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<blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 8521164" data-attributes="member: 71699">Spitballing, and partly criticising my own post (!) I believe what's at stake isn't variability, but the design assumption that reduced damage step is the right price to pay for weapon features. An example is reach: the obvious design motive is game balance. 5e and DW price most weapon features at 1 damage, which also gives those features parity for trading them off with one another. Some features are baseline (close) while others have negative costs (two-handed, heavy).E) How might we pay for weapon features, in something other than damage variability?Just for the sake of putting out some ideas<ul>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">One option is to narrow weapon proficiencies, so that wielder must be proficient in expressly halberd to add their proficiency bonus to halberd. Martial classes start with N weapon proficiencies of choice, and non-martials have a couple of basic weapon proficiencies locked in?</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Another option is cost in world currency, which of course only matters to the extent that currency matters. Make currency matter?</li>
<li data-xf-list-type="ul">Another option is balance-to-zero, so that every weapon has demerits matching its merits. Too forced? This might be basic to good balance, even if alleviating it via other options.</li>
</ul>You can see the line of thought. The insight is that what's at stake isn't variable damage: it's pricing weapon features in damage.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="clearstream, post: 8521164, member: 71699"] Spitballing, and partly criticising my own post (!) I believe what's at stake isn't variability, but the design assumption that reduced damage step is the right price to pay for weapon features. An example is reach: the obvious design motive is game balance. 5e and DW price most weapon features at 1 damage, which also gives those features parity for trading them off with one another. Some features are baseline (close) while others have negative costs (two-handed, heavy). [B]E) How might we pay for weapon features, in something other than damage variability?[/B] Just for the sake of putting out some ideas [LIST] [*]One option is to narrow weapon proficiencies, so that wielder must be proficient in expressly halberd to add their proficiency bonus to halberd. Martial classes start with N weapon proficiencies of choice, and non-martials have a couple of basic weapon proficiencies locked in? [*]Another option is cost in world currency, which of course only matters to the extent that currency matters. Make currency matter? [*]Another option is balance-to-zero, so that every weapon has demerits matching its merits. Too forced? This might be basic to good balance, even if alleviating it via other options. [/LIST] You can see the line of thought. The insight is that [B]what's at stake isn't variable damage: it's pricing weapon features in damage.[/B] [/QUOTE]

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