Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Advice on Creating New Feat: Weapon Specialization
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Aaron L" data-source="post: 6849043" data-attributes="member: 926"><p>OK, so I <em>know</em> some of you will see that title and groan "Weapon Specialization, do you really need to go through <em>that</em> again?!" Well, I have always believed Specialization was an excellent way to differentiate a general "Expert Swordsman" (anyone with proficiency in a sword and a decent proficiency bonus, but who is really just as good with any weapon he picks up as he is with a sword) from a true "Blademaster," and I want to have the option for characters of that level of skill in my games with tangible game-mechanical effects, not just in-universe lip service, that mark the Specialist as someone who is truly, empirically <em>better</em> with their chosen weapon than with any other weapon, and better with their chosen weapon than non-Specialists are, but without going overboard and giving them an unfair advantage. So here is my initial draft idea for what I'll be using in my game:</p><p></p><p><strong>Weapon Specialization</strong></p><p><strong>-------------------------------</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>You are a true weapon master. You have dedicated yourself and poured your heart and soul into mastering a specific type of weapon, making you faster, more accurate, and more deadly with it above all others. Warriors who see your skill will be able to recognize you as the master you are.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Choose one type of weapon, such as Longsword (but <em>not</em> "Sword.") When attacking with weapons of that type you gain the following benefits:</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>* You gain +1 bonus to hit and +2 bonus to damage with your chosen Specialized weapon.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>* When you use the Attack action on your turn using your chosen Specialized weapon, you may use your Bonus Action to make a single extra attack with the same weapon.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>You may only take this Feat once, and are never able to have Weapon Specialization with more than one type of weapon. Maintaining this level of skill requires constant dedicated practice with a single type of weapon and precludes equal dedication to multiple weapons.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>OK, so here's my reasoning behind the benefits of this Feat: I based the mechanics mostly on fighting with a weapon in each hand and having the Dual Wielder Feat. Using a Bonus Action to make an extra attack with your Specialized weapon seemed reasonable to me since you can already use your Bonus Action to make an extra attack by using a second weapon in your off hand, or a Monk's martial arts, or the Polearm Master Feat. and I figured retaining your Ability Bonus to damage was fine because you <em>are</em> spending a Feat to gain this ability, after all, and the other benefits aren't that powerful or extensive compared to other Feats. I wanted to have a small bonus to hit and damage because, again, this <em>is</em> Weapon Specialization and +1 to hit/+2 to damage is traditional from 1E/2E AD&D. Finally, I didn't include any Class restrictions because I love the 5th Edition ideal that a Wizard with longsword proficiency is <em>genuinely</em> skilled with the weapon and able to hit with it just as well as a Fighter with longsword proficiency (just not as often,) so if you really want to have your High Elven Wizard be a Master of the Longsword, then <em>why the Hell not?</em></p><p></p><p>I thought this Feat's package of benefits was a good tradeoff/variation on fighting with a weapon in each hand and the Dual Wield Feat. The only thing I'm iffy about is the bonuses to hit and damage... not the <em>existence</em> of the bonuses to hit and damage (I like that) but the amount. Is it too much? Too little? Should it be +1/+1, or maybe +2/+3?</p><p></p><p>What are your thoughts? How does this look as a Feat? What should I add, change, or delete? Or does it look good as is? Please, any advice would be most welcome. I thank you all in advance for your input.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aaron L, post: 6849043, member: 926"] OK, so I [I]know[/I] some of you will see that title and groan "Weapon Specialization, do you really need to go through [I]that[/I] again?!" Well, I have always believed Specialization was an excellent way to differentiate a general "Expert Swordsman" (anyone with proficiency in a sword and a decent proficiency bonus, but who is really just as good with any weapon he picks up as he is with a sword) from a true "Blademaster," and I want to have the option for characters of that level of skill in my games with tangible game-mechanical effects, not just in-universe lip service, that mark the Specialist as someone who is truly, empirically [I]better[/I] with their chosen weapon than with any other weapon, and better with their chosen weapon than non-Specialists are, but without going overboard and giving them an unfair advantage. So here is my initial draft idea for what I'll be using in my game: [B]Weapon Specialization ------------------------------- You are a true weapon master. You have dedicated yourself and poured your heart and soul into mastering a specific type of weapon, making you faster, more accurate, and more deadly with it above all others. Warriors who see your skill will be able to recognize you as the master you are. Choose one type of weapon, such as Longsword (but [I]not[/I] "Sword.") When attacking with weapons of that type you gain the following benefits: * You gain +1 bonus to hit and +2 bonus to damage with your chosen Specialized weapon. * When you use the Attack action on your turn using your chosen Specialized weapon, you may use your Bonus Action to make a single extra attack with the same weapon. You may only take this Feat once, and are never able to have Weapon Specialization with more than one type of weapon. Maintaining this level of skill requires constant dedicated practice with a single type of weapon and precludes equal dedication to multiple weapons. [/B] OK, so here's my reasoning behind the benefits of this Feat: I based the mechanics mostly on fighting with a weapon in each hand and having the Dual Wielder Feat. Using a Bonus Action to make an extra attack with your Specialized weapon seemed reasonable to me since you can already use your Bonus Action to make an extra attack by using a second weapon in your off hand, or a Monk's martial arts, or the Polearm Master Feat. and I figured retaining your Ability Bonus to damage was fine because you [I]are[/I] spending a Feat to gain this ability, after all, and the other benefits aren't that powerful or extensive compared to other Feats. I wanted to have a small bonus to hit and damage because, again, this [I]is[/I] Weapon Specialization and +1 to hit/+2 to damage is traditional from 1E/2E AD&D. Finally, I didn't include any Class restrictions because I love the 5th Edition ideal that a Wizard with longsword proficiency is [I]genuinely[/I] skilled with the weapon and able to hit with it just as well as a Fighter with longsword proficiency (just not as often,) so if you really want to have your High Elven Wizard be a Master of the Longsword, then [I]why the Hell not?[/I] I thought this Feat's package of benefits was a good tradeoff/variation on fighting with a weapon in each hand and the Dual Wield Feat. The only thing I'm iffy about is the bonuses to hit and damage... not the [I]existence[/I] of the bonuses to hit and damage (I like that) but the amount. Is it too much? Too little? Should it be +1/+1, or maybe +2/+3? What are your thoughts? How does this look as a Feat? What should I add, change, or delete? Or does it look good as is? Please, any advice would be most welcome. I thank you all in advance for your input. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Advice on Creating New Feat: Weapon Specialization
Top