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.

 

[Magister Ludorum]

I hope they don't. It was a great mechanic in 4e.

Maybe add: if you miss by less than 5. Would be my ideal solution.

This would be easier for me to take.

I'm torn on this subject. I have no objection to amping up the power of martial characters. I love the idea. More than that I believe that it is absolutely necessary.

It's not a mechanical issue for me at all. It's more the case of a narrative problem. I don't like the idea that you can't miss with a graze weapon.

And from a narrative point of view, spells are entirely different. I wish save for half damage was restricted to area effect spells. You can evade some of the damage, but you can't avoid it entirely unless you get out of the area. I also think evasion should allow you to use a reaction to move out of the area of the spell.

Heck, I'd be even more generous than UngeheurerLich, maybe you do graze damage unless you roll a natural 1. I don't know why that little difference is important to me, but it is.

Sometimes its hard for me to get past the conflicting demands of narrative vs. game mechanics. It may be why I only play 5e. I run HERO.

 

[Eubani]

My above thoughts lead me to a question, why has so much effort over the last half century been put into stopping Fighter improvements? Subconscious revenge against jocks? The need for magic to be more powerful? A blind focus on the everyman, thus ignoring the legendary and mythical?

 

[Eubani]

This would be easier for me to take.

I'm torn on this subject. I have no objection to amping up the power of martial characters. I love the idea. More than that I believe that it is absolutely necessary.

It's not a mechanical issue for me at all. It's more the case of a narrative problem. I don't like the idea that you can't miss with a graze weapon.

And from a narrative point of view, spells are entirely different. I wish save for half damage was restricted to area effect spells. You can evade some of the damage, but you can't avoid it entirely unless you get out of the area. I also think evasion should allow you to use a reaction to move out of the area of the spell.

Heck, I'd be even more generous than UngeheurerLich, maybe you do graze damage unless you roll a natural 1. I don't know why that little difference is important to me, but it is.

Sometimes its hard for me to get past the conflicting demands of narrative vs. game mechanics. It may be why I only play 5e. I run HERO.

You can miss with a graze weapon, it just takes more effort, stamina, luck, or some other intangible to avoid the attack this cost for the miss is a smaller reduction in HP.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

My above thoughts lead me to a question, why has so much effort over the last half century been put into stopping Fighter improvements? Subconscious revenge against jocks? The need for magic to be more powerful? A blind focus on the everyman, thus ignoring the legendary and mythical?

The bolded element in my opinion. Many cannot image mundane characters doing stuff they cannot imagine doing themselves, magic gets a free pass. I also suspect a lack of familiarity with the kind of myths where heroes level mountains with a sword stroke or throw chunks of real estate at their enemies the size of major lakes.

 

[JohnSnow]

My above thoughts lead me to a question, why has so much effort over the last half century been put into stopping Fighter improvements? Subconscious revenge against jocks? The need for magic to be more powerful? A blind focus on the everyman, thus ignoring the legendary and mythical?

I believe that there is a pervasive attitude that the fighter should be (is?) "the easy intro class."

The attitude is a holdover from early editions where it was actually quite difficult to keep a wizard alive long enough that they could be useful, and fighters were actually more fun to play at those early levels.

But the only way players of Magic-Users felt they got "rewarded" for their patience was to get to a point where they get to dominate the game, so god forbid there are Fighter-types who can keep up.

However, the stereotypical "fragile, useless magic-user" stopped being true about 5th-level in 3e, which (thanks to the new xp system) you got to inside of a few months of play, and simply hasn't existed since. So there's no reason to keep fighters tied down at high levels to make up for Wizards "not having any fun" at low levels, because the latter situation simply no longer exists. Of course, even all the people who do want fighters to keep pace with wizards don't always agree about what needs to be done to make that happen.

My two cents.

 

[Minigiant]

I'm always narrated misses half the time as dodges so Damage on a miss is just stamina loss.

In a perfect world, it makes sense that any attack roll over 10 requires some instances of stamina drain or armor block to dodge or parry and causes damage whether it's a miss or not.

 

[Vaalingrade]

The real problem is that the name Graze still implies contact.

That and DoaM shouldn't really be a weapon property, it should be something you're doing.

 

[Incenjucar]

I believe that there is a pervasive attitude that the fighter should be (is?) "the easy intro class."

The attitude is a holdover from early editions where it was actually quite difficult to keep a wizard alive long enough that they could be useful, and fighters were actually more fun to play at those early levels.

But the only way players of Magic-Users felt they got "rewarded" for their patience was to get to a point where they get to dominate the game, so god forbid there are Fighter-types who can keep up.

However, the stereotypical "fragile, useless magic-user" stopped being true about 5th-level in 3e, which (thanks to the new xp system) you got to inside of a few months of play, and simply hasn't existed since. So there's no reason to keep fighters tied down at high levels to make up for Wizards "not having any fun" at low levels, because the latter situation simply no longer exists. Of course, even all the people who do want fighters to keep pace with wizards don't always agree about what needs to be done to make that happen.

My two cents.

Wizards also just keep getting more durable. No house cat is going to beat up a 5E wizard at 1st level.

 

[JohnSnow]

I'm always narrated misses half the time as dodges so Damage on a miss is just stamina loss.

In a perfect world, it makes sense that any attack roll over 10 requires some instances of stamina drain or armor block to dodge or parry and causes damage whether it's a miss or not.

I would feel better with damage on a miss as stamina loss if: 1) they had a system that prevented only "misses" from dropping a character to dying (unlikely as that is, I've seen 1% scenarios at my table enough to want to have a pre-planned answer) and, 2) hit point loss and recovery was treated more like it were mostly stamina and luck rather than bodily injury by the game's magical healing system.

 

[JohnSnow]

Wizards also just keep getting more durable. No house cat is going to beat up a 5E wizard at 1st level.

For sure. Unless it's Siegfried and Roy's house.