Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Mike Mearls's Tweets
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="DogBackward" data-source="post: 6053637" data-attributes="member: 50642"><p>A greatsword isn't strictly better, though. You've got a larger weapon, more unbalanced, and if I can get in close quickly then you can't bring your weapon to bear while I'm stabbing you repeatedly with my short sword... which is much better at making several quick stabbing motions. This is made even <em>worse</em> if I do have a shield, since I can try to catch your first swing and then step in close. No allies needed: even in a one-on-one fight, my shield can be used to deflect your sword. And I <em>am</em> going to have a shield if I'm using a one-handed weapon... because I'm not a bloody idiot.</p><p></p><p>In the end, realistically, shield+weapon beats two-handed weapon any day.</p><p></p><p>Now, when you're talking about <em>D&D</em>, I would still prefer there be a way to make two-handed weapons more on par with sword and board. But that's better done with weapon qualities, not mucking about with Expertise. I <em>love</em> that Expertise can make a short sword a viable weapon choice, compared to other larger weapons. Thematically and realistically, that is a great feature.</p><p></p><p>But speaking solely on thematics, the guy with the big-ass greatsword should still be able to be viable as well. I just think that's better modeled by weapon abilities.</p><p></p><p>(Also, for the record, even in D&D, +2 average damage (and +4 max, that's important to consider as well) can compare with +1 AC. Especially if you already have a decent AC and HP, increasing damage output by a bit can work very well. If nothing else, the bonus damage can help when you want to use your Expertise dice on other things, like Parry or other maneuvers. If I've got Cleave and am facing a bunch of goblins, I'd prefer the 1d12 over the 1d8 weapon easy, since I'm far more likely to drop multiple goblins per round that way.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DogBackward, post: 6053637, member: 50642"] A greatsword isn't strictly better, though. You've got a larger weapon, more unbalanced, and if I can get in close quickly then you can't bring your weapon to bear while I'm stabbing you repeatedly with my short sword... which is much better at making several quick stabbing motions. This is made even [i]worse[/i] if I do have a shield, since I can try to catch your first swing and then step in close. No allies needed: even in a one-on-one fight, my shield can be used to deflect your sword. And I [i]am[/i] going to have a shield if I'm using a one-handed weapon... because I'm not a bloody idiot. In the end, realistically, shield+weapon beats two-handed weapon any day. Now, when you're talking about [i]D&D[/i], I would still prefer there be a way to make two-handed weapons more on par with sword and board. But that's better done with weapon qualities, not mucking about with Expertise. I [i]love[/i] that Expertise can make a short sword a viable weapon choice, compared to other larger weapons. Thematically and realistically, that is a great feature. But speaking solely on thematics, the guy with the big-ass greatsword should still be able to be viable as well. I just think that's better modeled by weapon abilities. (Also, for the record, even in D&D, +2 average damage (and +4 max, that's important to consider as well) can compare with +1 AC. Especially if you already have a decent AC and HP, increasing damage output by a bit can work very well. If nothing else, the bonus damage can help when you want to use your Expertise dice on other things, like Parry or other maneuvers. If I've got Cleave and am facing a bunch of goblins, I'd prefer the 1d12 over the 1d8 weapon easy, since I'm far more likely to drop multiple goblins per round that way.) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Mike Mearls's Tweets
Top