Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Meeki" data-source="post: 2097443" data-attributes="member: 17257">Nope.  It is the style of fighting.  To penetrate (hit) a breastplate its all in the muscle pretty much or getting through natural armor.  Rapiers need force behind them to do much of anything, if we are getting into realism then a rapier shouldn't be able to penetrate full plate at all the blade would break.   The fighting you are thinking of with a rapier might be a style of fighting congruent to the early renaissance, such as having your hand in the air.  However within the "fantasy time" of D&D this style would not be congruent, it just wouldnt provide enough force to go through any metal plate armor.  I've been messing around with rapiers for a long while (fencing and such) and can tell you it takes training to use your dex.  If opponents are unarmored I can see dex being a large factor in hitting the target because you dont need much force, however armored opponents my first reaction would be to thrust like you would a dagger, down at my side and thrust into the armor's ridges, NOT anything that can use dex easily.  It is not a characteristic of the weapon.  Rapiers in the PH are not dueling rapiers they are designed for war and can be used as slashing weapons although not per the D&D rules.  Rapiers are possibly the ONLY weapon I can see having an intrinsic finess"ibility" and only against opponents with light armor on.  Daggers are a horrible example if looking at them from a reality stand point, they were used in combat alot to finish off an armored opponent by applying brute FORCE behind a point (strength).  Also, I think people are confusing what the term "to hit" means.  When you hit something in D&D it means you exert enough force to cause damage (less damage reduction) not just touch them with the weapon.  You have to get through that full plate or 5 natural armor, this requires strength.  Using dex to hit with all weapons is just foolish, how can a great axe possibly use dexterity to hit.  I can see why some people think this because you have to aim and hit just right, but this is, I argue, part of base attack NOT dexterity.  The more seasoned you become at martial combat the easier it is for you to know where to hit someone.  Even the most dexterous elf is not going to be able to get through full plate with a hand axe with strength 8 unless he has some serious training.  I recognize you can say that they can just hit the "weak" spots of the full plate but D&D assumes not.</blockquote>

Verification