2nd Edition Weapon Speeds - Anyone Else Miss Them?

[Breakdaddy]

I really enjoy the third edition combat system "as is". I used to miss the weapon speed factors, but now I like it better without them. The game runs alot more fluidly without those annoying initiative counts that drag on into infinity. 3e tends to shave a good amount of latency off of the initiative count, which is fine by me!

 

[JeffB]

I'm with the general concensus...don't miss em cos I never used em...needless extra complication that added little (IMO) to the game...But I won't begrudge anyone who does...whatever floats your boat, yaknow?

 

[DarkCrisis]

I miss being able to play a knife fighter... in 3rd ed its pointless... I tried it once and the other players thought I was out of my mind and useless.

 

[Nightfall]

I don't miss them. While they made sense from a "realism" stand point, I don't miss them BECAUSE they dragged out combat more than necessary. Right now, if you want a weapon speed thing, best chance would probably be with EQ. Myself, I prefer to keep things simple and save the complexities for my campaigns and other small tidbits.

 

[Thorvald Kviksverd]

What I do miss is first edition style weapon vs. armor bonus factors (and they'd be easier to calculate than even in third edition).

I was bored one day and converted a lot of the 1e tables into a more simple form that would probably work well in 3e--or any other version for that matter.

Instead of keeping the modifiers for each armour type from 2-10, I consolidated them into 4 categories--None, Light, Medium, and Heavy--and averaged the modifiers.

This eventually morphed into the current system I'm using in my Basic D&D campaign, where the damage die for a weapon is dependant upon the armour it is facing--sort of a compromise between the traditional D&D view of armour, and a bit of DR.

Example:

Weapon / None / Lt / Med / Hvy

Sword / d8 / d8 / d6 / d4 (fast)

Axe / d8 / d8 / d8 / d4 (average)

Mace / d6 / d6 / d6 / d6 (slow)

For individual initiative, I've moved away from modifiers, and instead roll a different die depending upon the action or weapon used--high roll acts first.

Example:

Sword: d10

Axe: d8

Mace: d6

Spell: d6

Charge: d4 to d10, depending upon base move

Longbow: d6

Shortbow: d8

Crossbow: d10

Oh, I suppose I should mention that Daggers use the same initiative die as Swords, with the relative advantages of reach and speed cancelling each other out--though the sword-wielder will always strike first when closing.

 

[Ace]

In 2nd Edition there was an optional rule concerning "Speed Factors" for various weapons.

Am I the only one who misses this rule?

YES YOU ARE

 

[Corinth]

Not only do I not miss them, I find EQ's revival of them offensive.

 

[Heretic Apostate]

I saw a rule in the House Rules forum months and months ago that seemed to work.

For every 5 lbs, impose a -1 penalty on initiative (while using that weapon). This penalty can be offset (but not go into bonus) by the STR bonus.

Thus, someone wielding a 15lb weapon would have to have a STR of 16+ to not be slowed down by the weight.

It probably needs work, but that's a simple, already existing mechanic (I think it's used in armor check penalties, or something... I don't own a PHB any more).

 

[The Traveler]

Not only do I not miss them, I find EQ's revival of them offensive.

How messed up is it that you can find a game mechanic offensive?

 

[jgbrowning]

nope

dont miss them. i like what they were attempting to do.. show how different weapons have different capabilities but i think it wasn't implimented well.

honestly, i'd be a lot happier if they just made weapon's damage based on class.

ie. simple do 1d6, martial do 1d8, exotic do 1-10 and two handed do 1-12.

why?

im just sick of the repetiviness that weapon damages do to fighters. no one uses polearms. and they were damn good weapons.


joe b.