Melee Weapon Mastery twice?

[Quartz]

The SRD indicates that they stack:

Some weapons deal damage of multiple types. If a weapon is of two types, the damage it deals is not half one type and half another; all of it is both types.

I'd let MWM stack for all single-ended weapons which deal multiple types: dagger, halberd, morningstar etc. Double weapons are a different matter. The point is that a successful attack is a telling blow, not an actual hit.

As for the question of overlap vs stacking, I'll point out that combat feats normally stack with each other.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I'd let MWM stack for all single-ended weapons which deal multiple types: dagger, halberd, morningstar etc.

The paragraph you quoted isn't relevant to dagger, halberd, and scythe, since they're 'or' weapons rather than 'and' weapons. The applicable paragraph for these (unlike the morningstar) is that bolded by irdeggman above.

-Hyp.

 

[Quartz]

I don't read it the same way as you. The weapons are of two types (e.g. dagger is slashing or piercing), therefore you can use the feat twice. For the most part (with some notable exceptions) D&D doesn't care about the mechanics of the damage you do: your target just loses HP. Who's to say whether you hit with the slashing part of the dagger or the piercing part?

 

[Hypersmurf]

I don't read it the same way as you. The weapons are of two types (e.g. dagger is slashing or piercing), therefore you can use the feat twice. For the most part (with some notable exceptions) D&D doesn't care about the mechanics of the damage you do: your target just loses HP. Who's to say whether you hit with the slashing part of the dagger or the piercing part?

There are two cases listed:

Some weapons deal damage of multiple types. If a weapon is of two types, the damage it deals is not half one type and half another; all of it is both types.

In other cases, a weapon can deal either of two types of damage.

A weapon of two types: morningstar. Bludgeoning and piercing.

A weapon that can deal either of two types: dagger. Slashing or piercing.

-Hyp.

 

[Quartz]

No, the SRD says that where the damage type is significant (e.g. hitting a skeleton), the player can choose. That's different. In general, against a normal foe, some of the dagger's damage might be slashing and some of it might be piercing. Regardless, the target still just takes X HP damage.

 

[Hypersmurf]

No, the SRD says that where the damage type is significant (e.g. hitting a skeleton), the player can choose. That's different. In general, against a normal foe, some of the dagger's damage might be slashing and some of it might be piercing. Regardless, the target still just takes X HP damage.

I'd say, rather, that in general against a normal foe, all of the dagger's damage is slashing or all of the dagger's damage is piercing. Hence "Slashing or piercing", not "Slashing and piercing". However, as you say, the target just takes X HP damage, because whether it's slashing or piercing makes no difference.

But if you have an ability that adds Y damage to slashing weapons, and another ability that adds Z damage to piercing weapons, the damage type is always significant, and therefore the player must choose.

-Hyp.

 

[mikebr99]

From the FAQ...

If a weapon deals two different types of damage (such as a dagger), could I take Melee Weapon Mastery (Player’s Handbook II, 81) for both types of damage? And if I did, would both bonuses apply when using a weapon that dealt both of those types of damage simultaneously (such as a morningstar)?
Yes and no.
A character with Weapon Focus (morningstar) and Weapon Specialization (morningstar) could take Melee Weapon Mastery with either bludgeoning weapons or piercing weapons
(since the morningstar deals both types of damage), or he could take it once for each.
The feat’s bonus wouldn’t stack with itself, however, even if the weapon deals both types of damage simultaneously.

Mike

 

[jasin]

I would actually allow this. If someone wants to invest ~10 feats to be really, really good with the morningstar, why not?

What is someone wants to be really, really good with the quarterstaff? Why does the morningstar guy get to apply MWM twice, but the quarterstaff guy does not?

MWM is weird anyway. If you just have it let you apply weapon specific feats to a whole class (piercing, slashing or bludgeoning), as I believe it was intended, this is not an issue. The guy with Melee Weapon Mastery (piercing) gets to apply his Weapon Focus (morningstar) to all piercing weapons, the guy with Melee Weapon Mastery (bludgeoning) gets to apply Weapon Focus (morningstar) to bludgeoning weapons.

 

[Joshua Randall]

What is someone wants to be really, really good with the quarterstaff? Why does the morningstar guy get to apply MWM twice, but the quarterstaff guy does not?

Because of the whole "and" vs. "or" thing.

I guess the FAQ is clear-cut... for all the weight this forum usually puts on the FAQ, i.e., none.

 

[Ender_rpm]

Umm, I could be wrong, but MWM doesn't ADD points to weapons you already have focus/spec in, it just allows you to use them with weapons of they same damage type, yeah? So if you had WF: Morning star, WS: MS, you could take MWM in both piercing and bludgeoning, but it would only apply to other weapons, not the Morning star in question. You COULD take both, and essentially have WF/WS with all piercing/bludgeoning wepaons, but it still wouldn't help your to hit or damage with your main weapon. Please tell me if I'm completley off base here.