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.

 

[Parmandur]

I predict it will be at a low level, though, on par with Expertise: 1 or 2 for sure (3 is the subclass, 4 the feat, 5 the extra attack, and 6 will be too late).

The designers compared the use of Mastery features to Cantrips in the conference, apparently, and nobody blinks about a Wizard dip giving Cantrips.

 

[darjr]

The designers compared the use of Mastery features to Cantrips in the conference, apparently, and nobody blinks about a Wizard dip giving Cantrips.

I think the difference is that sneak and smite stack on weapon damage.

 

[tetrasodium]

Nick sounds like it screams "at the end of their turn turn the target must make a dc xx save or take x damage [for x rounds]" rider, which is cool in whiteroom theorycrafting & for players. It's too easy for players to move around the battlefield with impunity& attack multiple targets to spread this around across the army of monsters 5e expects the GM to throw out. I can mark out an area on the map for a wall of fire incendiary cloud or whatever, but this kind of thing is going to get spread everywhere & DoT kiting will be the new norm.

Dumping that kind of player ability onto the GM is simply not reasonable, the wording needs to be explicit that the player needs to be responsible for tracking & making sure it happens on their own turns.

 

[Vincent55]

looks similar to the weapon properties or manoeuvres I saw in a 3rd party weapons book a bit back, wouldn't surprise me if they just stole it and renamed them to use not like they haven't used player or 3rd party content like this before. Wraith Wright’s - The Comprehensive Equipment Manual was the one i was thinking, as it had weapons that if trained "mastered" you could do other things with.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

[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.

Camillo Agrippa's 1553 treatise show the use of an off hand dagger as some of the techniques illustrated. That is the Agrippa referenced in the Princess Bride.
Buckler would have been more common at the time and earlier. Off had dagger became more popular later. As far as I can tell as the main weapon evolved from the side sword toward rapier, single weapon styles became more prominent.

 

[Gladius Legis]

Might want to run the numbers on that: getting ingredients the benefits of using two hands while holding a shield? That probavly the best of these.

One extra point of damage on average over a standard sword-and-board wielder compares to push or slow every round, or an extra attack every round, how exactly?

 

[Vaalingrade]

What we really need is an off-hand cloak weapon

Done.

Not in 5e, but done. Also a dueling cloak feat chain.

Also dueling canes. Be the Ultimate Combat Gentleman.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

What we really need is an off-hand cloak weapon

yes please

in 4e I made a weighted cloak that counted as a shield and a weapon... and I made one with sharp edges

 

[doctorbadwolf]

[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.

I don’t especially care. Not a research assistant.

If you take no issue with it being common, that is close enough that you’re just asking me for labor just to do it/be pedantic, at best.

So, find your own citation, I’d you want.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

In 5e, without a feat, for Two-Weapon fighting, both weapons must be Light.

With the Dual Wielder feat can you use weapons that aren't Light.

I hope they revert the twf feat, so you can use two one handed weapons.
As a weapon master, you can still mix longsword and short sword, so you get d10 damage in the main hand and attack with d6 in the offhand without using your bonus action.

Or use two longswords for 2d10...

I like how those rule allow for actual choice.