D&D (2024) New One D&D Weapons Table Shows 'Mastery' Traits

The weapons table from the upcoming Unearthed Arcana playtest for One D&D has made its way onto the internet via Indestructoboy on Twitter, and reveals some new mechanics. The mastery traits include Nick, Slow, Puncture, Flex, Cleave, Topple, Graze, and Push. These traits are accessible by the warrior classes.

 

[Kobold Stew]

The presence of the Short Sword on the Martial Weapons table goes against what they've been doing in the playtest so far, which has been placing the Short Sword among simple weapons.

That's a disappointment, if so.

’m guessing warrior classes will get access to some number of “weapon masteries” for free, and everyone else will have to acquire them through feats or some such.

If so, one consequence of this will be that Rogues will still often do a Fighter dip. That would be a shame.

 

[JohnSnow]

[CITATION NEEDED]

That's a hell of a claim. That using a Rapier with an offhand (sometimes a weapon, sometimes cloak or even a buckler) was relatively common, absolutely supported by history as we know it, but that more than 50% of the time in "many times and places", people used a dagger with a rapier? I think that's going to be hard to support outside of specific cities and specific faddish time periods. I can think of a few times it might possibly have been true, but many where it was definitely true? I cannot.

However I do agree that it's dumb to not allow it at all or require specific classes or feats to do it.

Using a rapier without employing your offhand was extremely rare, which was, I believe, the point he was making.

That offhand might be employed holding a dagger, a buckler, a cape, your barehand, a glove with a mailed palm, or, in rare cases, another rapier. The most common of them, for various reasons mostly involving the best way to deal with a light thrusting sword, was, in fact, a parrying dagger, which was a dagger whose primary purpose was parrying.

Not enabling that as a matter of course is indeed a bizarre choice. But of course, it's always bothered me that Two-Weapon Fighting in D&D isn't primarily focused on improved defense.

 

[Parmandur]

IIRC the previous UA feats didn’t allow dual wielding with a rapier, or maybe it was two rapiers. Either way, using a rapier and dagger should be basic for anyone trained with a rapier. It’s literally more common than no offhand in many times and places where rapiers were used.

It’s a mind boggling choice.

With a Rapier and a Dagger, IIRC, it's wither the two weapon fighting style Feat or the new Dual Wielding Feat that would allow that. Which is quite attainable.

 

[Parmandur]

What we really need is an off-hand cloak weapon

Improvised net?

 

[Parmandur]

Like just make it work differently. Two light weapons, you can attack an extra time. Light weapon and non-light weapon, you get +1 AC or something.

It’s just completely borked to gate rapier and dagger behind a feat, in a game where feats are few and large, rather than every other level and small.

The Featbin question is available early to the Classes that would want to fight that way, though.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Improvised net?

Bucklers were also very popular, paired with a rapier.

 

[Gradine]

Improvised net?

At the very least, an AC bonus and a special disarm

 

[doctorbadwolf]

With a Rapier and a Dagger, IIRC, it's wither the two weapon fighting style Feat or the new Dual Wielding Feat that would allow that. Which is quite attainable.

Rapier and dagger shouldn’t even be just “attainable” any more than two shortswords, or a longsword and a shield. It should be doable simply because you are proficient with both weapons.

The Featbin question is available early to the Classes that would want to fight that way, though.

A feat is too high a cost, to still not be able to even fight case.

But you make a good point above, that the 2014 feats will still be right there. Not sure it’ll work, but there is some hope.

 

[Parmandur]

Rapier and dagger shouldn’t even be just “attainable” any more than two shortswords, or a longsword and a shield. It should be doable simply because you are proficient with both weapons.

A feat is too high a cost, to still not be able to even fight case.

But you make a good point above, that the 2014 feats will still be right there. Not sure it’ll work, but there is some hope.

Yeah, just looking at the second packet, and the 4th Level "Dual Wielder" allows a non-Light weapon to be treated as Light if you have a Light weapon in the other hand. So, proper Rapier technique requires being 4th Level and Proficiency before taking that one Feat, or be Warrior...but I'm expecting this might be an area they tinker with in this packet, specifically, so let's see...

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Yeah, just looking at the second packet, and the 4th Level "Dual Wielder" allows a non-Light weapon to be treated as Light if you have a Light weapon in the other hand. So, proper Rapier technique requires being 4th Level and Proficiency before taking that one Feat, or be Warrior...but I'm expecting this might be an area they tinker with in this packet, specifically, so let's see...

Yeah hopefully the feedback from that one will have convinced them to relax that, and put two rapiers as the thing that requires a feat, not dagger and offhand.