D&D 5E Positing New Weapon Properties
- Thread starter Jago
- Start date
doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
Add +1 Dex, make it "While wielding Hidden/Concealed weapons only..." and call it a feat, and I'm all for it. Or forget the +1 Dex and it could be a fighting style. Too much for a weapon property, IMO.
jaelis
Oh this is where the title goes?
Even for the blowgun, which is otherwise terrible? Would it make a blowgun a better weapon than a hand crossbow?
doctorbadwolf
Heretic of The Seventh Circle
Maybe, but I wouldn't want blowguns to be something every stealthy character grabs. I'd rather stick with them as a good poison delivery system. Idk
To be fair, the Blowgun basically is a Poison Delivery System, and I believe the Revised Ranger actually has a Class/Archetype Feature to make a ranged attack and get a bonus to hide from notice after doing so. If they're calling that worthy of a Class Feature, I'd agree it's too powerful for just a weapon property.
I'd honestly just rather the Blowgun become a Simple Weapon so Rogues and the like actually can use it. The fact that a spitball is a Martial Weapon is crazy to me.
I'd honestly just rather the Blowgun become a Simple Weapon so Rogues and the like actually can use it. The fact that a spitball is a Martial Weapon is crazy to me.
Dorian_Grey
First Post
I love these. Some interesting thoughts here - hence my comment. I don't want to lose track of this thread! I'm wondering if the best use of the weapon table isn't to add properties but to expand the basic descriptions beyond what they already have. Something like Rate of Fire for missile weapons were a huge differentiation for 2nd Edition as an example.
To be fair, RoF has basically been simplified down to the Loading Property: you either don't have it, and therefore RoF is equal to number of attacks (So Bows and Throwing Weapons), or you have it and are limited to 1 Attack no matter what (Crossbows and Firearms, if they feature in your game).
I, personally, do not mind this simple distinction, as adding a faster firing Bow is basically the equivalent of giving Extra Attack as a Weapon Property, and that is inherently very powerful.
Hriston
Dungeon Master of Middle-earth (He/him)
In my games, this is the knightly/arming/viking/migration period sword/spatha, or simply "sword". It also covers swords that are or have been termed "broadsword", both the more modern weapon and whatever it was for which AD&D uses the term. Everyone that has access to rapier proficiency also has knightly sword proficiency.
Here's a weapons property I wrote as part of a rules variant for ranged attack rates of fire:
LOADING PROPERTY OF HEAVY CROSSBOWS
A heavy crossbow takes longer to load than other weapons that use ammunition and can only be fired every other round. When you are wielding a heavy crossbow and move up to one half your speed on your turn, you can use your action to either load the weapon or attack, but not both.
If you move more than half your speed, you can’t load the weapon on the same turn.
The Crossbow Expert feat lets you ignore this property if you are proficient with heavy crossbows.
jaelis
Oh this is where the title goes?
OK, but then shouldn't it be somehow better at delivering poison than a crossbow? Even if rogues got proficiency, why use one?
Probably staying hidden on a hit is indeed too much, but I think staying hidden on a miss is not unreasonable. Yes, it's something you can get with a feat or a class feature, but you're taking a 2.5-step die decrease (1d6 to 1 say) with a blowgun. So getting to snipe with any weapon is like getting a 2.5-step die increase, in comparison. That by itself is worthy of a feat or class feature, wouldn't you say?
Plus, it hits the realism button... when people think about blowguns it's either because you're in a jungle where that is all you can manufacture, or because they are stealthy. Its nice if the mechanics can reflect that.
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