D&D 5E Do You DM or Play with Flair?

[Ovinomancer]

Your houserules seem to be fine, but why the rogue longsword thing?
A longsword is the most misinterpreted weapon in D&D ever. A real historical Longsword is more like a 1m40 Greatsword and would be used with two hands all the time. The thing in the players hand book is a versatile version of this aka a bastard sword which can be used 1 handed if need be aka I want to use a shield / hold the reigns of a mount while fighting. It is probably 1m20 of blade length.

The thing you want to depict as a rogue weapon is either an arming sword damage type S / P or a rapier Damage type mainly P. The rapier is the heavier of these two weapons and has the longer reach 1m20 approx. but it is still a rogues weapon keyable on dex imho. The arming sword is a sidearm also for urban environment I would rate it at 1w8 slashing for game purpose it is 1 handed only with a blade length of about 0,9 m

So if you are houseruling anyway why not do it like that ? Btw I do it like that but the arming sword is a strength weapon.

Honestly, and I am in no way disparaging your interest, but my players aren't playing D&D for the historical accuracy of the game. They're playing a game about elves and orcs and dragons and wizards and, at that point, extreme accuracy and detail in the shiny metal bits they use to hit things just isn't desired. So, while it's something you and your table enjoy, I think that most players aren't looking for this. I'm surely not going to spend my limited time on houserules to create additional accuracy -- it's very low on my priority list for gaming.

 

[Coroc]

Honestly, and I am in no way disparaging your interest, but my players aren't playing D&D for the historical accuracy of the game. They're playing a game about elves and orcs and dragons and wizards and, at that point, extreme accuracy and detail in the shiny metal bits they use to hit things just isn't desired. So, while it's something you and your table enjoy, I think that most players aren't looking for this. I'm surely not going to spend my limited time on houserules to create additional accuracy -- it's very low on my priority list for gaming.

Ok let me alter my question then: Can the rogue in your houserule use the longsword 2-handed in a sneak attack for 1d10 +xd6 + Str / Dex?

 

[Ovinomancer]

Ok let me alter my question then: Can the rogue in your houserule use the longsword 2-handed in a sneak attack for 1d10 +xd6 + Str / Dex?

No, I haven't made any such house rules, so the RAW stands here.

But, if I did, what's the real difference, gamewise, between sneak attacking with a d8 weapon and sneak attacking with a d10 weapon aside from 1 point more on damage? Will it break anything? Is it strictly better than attacking with 2 d6 weapons?

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Absolutely. I’m a big fan of archetypes (both using and playing against). I totally dig the idea of class (and racial) mechanics being just part of the journey towards the archetype/character concept.

But your examples here seem to all point to character archetypes which are rather independent of the mechanics (although certain mechanics do work well with some archetypes). Take Indiana Jones as an archetype: skilled, lucky, knowledgeable. Many would go with the rogue class for this archetype because of the name, but aside from the skill focus the mechanics of that class aren't that great of a fit. I had a player in one of my games do a spot on Indy style character as a knowledge cleric focused on recovering ancient religious artifacts. You could do a decent job of Indy as a dex fighter with the skilled feat. So many way to get at that concept through various class mechanics. There's nothing, to me at least, that says that a class isn't anything more than a bag of mechanics for getting at a concept.

Now, I can see an argument about that way of thinking enabling players that only think of mechanics and not characters, but, honestly, they're going to be the same way even with closely tied fluff to class.

 

[Coroc]

No, I haven't made any such house rules, so the RAW stands here.

But, if I did, what's the real difference, gamewise, between sneak attacking with a d8 weapon and sneak attacking with a d10 weapon aside from 1 point more on damage? Will it break anything? Is it strictly better than attacking with 2 d6 weapons?

Nope not at all, imho it is even more realistic, although with a longsword I would probably key of strength only, In my games I only allow twf as a rapier main gauche combo, since that is the only widely used twf concept in history. So I am all yours if u say the rogue uses a D&D longsword to sneak attack, a longsword is very stabby too.

 

[Miladoon]

[MENTION=6895991]Coroc[/MENTION] When I first read the Sneak Attack entry for the Rogue I thought that last sentence of the first paragraph was added on without any thought to giving Rogues proficiency in Longsword. The SA feature, as written, makes the longsword a fashion accessory. Fair enough if that is what you are looking for. Rogues dream of the day a sun blade falls into their hands.

You won't get an argument from me about the historical accuracy of D&D's weapons. Keeping in mind, the Strength requirement for the longsword I decided to give it a try. Some of the light simple weapons on the list are also strength based attacks. If it is fair to allow SA for a longbow attack from 600 ft (with Sharpshooter) then I think it is fair for a rogue to add SA when they sneak up behind a mook and deliver a knock out blow from a club(sap) or maybe even the pommel of a longsword. It the longsword was a heavy weapon, I would not add it to the SA weapons list.

Good question.

 

[mflayermonk]

[MENTION=40398]Tequila Sunrise[/MENTION]
Do you have some sort of bonus system for people that follow the alignment rules here? Just from a glance, it reminds me a little bit of the Pendragon RPG with its chivalry rules.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Do you have some sort of bonus system for people that follow the alignment rules here? Just from a glance, it reminds me a little bit of the Pendragon RPG with its chivalry rules.

Can't say I'm familiar with Pendragon, how does it do alignment?

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=40398]Tequila Sunrise[/MENTION] Leaving aside the peculiar alignment stuff, yes I have added campaign-specific flair to the classes before. Here's an example from my Witcher game:

Bard. Bards of the Northern Kingdoms often receive education at the University of Oxenfurt where studies range a whole gamut of subjects - alchemy, trouvereship and poetry, medicine and herbology, natural history, philosophy, technology, and spying. Bards of Nilfgaard often trace their education to the Imperial Academy where they study humanities, science, and linguistics. In the Witcher setting, bards are not necessarily inherently magical, and to reflect this a bard character should stick to spells which can be explained as extensions of their performing skills and charisma, and should avoid “loud” or “flashy” spells.

Fighter. Fighters are veterans of the wars with Nilfgaard and often belong(ed) to one of the world’s armed forces. A few possibilities include:
Blue Stripes: Temerian special forces made up of ruthless and utterly patriotic humans.
Dun Banner: A Kaedweni light cavalry regiment that was devastated beyond resurrection.
Free Company: An elite mercenary unit (condottieri) financed by Kovir.
Free Slopes: Irregulars waving a guerrilla war against Nilfgaard, seeking Sodden’s liberation.
Landsknechts: Finest Redanian armored division wielding halberds, pikes, and great swords.
Mahakam Volunteer Army: A dwarven infantry sent on suicide missions.
Poor F---ing Infantry: Conscripts and volunteers who joined the Temerian army.

Wizard. Wizards (or mages) are born with the gift for magic, like sources, but they receive training to control their powers. Females (referred to as “sorceresses”) are trained at institutions like Aretuza on the Isle of Thanedd, while males (referred to as “sorcerers”) are trained at colleges like Ban Ard in Kaedwen. Training in these schools of sorcery takes many years, acquiring knowledge and mastering magical skills. Wizards often are proficient in History and with a megascope (see Equipment). Their powers cause wizards to age at half the rate normal for their race. Owing to their extensive scientific and political knowledge, mages are coveted as advisors by monarchs.

Wizards often belong to one of two factions: the Conclave of Mages or the Lodge of Sorceresses. The Conclave was once the preeminent ruling body governing mages of the Northern Kingdoms, ensuring that Sources receive proper training, and regulating the standards and rules of magic such as the ban on necromancy and magic used in army-to-army combat. However, in recent years after the death of many members during the Thanedd Rebellion and persecution by the Temple of the Eternal Fire, the Conclave is barely hanging on by a thread. The Lodge of Sorceresses rose to prominence with the Conclave’s decline as a secret organization of exclusively female mages. Their secret goal to create a nation ruled by mages was exposed at Loc Muinne and led to many of the sorceresses being killed or imprisoned; only a handful of the powerful founding members remain.

 

[SmokeyCriminal]

The Flair you have written up looks really fun and interesting. As is, I think it would be great for the NPCs of a region. I think you can create a lot of interesting missions from having NPCs that lost their Class Features because of an alignment change and now need the PCs help.

Ex Bard that has become Chaotic from Narcissism and boozing needs the PCs help in finding a lost statue (worth 500pg) to present to the king, so he can be Good again and regain his Bard Class Features.

Ex Rogue turned Lawful because she opened an orphanage now needs to break the law to protect it, but since she doesn't have any of her Rouge Class Features anymore, she now needs PCs help.

Stuff like that pours out of your flair system for NPCs, which I like. But im not sure your flair system would enrich PCs as well as it does for NPCs.

I think if you want it to work for PCs, it would still work if you keep it attached to the alignment system but not with the Class Features for PCs. You mentioned Boons and I think that's the way to go. I think that if you attached the flair system to gaining more stuff instead of losing the stuff you have the players have the option to opt in. and if the stuff they gain is really tempting and worth it, they'll try it out. If it turns out that they didn't like the restriction of felt it hampered them, they'll just stop and lose the thing they got. no harm no foul.

Although this change would mean you'll loose the fun NPCs hooks. Unless you decide that for NPCs it affects Class Features but for PCs it only affect Boons. That way you can have it all, and also that could be a hook in itself. "Why does alignment affect the PCs and NPCs differently? What makes the PCs special?"