purposes (e.g. casting). Can use hand to carry items in that hand. Can be used while wielding a two-handed weapon or firing a bow. You can defend against multiple attacks made by that foe.
Small Shield: 5 lbs. +2 AC. Effective against 2 attackers per round. Can carry items in shield hand but not wield weapons in that hand.
Medium Shield: 10 lbs. +2 AC. Protects against any # of attackers. Slows movement by 5' to gain the AC bonus. Can forfeit the AC bonus to gain the extra speed back.
Large Shield: 45 lbs. +2 AC. Protects against any # of attackers. Slows movement by 10'. Disadvantage on Sneak. As a Bonus Action, may be set on a surface to replace the AC bonus with 3/4 cover for the user against frontal attacks only (in a grid system, the front 3 squares). Movement is then reduced to 0. This feature gives no benefit against spells that originate from the sides/rear and expand, such as Fireball, but would benefit if the spell originated from the front. The shield can be picked up from this position without using any Action. As above, may forfeit AC bonus to get speed back. You don't have to reserve any speed to set the shield, so one could march forward at full movement, forfeiting the AC bonus, then set the shield for cover.
Armor: I spent some time ruminating weapon vs. armor types, and just couldn't make anything work that would keep combat fluid, much less accounting for whether you think dragon scales are like plate or not.
I want to make weapon and armor choice more meaningful without bogging down the system. I started then retracted a system of armor vs. weapon type. There's no good way to make that work and not delay the game checking tables or asking who's wearing what. It's too much even if the realist in me cries for more reasons to pick a particular weapon or armor.
Still, some modifications I think can be easily implemented. Looking for constructive criticism and feedback!
Reach Attacks Can Go First:
A creature with a reach quality weapon, a Spear wielded with two hands, or 10' or greater attack (collectively called "Reach") may use its Attack Action to strike first with those attacks if an opponent without Reach enters his threat zone, regardless of initiative. If the foe leaves the threat zone and re-enters, whether voluntarily or not, this rule applies.You're not getting extra attacks, just an option to act first when you normally wouldn't in melee. [sblock] This gives no extra attacks but provides a simple rule to recognize the advantage reach has in keeping a foe at bay by giving the combatant with superior reach a chance to strike first. Once a foe is inside the threat zone, this advantage goes away. There is no benefit if the reach is greater than 10', to keep this rule simple. If a creature has multiple attacks, only the attack with Reach applies, and further attacks only occur on the creature's regular initiative. For example, an adult Red Dragon with a 10' bite and two 5' claws faces Fighter with long sword. Fighter wins initiative and enters threat zone. Dragon has option to attack first with Bite only and chomps at Fighter. Fighter gets inside and swipes. On its initiative, because the Dragon chose to Attack using multi-attack, its only allowed Action is to continue the attack (5' claws).
However, the Dragon could opt to forgo the first strike opportunity because on its turn it planned to breathe fire.[/sblock]
Spears used 2-handed have reach: We don't have long spears in this game, so let's assume all spears are long and when used 1-handed we're choking up on the grip while 2-handed lets us extend. Mordenkainen's Tome mentions spears being used from the Ogre Howdah to attack adjacent enemies, so we're in an area that seems intended.
Crossbows Need Help in Many Areas:
If you begin combat with a loaded crossbow, advantage on initiative.
If within 30', advantage on the damage dice (reflects the power a crossbow has at close range. Take the better of two rolls of the base damage dice. This does not apply to anything else, such as critical hits, DEX bonus, sneak attacks, etc. For example, a light crossbow fired at close range will roll 2d8 for the damage dice and pick the higher one. Then we'll calculate any other damage as normal.)
You can buy bludgeoning ammo (bullets) for Light Crossbows, same price but 1/2 the range. Early crossbows fired stone pellets.
More realistic crossbows, courtesy of nerdovore[sblock]
Add following crossbows, keep original bows as "old crappy" versions with a hand-crank. Reloading the PHB versions requires use of a Bonus Action or 5' of movement. Cannot reload if grappled or at movement 0.
Light Crossbow, stirrup: 35p, 1d10 pierce, 6lbs. Range 90/360, moderate loading, two handed
Light Crossbow, windlass: 50g, 2d8 pierce, 7lbs. Range 100/400, long loading, two handed
Heavy Crossbow, stirrup: 60g, 2d6 pierce, 20lbs. Range 125/500, heavy, moderate loading, two handed
Heavy Crossbow, windlass: 100g, 2d10 pierce, 21lbs. Range 150/600, heavy, long loading, two handed
Moderate Loading: Must use an Action or forfeit all movement for the round. Cannot reload if mounted, grappled, if at movement 0, or otherwise being jostled. Cannot fire more than 1x per round, unless Hasted, which permits the reload to be done as a Bonus action. If the character uses his movement at all, he cannot reload this weapon unless utilizing an Action. Brutus cannot move 10' and forfeit the rest of his movement. It is all his movement.
Long Loading: Must use all actions and forfeit movement to reload, including reactions and bonus actions. Follows same rules as moderate except Haste has no effect on reload.[/sblock]
Bows Are Hard to Pull: It takes strength to pull back a bow. If you have a Strength penalty, you must apply it to damage rolls. See if a low strength elementary kid can pull back a longbow. In prior editions, you couldn't use the bow at all if you didn't meet the minimum STR score, but we're being a little more lenient and with less tracking.
Daggers are good close up: Knights carried a dagger for a reason. If grappling, daggers have damage advantage (as above). Yeah, it's not much, but every little bit helps.
Shields are Boring: In reality, there were a lot of shields, and they did different things. Now we have a one-size-fits-all shield. Boring.
Don't want to get too advanced, but there should be a difference between a tiny buckler and a tower shield. For simplicity's sake, we're keeping the cost the same.
Buckler: 5 lbs. +1 AC. Only effective against 1 attacker per round, chosen by character before the attack roll is made. Can still gain AC benefit when using shield hand for other purposes (e.g. casting). Can use hand to carry items in that hand. Can be used while wielding a two-handed weapon or firing a bow. You can defend against multiple attacks made by that foe.
Small Shield: 5 lbs. +2 AC. Effective against 2 attackers per round. Can carry items in shield hand but not wield weapons in that hand.
Medium Shield: 10 lbs. +2 AC. Protects against any # of attackers. Slows movement by 5' to gain the AC bonus. Can forfeit the AC bonus to gain the extra speed back.
Large Shield: 45 lbs. +2 AC. Protects against any # of attackers. Slows movement by 10'. Disadvantage on Sneak. As a Bonus Action, may be set on a surface to replace the AC bonus with 3/4 cover for the user against frontal attacks only (in a grid system, the front 3 squares). Movement is then reduced to 0. This feature gives no benefit against spells that originate from the sides/rear and expand, such as Fireball, but would benefit if the spell originated from the front. The shield can be picked up from this position without using any Action. As above, may forfeit AC bonus to get speed back. You don't have to reserve any speed to set the shield, so one could march forward at full movement, forfeiting the AC bonus, then set the shield for cover.
Armor: I spent some time ruminating weapon vs. armor types, and just couldn't make anything work that would keep combat fluid, much less accounting for whether you think dragon scales are like plate or not.
