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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gabriel_Penn" data-source="post: 4841077" data-attributes="member: 84257">Hello All! I need a ruling here!  I tried posting this for the WotC guys, but they won't answer any questions not related to v4.0.  I'm a DM of 15 years and I just can't accept the WotC rules and official errata on the Melee Weapon Mastery and Ranged Weapon Mastery feats.  In fact, I was sure it had to be a misprint.  Please let me know what you guys think! <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/erm.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":erm:" title="Erm    :erm:" data-shortname=":erm:" /> I need a clarification on the rules for the feats Melee Weapon Mastery and Ranged Weapon Mastery from Players Handbook 2.  A player of mine, who already has Weapon Focus (Rapier) and Weapon Specialization (Rapier) wants to pick up the feat Melee Weapon Mastery (Piercing).  According to what the rules seem to imply, that would give him a +2 attack and damage bonus with all piercing weapons.  No problems there...yet.  Now here’s where I think we’re either reading it wrong, or it’s an insanely overpowered feat.  The errata specifically states as follows: Does the bonus from Melee Weapon Mastery (Player’s Handbook II, 81) stack with bonuses from Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization?Yes. A character with Weapon Focus (longsword), Weapon Specialization (longsword), and Melee Weapon Mastery (slashing) would have a +3 bonus on attack rolls and a +4 bonus on damage rolls with longswords, and a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls with all other slashing weapons.How can this possibly be balanced?  To consider in your ruling, I’ll compare this feat to two feats in the Players Handbook: Greater Weapon Focus:Prerequisites: proficiency with weapon, Weapon Focus with weapon, fighter level 8th.Benefits: +1 to attacks with weapon, stacking with Weapon Focus for a total bonus of +2 attack. Greater Weapon Specialization:Prerequisites: proficiency with Weapon, Weapon Focus with weapon, Greater Weapon Focus with weapon, Weapon Specialization with weapon, fighter level 12th.Benefits: +2 to damage with weapon, stacking with Weapon Specialization for a total bonus of +4 damage. Melee (or Ranged) Weapon Mastery:Prerequisites: proficiency with weapon, Weapon Focus with weapon, Weapon Specialization with weapon, Base Attack Bonus +8.Benefits: +2 attack and damage with focused and specialized weapon TYPE.  Stacking with focused and specialized weapon bonuses yields a +3 attack and +4 damage with that specific weapon. Surely this can’t be right!  The Weapon Mastery only requires 2 feats, 4 effective fighter levels (implied by Weapon Specialization), and a +8 attack bonus--and yet this feat provides everything listed above?  How can this be possible when Greater Weapon Specialization requires 3 feats, 12 fighter levels, and a +12 attack bonus (implied in the fighter levels)--and yet it only provides +2 additional damage with one specific weapon. Do you see my dilemma?  And yet it’s hard for me to convince my player that this feat is overpowered when the errata seems to confirm the above reading of it.  I am the DM, and I can, of course, simply disallow it.  I’ll have to, in fact, unless I want to give the feat to every high level NPC fighter in my game (since no fighter in their right mind would EVER turn down the feat as currently understood). Please help clarify this for me.  If the feat really provides the benefits listed above, please explain to me how this is not a MUCH better feat than ones with parallel prerequisites listed in the Players Handbook.   Thanks for your help. Sincerely,GP</blockquote>

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