Super Simple Weapons

[mrpopstar]

My goal is to reduce the weapons table to its most basic elements. I enjoy the descriptive freedom it provides.

I acknowledge that things are lost in the normalization process. What do you see? Where can things improve?

Name	Damage	Properties
Simple Melee Weapons
- Small weapon	1d4	Finesse, light, thrown (range 20/60)
- Medium weapon	1d6	Thrown (range 20/60), versatile (1d8)
- Large Weapon	1d8	Two-handed
Simple Ranged Weapons
- Small weapon	1d4	Thrown (range 20/60)
- Medium weapon	1d6	Ammunition (range 80/320), two-handed
Martial Melee Weapons
- Small Weapon	1d6	Finesse, light, thrown (range 20/60)
- Medium Weapon	1d8	Versatile (1d10)
- Large Weapon	1d10	Heavy, reach, two-handed
- Huge Weapon	1d12	Heavy, two-handed
Martial Ranged Weapons
- Small weapon	1d6	Thrown (range 20/60)
- Medium weapon	1d8	Ammunition (range 150/600), two-handed

​

I apologize to the javelin, whip, blowgun and net. I do not apologize to the rapier.

 

[Riley37]

DM: "As you approach the city walls, you see some guards at the gate. They're wearing medium armor, and carrying large martial melee weapons."
Player: "The kind that does slashing damage, or the kind that does piercing damage?"

 

[Ath-kethin]

To be honest, I'm mostly tempted to just have a character's weapon damage equal their Hit Die, no matter what weapon they use. So a wizard deals 1d6 damage on an attack no matter what weapon they wield, and a barbarian deals 1d12. To my mind it solves two problems: 1. the elf wizard with a rapier who out-damages the orc barbarian wielding an axe and 2. every character of a given class using exactly the same weapon because it's just the best one.

Now, there is historical precedent for 2; after all, there is a reason spears and later swords were so popular - they are extremely effective designs. But if I have a concept (or a player in my game has a concept) for a character who is a badass superstrong Schwartzenegger-style giant who wields dual hatchets because it looks cool, I want to help them make it work. It's a fantasy game with a high level of abstraction built into it already, and I feel it breaks nothing to have Rogar the Ranger killing more effectively with a knife than Samael the Sorcerer can with a greataxe.

 

[aco175]

Overall it looks fine. Like the thread on armor you can now concept your pc to use tomahawks instead of daggers and still have them use finesse. I can call my sword a scimitar or halfsword, or arming sword, or even wood hatchet and still use finesse. I can call my simple staff a walking cane topped with a metal knob and still do 1d6, or even have it do 1d4 damage and now use finesse, not sure about wanting to throw it though.

Look forward to the rest of the thread.

 

[mrpopstar]

DM: "As you approach the city walls, you see some guards at the gate. They're wearing medium armor, and carrying large martial melee weapons."
Player: "The kind that does slashing damage, or the kind that does piercing damage?"

LOL Or...

DM: "As you approach the city walls, you see some guards at the gate. They're moderately armored in the standard-issue breast plate of their station, and carrying large pikes."

Or...

DM: "As you approach the city walls, you see some guards at the gate. They're moderately armored in filthy hides, and carrying large axes."

Or...

DM: "As you approach the city walls, you see some guards at the gate. They're moderately armored in the chain mail afforded every guardsman, and carrying large Damaran swords."

To be honest, I'm mostly tempted to just have a character's weapon damage equal their Hit Die, no matter what weapon they use. So a wizard deals 1d6 damage on an attack no matter what weapon they wield, and a barbarian deals 1d12. To my mind it solves two problems: 1. the elf wizard with a rapier who out-damages the orc barbarian wielding an axe and 2. every character of a given class using exactly the same weapon because it's just the best one.

Now, there is historical precedent for 2; after all, there is a reason spears and later swords were so popular - they are extremely effective designs. But if I have a concept (or a player in my game has a concept) for a character who is a badass superstrong Schwartzenegger-style giant who wields dual hatchets because it looks cool, I want to help them make it work. It's a fantasy game with a high level of abstraction built into it already, and I feel it breaks nothing to have Rogar the Ranger killing more effectively with a knife than Samael the Sorcerer can with a greataxe.

I'm a huge supporter of this idea!

Overall it looks fine. Like the thread on armor you can now concept your pc to use tomahawks instead of daggers and still have them use finesse. I can call my sword a scimitar or halfsword, or arming sword, or even wood hatchet and still use finesse. I can call my simple staff a walking cane topped with a metal knob and still do 1d6, or even have it do 1d4 damage and now use finesse, not sure about wanting to throw it though.

Look forward to the rest of the thread.

It's interesting that the collapsed table invites you to lob your shortsword like a throwing knife because why not? Hehe

 

[mrpopstar]

To be honest, I'm mostly tempted to just have a character's weapon damage equal their Hit Die, no matter what weapon they use. So a wizard deals 1d6 damage on an attack no matter what weapon they wield, and a barbarian deals 1d12. To my mind it solves two problems: 1. the elf wizard with a rapier who out-damages the orc barbarian wielding an axe and 2. every character of a given class using exactly the same weapon because it's just the best one.

Now, there is historical precedent for 2; after all, there is a reason spears and later swords were so popular - they are extremely effective designs. But if I have a concept (or a player in my game has a concept) for a character who is a badass superstrong Schwartzenegger-style giant who wields dual hatchets because it looks cool, I want to help them make it work. It's a fantasy game with a high level of abstraction built into it already, and I feel it breaks nothing to have Rogar the Ranger killing more effectively with a knife than Samael the Sorcerer can with a greataxe.

The question becomes, how do you represent a barbarian with a two-handed weapon? Or a dual-wielding ranger?

 

[Ath-kethin]

The question becomes, how do you represent a barbarian with a two-handed weapon? Or a dual-wielding ranger?

I wouldn't change anything. Each weapon attach does the same damage regardless of what it is. That makes a greataxe comparatively weak and dual wielding comparatively strong, but I'm not sure I see that as a problem, necessarily. I don't think it would have THAT an impact. You could ask how it works for multiclassing too, and to that I have no answer. Maybe just use the best value?

I run tough games with tough encounters. I don't mind PCs having a bit of an edge, because in my campaigns they need it.

 

[mrpopstar]

I wouldn't change anything. Each weapon attach does the same damage regardless of what it is. That makes a great comparatively weak and dual wielding comparatively strong, but I'm not sure I see that as a problem, necessarily. I don't think it would have THAT an impact. You could ask how it works for multiclasing too, and to that I have no answer. Maybe just use the best value?

I run tough games with tough encounters. I don't mind PCs having a bit of an edge, because in my campaigns they need it.

Compared to one wielding a two-handed weapon, a two-weapon fighting barbarian would be doing an average of 6.5 more damage per use of the attack action. That's a pretty big difference, especially over time.

Personally, I would make it so that barbarians fighting two-handed or two-weapon fighting rolled 2d12 and chose the highest of the two dice for their damage (essentially granting their weapon damage advantage). It's an elegant solution that speeds up play (only rolling once per attack action) and keeps all things relatively equal regardless of wield choice (two-weapon fighting and two-handed fighting would have more reliable damage average as compared to one-handed fighters but no one would be out damaging anyone within the same class).

As far as multiclassing goes, if you take a level in a class with higher hit dice, you bump your damage dice up by one level (maximum d12).

 

[guachi]

What's the d6 finesse light thrown weapon supposed to be? That doesn't currently exist on the weapon tables.

 

[mrpopstar]

What's the d6 finesse light thrown weapon supposed to be? That doesn't currently exist on the weapon tables.

Whatever you want/need it to be.



I'd use those statistics for a crossbow in my narrative. (Who needs the loading property? Not me.)