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OSR ... Feel the Love! Why People Like The Old School
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<blockquote data-quote="Cleon" data-source="post: 7634302" data-attributes="member: 57383"><p>In AD&D the issue wasn't Weapon Proficiency per se but, as Sacrosanct mentioned, Weapon <em><strong>Specialization</strong></em>, which was introduced in the Unearthed Arcana.</p><p></p><p>This allowed a Fighter to spend two of their weapon proficiency slots on the same weapon to become "specialized" in it, granting them increase rate of attack, a +1 to hit and a +2 damage, plus additional perks for some types of weapons.</p><p></p><p>A 1st level fighter using weapon specialization was roughly twice as deadly as one using the same weapon without specialization. It was rather unbalanced.</p><p></p><p>Plus, once a fighter got to higher level they could invest three slots in a weapon to become "double specialized" which was even better!</p><p></p><p>The Basic-Expert-Companion-Master-Immortal rules had something similar in the Weapon Mastery rules which, if I recall correctly, were introduced in 1984's <em>Companion Set</em>. Those had five levels of skill - Basic/Skilled/Expert/Master/Grandmaster depending on how many "proficiency slots" the fighter invested. The higher levels had really substantial bonuses - i.e. +6 attack bonus and 2d8+4/2d6+4 damage for a Normal Sword at master level, plus additional defensive perks that increased AC and allowed attempts to deflect weapon attacks. The rules also appear in the <em>Cyclopedia</em>.</p><p></p><p>At least with the BECMI version a fighter couldn't start out specialized in a weapon at 1st level, but had to have "basic" skill in their four weapon choices.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cleon, post: 7634302, member: 57383"] In AD&D the issue wasn't Weapon Proficiency per se but, as Sacrosanct mentioned, Weapon [I][B]Specialization[/B][/I], which was introduced in the Unearthed Arcana. This allowed a Fighter to spend two of their weapon proficiency slots on the same weapon to become "specialized" in it, granting them increase rate of attack, a +1 to hit and a +2 damage, plus additional perks for some types of weapons. A 1st level fighter using weapon specialization was roughly twice as deadly as one using the same weapon without specialization. It was rather unbalanced. Plus, once a fighter got to higher level they could invest three slots in a weapon to become "double specialized" which was even better! The Basic-Expert-Companion-Master-Immortal rules had something similar in the Weapon Mastery rules which, if I recall correctly, were introduced in 1984's [I]Companion Set[/I]. Those had five levels of skill - Basic/Skilled/Expert/Master/Grandmaster depending on how many "proficiency slots" the fighter invested. The higher levels had really substantial bonuses - i.e. +6 attack bonus and 2d8+4/2d6+4 damage for a Normal Sword at master level, plus additional defensive perks that increased AC and allowed attempts to deflect weapon attacks. The rules also appear in the [I]Cyclopedia[/I]. At least with the BECMI version a fighter couldn't start out specialized in a weapon at 1st level, but had to have "basic" skill in their four weapon choices. [/QUOTE]
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