D&D 5E Have you ever seen these weapons used regularly by PC's in a D&D 5e game?

[Horwath]

WTB a weapons table that has any sense and it is somewhat balanced please...

 

[James Gasik]

HA HA! I have NEVER been accused of being fair!

Yeah but come on, what did Colwyn ever do to deserve being made fun of? All the guy wanted to do was get married, and next thing he knows some kind of Space Demon sends an army to steal his fiancee!

 

[Neonchameleon]

I know, I wasn’t confused about that, what i was saying was that maybe more characters would use throwing spears or light hammers if full simple weapon proficiency wasn’t handed out so frequently which also includes the shortbow and hand crossbow which are pretty much all round superior as a ranged weapon

Except that throwing spears (or, as we normally call them javelins) and throwing axes have their niche. Which is "ranged backup weapon you can use one handed". You need two hands for shortbows and to reload pistol crossbows - and neither are finesse weapons so Str-based characters don't use them.

The light hammer is a different story; if you aren't against enemies who require bludgeoning attacks the handaxe and javelin are both slightly more expensive but do d6 rather than d4 damage.

Like a barbarian, I know real barbarians did use bows I think but if they didn’t get that proficiency a throwing axe and a spear feel much more thematically appropriate to me than a shortbow

I've literally never seen a barbarian use a bow. Strength vs Dex makes a significant difference to a barbarian so they use javelins or axes most of the time.

 

[James Gasik]

WTB a weapons table that has any sense and it is somewhat balanced please...

I mean, it's kind of balanced, in the most boring way.

People who don't have much business being in combat get to do d6 damage.

People who do have business being in combat get d8 one handed or 2d6 (or 1d12 if they prefer) two handed weapons (and d10 for reach weapons) along with d8 ranged weapons.

Then there's a few oddball weapons scattered across the list for completeness.

 

[James Gasik]

Except that throwing spears (or, as we normally call them javelins) and throwing axes have their niche. Which is "ranged backup weapon you can use one handed". You need two hands for shortbows and to reload pistol crossbows - and neither are finesse weapons so Str-based characters don't use them.

The light hammer is a different story; if you aren't against enemies who require bludgeoning attacks the handaxe and javelin are both slightly more expensive but do d6 rather than d4 damage.

I've literally never seen a barbarian use a bow. Strength vs Dex makes a significant difference to a barbarian so they use javelins or axes most of the time.

I would like to see Barbarians using bows, but at the moment, there's not a whole lot of reason for them to do so.

 

[Neonchameleon]

I mean, it's kind of balanced, in the most boring way.

People who don't have much business being in combat get to do d6 damage.

People who do have business being in combat get d8 one handed or 2d6 (or 1d12 if they prefer) two handed weapons (and d10 for reach weapons) along with d8 ranged weapons.

Then there's a few oddball weapons scattered across the list for completeness.

And if you write this into the character's class (as in 13th Age or Dungeon World) you start getting a much more interesting range of weapons being used.

 

[James Gasik]

And if you write this into the character's class (as in 13th Age or Dungeon World) you start getting a much more interesting range of weapons being used.

Oh yeah, that would be a cooler way to do things. But D&D players have traditionally wanted equipment lists to pore over, even if many of the things being offered aren't that fantastic.

 

[Neonchameleon]

I would like to see Barbarians using bows, but at the moment, there's not a whole lot of reason for them to do so.

Range? 150/600 > 20/60 or even 30/120? But that's in practice pretty niche.

 

[James Gasik]

Range? 150/600 > 20/60 or even 30/120? But that's in practice pretty niche.

I didn't say no reason, lol. But it would be nice if there was a bow wielding subclass for Barbarians. Pathfinder 1e had one (but it's kind of not good).

Any Barbarian knows it's easier to fill one's belly by hunting with a bow, after all.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Yeah but come on, what did Colwyn ever do to deserve being made fun of? All the guy wanted to do was get married, and next thing he knows some kind of Space Demon sends an army to steal his fiancee!

Are you ... challenging me?

C'mon. Just start with that hair. I've seen better feathering on a chicken.
Then, he is given the most awesome NOT POLEARM ever. And does he use it? NO. Well, okay, he does at the very end ... BUT IT'S NOT EVEN WHAT WORKS! Nope, he has to use some sort of flaming hand (ahem) ... sorry, he has to borrow Peter Cetera's POWER OF LOVE.

seriously The whole movie is about the awesomest 80s weapon ever, AND IT DOESN'T EVEN KILL THE BIG BAD.

And let's face it ... the actor who played Colwyn (IN A MOVIE THAT ALSO HAD LIAM NEESON) could never out-act that hair, which is why you know him best as Lt. Cmdr. Michael Eddington. He knew better than to try and out-act hair in the future.

Look, I give credit to the movie for making me lust for ... well, a magical rotary saw as the ultimate fantasy weapon. But I can make fun of Colwyn all ... day ... long.