Rune
Once A Fool
I posted this deep within a thread in the Giant in the Playground Forums, but I thought I'd get a different perspective by starting a thread here. Notes on my decision process are included after each option is presented.
These options add onto or alter already existing options; they are not intended as replacements. In particular, both the Two-Weapon Fighting style and the Dual Wielder feat are altered. The other feat is meant to compliment the other options and is constructed out of whole cloth.
Two-Weapon Fighting Style:
As-is, plus:
[sblock=Notes![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
This is basically the Dual Wielder feat rolled into the fighting-style, but without the stat-boost and a much more limited AC bonus.
Giving weapon upgrades with the fighting style allows specialists to use the same kind of weapons throughout their whole careers--something all other styles already get to do. It also adds an avg. of 1 damage per hit. Frankly, the core of TWF's problem is its lack of scaling. Giving an effective +1 to all attacks changes that a little.
Finally, the AC bonus is meant to encourage sword-and-dagger style. Which, for a Dex-fighter, would be rapier and dagger.[/sblock]
Dual Wielding Feat:
As-is, plus:
[sblock=Notes
I left a lot of overlap with the new TWF, above, because the duplicated benefits should be available at any level of two-weapon investment past the base level. Note that the AC bonus from the feat stacks with the style's bonus from the dagger, which is equivalent to a damage-dealing shield (that can't be used with Shield Master). I'm okay with that, because we are talking about a style+feat. Doesn't seem to outshine Duelist+Shield Master.
Adding a bonus-attack option in a way that doesn't devalue the normal two-weapon bonus action option is important to bring the feat in line with other fighting style feats--all of which can grant bonus actions that are generally better options than using that bonus action with by-the-book two-weapon fighting. I chose to do this by giving the attacker a choice between making seperate attacks as normal (each of which may have seperate riders or extra damage from external sources) or adding an automatic bonus to damage on a single hit that can't get either of those things (although the additional weapon die does get doubled with crits--and the choice whether or not to use this option is made after the attack roll--it still can only ever add the one extra die to a crit, because the bonus action is not a seperate attack and its damage is not the result of a seperate hit). And must necessarily be dealt to the same target.
Finally, because that option is kind of circumstantial (as in, it is not always the best choice) adding a circumstantial reaction option seemed appropriate. I didn't want to step on Riposte's toes, but I wanted something similar. I wanted to play to the strengths of two-weapon fighting without actually adding more damage or more AC. In the end, I took advantage of a subtle difference that 5e has from its predecessors (that being that reactions can be used on the reacting character's turn) to add accuracy (and potential sneak attack damage) to a second attack (granted through some other means) in a turn in which at least one attack has already missed. This acts more as a course-correction than a straight DPR buff. Plus, it uses up the reaction, which is important to the feat presented below this one. Also, note that this part of the feat keeps parity with other fighting style feats, by working with any melee weapon (and the advantage can apply to any kind of attack).[/sblock]
And, because I also think we could use a good synergy feat that would play well with the above in much the same way that Polearm Master and Great Weapon Master play well together:
Light Weapon Master:
You are an expert at fighting with light weapons. You know how to quickly slip inside your opponent's defenses and how to quickly recover to maintain your own and you can even use light weapons to fight effectively while you are bound or tightly held.
[sblock=Notes
This feat is intended to compete with Great Weapon Master, Polearm Master, Crossbow Expert, and Sharpshooter as a viable build option and, as those feats do, is intended to open up synergy with another feat (the improved Dual Wielder feat). I could have just gone with a -5 to hit/+10 damage structure, but there's a pretty good reason not to. This is because sneak attack can work with a lot of light weapons and melee sneak attacks can be made twice in a round. Add a huge GWM-style damage bonus to each attack and you've got a no-brainer for DPR builds.
So, the bonus (and associated penalty) is much more modest. So much so that, against particularly high ACs, this combination of feats will simply still not put out comparable damage to the classic high-DPR combos. But, this feat does stack with other damage options that are available for light weapons (with one exception) and it scales both with number of attacks and with levels, so it is an improvement; hopefully it is enough of one that light-weapon builds can hang out with the heavy-hitters. Note that this ability works with both ranged (in other words, light thrown weapons and the hand crossbow) and melee attacks, but does not stack with Sharpshooter's bonus damage and does not work if, for instance, the attacker cannot see or the defender is dodging. It will, however, work just fine for restrained characters, since the first ability of this feat prevents such attacks from suffering disadvantage from the condition.
The penultimate bullet point is just a little extra gravy for the feat, intended to put a tiny bit more oomph in the occasional attack. Specifically, one in four non-crit attacks with a d4 weapon will add an avg. 3.5 damage to their already maximized damage. That's an average of less than +1 point per attack! For d6 weapons, of course, it's only one in six. But, hey, bigger spike.
The final bullet point applies to a wide selection of weapons in order to be in line with other weapon style feats, all of which have some (usually quite circumstantial) benefit that can be used with a wider array of options. Usually that's a bonus action option, but a reaction seemed appropriate, here, because I wanted to model the quicker recovery time of lighter weapons (and because I wanted for characters who have both the upgraded Dual Wielder feat and this feat to have a meaningful resource-management decision in determining which reaction ability to use). Because I wanted to do so without just adding more damage, I figured that a very limited disengage which doesn't use an attack or bonus action (and, so, plays well with the dual-wielding rogue, for instance) would be a nice little circumstantial perk.[/sblock]
These options add onto or alter already existing options; they are not intended as replacements. In particular, both the Two-Weapon Fighting style and the Dual Wielder feat are altered. The other feat is meant to compliment the other options and is constructed out of whole cloth.
Two-Weapon Fighting Style:
As-is, plus:
- While wielding a dagger and any other melee weapon at the same time, you have +1 AC against melee attacks.
- You can use any one-handed melee weapon that you have proficiency with in each hand while two-weapon fighting.
- Whenever you draw or stow one weapon, you can do the same with a second.
[sblock=Notes
This is basically the Dual Wielder feat rolled into the fighting-style, but without the stat-boost and a much more limited AC bonus.
Giving weapon upgrades with the fighting style allows specialists to use the same kind of weapons throughout their whole careers--something all other styles already get to do. It also adds an avg. of 1 damage per hit. Frankly, the core of TWF's problem is its lack of scaling. Giving an effective +1 to all attacks changes that a little.
Finally, the AC bonus is meant to encourage sword-and-dagger style. Which, for a Dex-fighter, would be rapier and dagger.[/sblock]
Dual Wielding Feat:
As-is, plus:
- When you hit with an attack while wielding a seperate melee weapon in each hand, you can use a bonus action to change the attack into a successful attack that uses both weapons to deal damage through a single hit.
- When you miss with a melee weapon attack, you may use your reaction to gain advantage on the next attack you make on this turn.
[sblock=Notes
I left a lot of overlap with the new TWF, above, because the duplicated benefits should be available at any level of two-weapon investment past the base level. Note that the AC bonus from the feat stacks with the style's bonus from the dagger, which is equivalent to a damage-dealing shield (that can't be used with Shield Master). I'm okay with that, because we are talking about a style+feat. Doesn't seem to outshine Duelist+Shield Master.
Adding a bonus-attack option in a way that doesn't devalue the normal two-weapon bonus action option is important to bring the feat in line with other fighting style feats--all of which can grant bonus actions that are generally better options than using that bonus action with by-the-book two-weapon fighting. I chose to do this by giving the attacker a choice between making seperate attacks as normal (each of which may have seperate riders or extra damage from external sources) or adding an automatic bonus to damage on a single hit that can't get either of those things (although the additional weapon die does get doubled with crits--and the choice whether or not to use this option is made after the attack roll--it still can only ever add the one extra die to a crit, because the bonus action is not a seperate attack and its damage is not the result of a seperate hit). And must necessarily be dealt to the same target.
Finally, because that option is kind of circumstantial (as in, it is not always the best choice) adding a circumstantial reaction option seemed appropriate. I didn't want to step on Riposte's toes, but I wanted something similar. I wanted to play to the strengths of two-weapon fighting without actually adding more damage or more AC. In the end, I took advantage of a subtle difference that 5e has from its predecessors (that being that reactions can be used on the reacting character's turn) to add accuracy (and potential sneak attack damage) to a second attack (granted through some other means) in a turn in which at least one attack has already missed. This acts more as a course-correction than a straight DPR buff. Plus, it uses up the reaction, which is important to the feat presented below this one. Also, note that this part of the feat keeps parity with other fighting style feats, by working with any melee weapon (and the advantage can apply to any kind of attack).[/sblock]
And, because I also think we could use a good synergy feat that would play well with the above in much the same way that Polearm Master and Great Weapon Master play well together:
Light Weapon Master:
You are an expert at fighting with light weapons. You know how to quickly slip inside your opponent's defenses and how to quickly recover to maintain your own and you can even use light weapons to fight effectively while you are bound or tightly held.
- You do not suffer disadvantage from being restrained when attacking with light weapons.
- When you hit with a weapon attack using a weapon with the "light" property that you are proficient with, you can add damage to the attack equal to your proficiency bonus, as long as you did not make the attack with a penalty or disadvantage applied.
- When you deal damage with a successful hit from a light weapon attack that is not a critical hit and you roll the maximum value on that weapon's damage die, you can roll 1d6 and add the result to the attack's damage.
- While you are wielding a melee weapon, when you move out of the threatened reach of an enemy, you may use your reaction to prevent that enemy from attacking you until the end of the current turn.
[sblock=Notes
This feat is intended to compete with Great Weapon Master, Polearm Master, Crossbow Expert, and Sharpshooter as a viable build option and, as those feats do, is intended to open up synergy with another feat (the improved Dual Wielder feat). I could have just gone with a -5 to hit/+10 damage structure, but there's a pretty good reason not to. This is because sneak attack can work with a lot of light weapons and melee sneak attacks can be made twice in a round. Add a huge GWM-style damage bonus to each attack and you've got a no-brainer for DPR builds.
So, the bonus (and associated penalty) is much more modest. So much so that, against particularly high ACs, this combination of feats will simply still not put out comparable damage to the classic high-DPR combos. But, this feat does stack with other damage options that are available for light weapons (with one exception) and it scales both with number of attacks and with levels, so it is an improvement; hopefully it is enough of one that light-weapon builds can hang out with the heavy-hitters. Note that this ability works with both ranged (in other words, light thrown weapons and the hand crossbow) and melee attacks, but does not stack with Sharpshooter's bonus damage and does not work if, for instance, the attacker cannot see or the defender is dodging. It will, however, work just fine for restrained characters, since the first ability of this feat prevents such attacks from suffering disadvantage from the condition.
The penultimate bullet point is just a little extra gravy for the feat, intended to put a tiny bit more oomph in the occasional attack. Specifically, one in four non-crit attacks with a d4 weapon will add an avg. 3.5 damage to their already maximized damage. That's an average of less than +1 point per attack! For d6 weapons, of course, it's only one in six. But, hey, bigger spike.
The final bullet point applies to a wide selection of weapons in order to be in line with other weapon style feats, all of which have some (usually quite circumstantial) benefit that can be used with a wider array of options. Usually that's a bonus action option, but a reaction seemed appropriate, here, because I wanted to model the quicker recovery time of lighter weapons (and because I wanted for characters who have both the upgraded Dual Wielder feat and this feat to have a meaningful resource-management decision in determining which reaction ability to use). Because I wanted to do so without just adding more damage, I figured that a very limited disengage which doesn't use an attack or bonus action (and, so, plays well with the dual-wielding rogue, for instance) would be a nice little circumstantial perk.[/sblock]
