D&D 3E/3.5 [3.5] Weapon size and use

[drnuncheon]

What? I KNEW someone was going to say that they weren't equivalent.

I didn't spell anything out in the laborious detail in the second one. Your little example is a little less wordy than mine, but it doesn't say that a large one handed weapon is a two handed weapon for a small creature, and vice versa.

Read carefully much?

]The measure of how difficult it is to weild is also changed by one step per size category. If this would make it something other than light, one-handed, or two-handed, then the weapon cannot be weilded.

Now, I'll admit, if you were a <censored for Eric's Grandma> you might possibly be able to misinterpret that, but then again, you wouldn't have the capacity to play the game, so I wouldn't feel bad in not writing for you.

J

 

[Li Shenron]

The measure of how difficult it is to weild is also changed by one step per size category. If this would make it something other than light, one-handed, or two-handed, then the weapon cannot be weilded.

Wait... if I have a Medium Shortsword, that is Light for a human, isn't it? It used to be a 3ed Small weapon.

A Halfling's Shortsword is called in 3.5 a Small Shortsword, and by the DMG equivalency variant rule it should be the same as a Medium Dagger (human's dagger = 3ed Tiny weapon).

How is it that I can use a Medium Dagger and not a Small Shortsword (which is equivalent) because it's "one step below Light"?

 

[Li Shenron]

Another question: what if a human picks up a LARGE Bastard Sword, which is two-handed (for Large chars) but becomes one-handed (for Large chars) with EWP?

Sounds that it is not usable unless the human has EWP, in which case it becomes two-handed? I don't know but if it is equivalent to a Medium Greatsword, why requiring EWP?

This DMG equivalency variant is supposed to make things more realistic than without, but it raises other issues, like: if I have a weapon-specific feat (such as Weapon Focus), do I get the benefit for an equivalent weapon or not? For example, if I have WF(Greatsword), by the rules it works with a Medium GS, a Small GS and even with a Tiny GS (it's Light for me so I can still use it!), but not for example with a Large Bastard Sword (or is it Longsword?) which is much similar than a Tiny GS...

Blah

 

[SpikeyFreak]

Read carefully much?

The measure of how difficult it is to weild is also changed by one step per size category. If this would make it something other than light, one-handed, or two-handed, then the weapon cannot be weilded.

Okay, you are assuming knowledge here. If I read that to someone who doesn't know anything about 3E or 3.5E they wouldn't know what makes a weapon one handed or 2 handed.

You are completely omitting anything about what makes a weapon one handed or two-handed for someone who is of a different size. That's exactly what makes the rules more complicated and unnecessary.

--Less Antagonistic Spikey

 

[The Little Raven]

It's pretty simple.

A two-handed weapon for a Medium creature cannot be wielded by a Small creature. A one-handed weapon for a Medium creature would be wielded as a two-handed weapon for a Small creature. A light weapon for a Medium creature would be wielded as a one-handed weapon for a Small creature. All these would still suffer the -2 size penalty.

A light weapon for a Large creature would be wielded as a two-handed weapon for a Small creature (with a -4 size penalty).

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

You are completely omitting anything about what makes a weapon one handed or two-handed for someone who is of a different size. That's exactly what makes the rules more complicated and unnecessary.

The defintion of light/1H/2H is inherent in the type of weapon (they're broken up in the new weapon tables that way). A greatsword, for example, is always two handed for a character it's sized for (ie, Medium greatsword = two-handed for a medium character). This changes one category per size of the character wielding it (as described above).

I was pretty dubious of this system at first. I finally decided just to forget 3.0 assumptions, and reread the system starting from scratch -- and once I did that, I found it very easy to understand. My problem was "unlearning" the old system. Did the system need to be changed -- not really, IMO -- but the new system gives a wider weapon selection to all characters. IMO it isn't any more complex than the 3.0 system if you're learning it for the first time; it's actually more intuitive. It's just us old-timers that have trouble adjusting.

 

[drnuncheon]

Okay, you are assuming knowledge here. If I read that to someone who doesn't know anything about 3E or 3.5E they wouldn't know what makes a weapon one handed or 2 handed.

Well, if that's how you're going to look at it...

You're assuming knowledge, too. If I read your sto someone who doesn't know anything about 3e, they wouldn't know what makes a weapon small, medium, or large. Look on the table you say? Well, that's where light/one-handed/two-handed is in 3.5...

How is it that I can use a Medium Dagger and not a Small Shortsword (which is equivalent) because it's "one step below Light"?

For this, you need to take a look at a shortsword, or better yet, several shortswords. How big is the hilt? For most of them, it's basically just big enough to fit your hand on.

Now, how big is a halfling's hand? Compare that to your hand. Realize that if you try to use a halfling short sword, the blade might be as long as your dagger's, but the hilt is going to be too short and too thin for you to get a comfortable grip on. Hence the -2.

J

 

[SpikeyFreak]

Well, if that's how you're going to look at it...

You're assuming knowledge, too. If I read your sto someone who doesn't know anything about 3e, they wouldn't know what makes a weapon small, medium, or large. Look on the table you say? Well, that's where light/one-handed/two-handed is in 3.5...

And in 3.5, when a weapons says its large, how do you know how many hands a medium person has to use? You take the size of the weapon, AND "how many handed" it is. In 3E all you do is look at the size. Like I said, they made it more complicated but they didn't fix anything.

Do you REALLY not see how the new rules are more complicated?

--Simpleton Spikey

 

[drnuncheon]

Do you REALLY not see how the new rules are more complicated?

In 95% of the cases, they're not, because you're going to be using weapons of your own size. In fact, in those 95% of the cases, they're simpler than 3e, because you don't have to do any comparing to figure out how many hands it is - it's right there on the table.

Simpler 95% of the time = better in my book.

J

 

[SpikeyFreak]

I bet someone who likes to play a halfling wouldn't think it was better 95% of the time.

--Halfling Rogue/Mage Spikey