PERSONALIZED WEAPONS (Fair? Balanced? Sucks? Your comments appreciated!)

[JimAde]

why create a new kind of bonus? this just screams compentence bonus.

DC

Because the bonus comes from the equipment, not your competence. Regardless, as long as it's not an enhancement bonus, it stacks the way you want it to without a special rule. That's the important thing.

 

[DreamChaser]

Because the bonus comes from the equipment, not your competence. Regardless, as long as it's not an enhancement bonus, it stacks the way you want it to without a special rule. That's the important thing.

no. its from how competent you are at using a particular piece of equipment. Pure training and skill.

DC

 

[JimAde]

no. its from how competent you are at using a particular piece of equipment. Pure training and skill.

DC

Hmm. I'm not sure I buy that. If it's pure training and skill, why do you need a special weapon to get it? What other things give you a competence bonus? I can only think of bard song but I'm sure there are others. I don't know if any of them are equipment? But like I said it doesn't really matter as long as it's not an "enhancement" bonus.

 

[Khaalis]

Just as a late question, does the bonus for being 'Personalized' HAVE to be a +1 attack bonus? Considering all the possible issues it creates why not look at other options to reflect the ease of use to the wielder?

Possibly make the blade have to be masterwork but a personalized masterwork grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage?

What about a bonus to opposed roles to resist disarm? Or the ability to be finessed or considered a category lighter? How about increasing the weapons critical threat range by 1 or its multiplier by 1?

Just some thoughts.

 

[The_Universe]

Hmm. I'm not sure I buy that. If it's pure training and skill, why do you need a special weapon to get it? What other things give you a competence bonus? I can only think of bard song but I'm sure there are others. I don't know if any of them are equipment? But like I said it doesn't really matter as long as it's not an "enhancement" bonus.

A good rebuttal - I might change it back, based on your comments.

Thanks for your continuing input!

 

[The_Universe]

Just as a late question, does the bonus for being 'Personalized' HAVE to be a +1 attack bonus? Considering all the possible issues it creates why not look at other options to reflect the ease of use to the wielder?

Possibly make the blade have to be masterwork but a personalized masterwork grants a +1 bonus to attack and damage?

What about a bonus to opposed roles to resist disarm? Or the ability to be finessed or considered a category lighter? How about increasing the weapons critical threat range by 1 or its multiplier by 1?

Just some thoughts.

Of course, a personalized bonus could be anything.

However, the problem I saw with trying any of the numerous suggestions you made had to do with consistency in the rules. For whatever reason, it seems that mundane equipment quality in Dungeons and Dragons can only modify the chance of success of a particular action. It almost never alters the severity of that success (or failure).

Masterworking equipment (which is in my mind closely linked, although not identical to, personalized equipment) adds +1 (or ocaisonally more) to the attack or skill roll, but never to damage. Weapons get the +1 to attack while damage remains unmodified. Thieves tools, for example, also simply add a bonus to ones disable device or open lock checks. It's all about the chance of success vs. failure, as opposed to what happens after you've succeeded or failed.

Since the personalized quality is also entirely mundane in nature, I thought it should work in the same general fashion as the other mundane quality it most-closely resembled.

I hope that made sense. Feel free to try to change my mind - I'm not hard to influence.

 

[DreamChaser]

Hmm. I'm not sure I buy that. If it's pure training and skill, why do you need a special weapon to get it? What other things give you a competence bonus? I can only think of bard song but I'm sure there are others. I don't know if any of them are equipment? But like I said it doesn't really matter as long as it's not an "enhancement" bonus.

You have to buy a special weapon to match your particular style and training. If it were simply matching the weapon to the body, then one twin could use the other's personalized weapon and a changeling (from Eberron) could use anyone's (since they physically change to become another person within the limits of the ability). The person's training has to have something to do with it.

DC

and before someone riots: read what Hell Cow (Keith Baker) said about changelings in this thread.

 

[The_Universe]

You have to buy a special weapon to match your particular style and training. If it were simply matching the weapon to the body, then one twin could use the other's personalized weapon and a changeling (from Eberron) could use anyone's (since they physically change to become another person within the limits of the ability). The person's training has to have something to do with it.

DC

and before someone riots: read what Hell Cow (Keith Baker) said about changelings in this thread.

I'll buy that it *could* be a competence bonus, DC. However, after some thought, I decided that IMC, I preferred as an all-new type of bonus. I posted the rule about weapons here, but honestly it's not hard to imagine other personalized equipment providing similar benefits. In short, I think it's reasonable to create a new bonus category as it is something that is not currently addressed in the rules.

So, feel free to use it, and call it a competence bonus. But, for right now, I'll stick with calling it a personalized bonus and thus seperate it from all sorts of semantic arguments about bonus types that already exist.