[Dragon] First D&D 3.5 Update

[Vocenoctum]

In playtester credits it can list "All those that bought the first books HAHAHAHA"

 

[Ranger REG]

I'm hoping they change the Dwarf Weapon familiarity to Dwarven Waraxe so Dwarf PCs will stop having to use an Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat just to use it. I understand the rational but it still seemed odd.

Hand axe and hammer, I can understand. Automatic proficiency in a dwarven waraxe, I do not understand. It is nothing more than a "bastard sword" version of the axe family.

I mean what's next? Give human Weapon Familiarity with a bastard sword?

If you're going to give them automatic proficiency like the elves, select weapon(s) from simple or martial groups.

 

[Volaran]

Hand axe and hammer, I can understand. Automatic proficiency in a dwarven waraxe, I do not understand. It is nothing more than a "bastard sword" version of the axe family.

I mean what's next? Give human Weapon Familiarity with a bastard sword?

If you're going to give them automatic proficiency like the elves, select weapon(s) from simple or martial groups.

It isn't automatic weapon proficiency. It was said that for dwarves, the urgosh would be treated as a martial weapon. Thus, a fighter would have automatic proficiency in it, but not a dwarven wizard. If it were like the longsword or bow for an elf, any dwarf could automatically use one.

 

[dcollins]

I thought the last couple years of player feedback online and elsewhere was the playtesting they used to determine what goes into these new books.

Obviously such gamers are not actually playtesting the changes that will be published in the revision.

 

[Knight Otu]

Obviously such gamers are not actually playtesting the changes that will be published in the revision.

Does WotC still do outside playtests after the ELH debacle, by the way?

 

[Deadguy]

Does WotC still do outside playtests after the ELH debacle, by the way?

That sounds like an interesting story. Pray tell...

 

[AGGEMAM]

That sounds like an interesting story. Pray tell...

You do not know that there was a play-test version of the ELH circulating the net ?

 

[Deadguy]

You do not know that there was a play-test version of the ELH circulating the net ?

That one passed me by completely! Doh!

Still, it seems to me that if they were surprised by that, they were being callow. And did it stop people buying the final version? Nope.

 

[I'm A Banana]

A) It's not really unbalancing to allow dwarves to use a dwarven waraxe as a martial weapon in the slightest....but I don't think it will include the dwarven waraxe, because it can be used two-handed as a martial weapon already.

B) The racial weapons make sense from a cultural standpoint...it makes me wonder if they're going to change the elven free bonuses, or if they're going to keep those and just alter the rest.

C) Those likely to be affected: Gnome Hooked Hammer, Orc Double Axe, Dwarven Urgrosh. All double weapons. All kind of "cultural icons." It's hardly something that's going to throw all balance out of whack.

D) I wouldn't be surprised if using the two weapons is slightly bettered in 3.1e to only being two feats -- Ambidex and TWF might be subsumed into the same feat as they are in d20 Modern. (but maybe not)

 

[Ranger REG]

It isn't automatic weapon proficiency. It was said that for dwarves, the urgosh would be treated as a martial weapon. Thus, a fighter would have automatic proficiency in it, but not a dwarven wizard. If it were like the longsword or bow for an elf, any dwarf could automatically use one.

And that would mean that the dwarven fighters and any combat-oriented characters can use the urgosh automatically. Do we really need to expand an already expansive weapon proficiency list for combat-oriented classes?

As I said, select weapons from the simple and martial groups; give dwarves automatic weapon proficiency in axe and hammer.