D&D 5E rapier+dagger and/or longsword+dagger?

[Horwath]

You might restrict light weapons to off hand only on all weapons.

great sword; 2d6
L.sword + sh.sword 1d8+1d6

extra one damage for usage of bonus action and weaker AoO's.

at lvl5 it's even worse
4d6 vs. 2d8+1d6,

and when you get to resistant monsters, you need two magic/special material weapons. pretty hard to come by.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

You could stat a sabre as a scimitar or longsword. You could even stat a scimitar as a longsword if you wanted to wield a larger one.
5e covers most weapons. There aren't many that don't fall somewhere in the existing categories.

I completely agree. Which is why it is so annoying when expected combinations aren't supported by the rules. Take the swashbuckler rogue archetype. The sidebar explicitly tells us they are designed for two-weapon fighting. And we are told that what sorts of characters they represent.

But then they aren't actually able to use the weapons of those characters. They can't fight with rapier +...anything..., because two-weapon fighting won't allow it. They can't use the pirate's cutlass, because it's a scimitar, and rogues are not proficient in scimitars.

So they are probably stuck using their two-weapon fighting with short swords and/or daggers. Because that's exactly what we imagine when we think of "Duelists and pirates."

 

[Hriston]

5e covers most weapons. There aren't many that don't fall somewhere in the existing categories.

I agree. For example, I use the rapier stats for sabres and basket-hilted swords, including the so-called claymore or Scottish broadsword. Of course, this doesn't solve the OP's problem, but it does make some sense of the rapier not being a light weapon.

On the subject of off-hand attacks, another item of interest to develop for use in conjunction with rapier is the cloak. Perhaps a refluffed net would suffice.

 

[Illithidbix]

I likewise would be happy to allow Longsword/rapier (or hell battleaxe/warhammer) and an off hand dagger.
Esp. if the character had either the Two-weapon fighting style or Dual Wielder feat.
As has been pointed out, it deals a bit with the weakness of duel wielding when characters get multiple attacks.

In fact I shall add it to my (very short) list of house rules (tm).

Personally have a dislike of character wielding two 42" longsword due to my LARPing days...

 

[dmnqwk]

Another suggestion is to treat Main Gauche not as a weapon, but as a tool.

Main Gauche - a Main Gauche is a tool shaped like a dagger, but with a larger hand guard to assist the player in parrying blows.
A player wielding a One Handed weapon in their main hand and a Main Gauche in their off-hand can, as a Bonus Action, choose to begin parrying incoming blows. Until the end of their next turn their AC is increased by 2.

As a tool it gives anyone the opportunity to "use a shield" without using a shield, but also without making this item better than a shield since it costs you your bonus action.

 

[Salamandyr]

Another suggestion is to treat Main Gauche not as a weapon, but as a tool.

Main Gauche - a Main Gauche is a tool shaped like a dagger, but with a larger hand guard to assist the player in parrying blows.
A player wielding a One Handed weapon in their main hand and a Main Gauche in their off-hand can, as a Bonus Action, choose to begin parrying incoming blows. Until the end of their next turn their AC is increased by 2.

As a tool it gives anyone the opportunity to "use a shield" without using a shield, but also without making this item better than a shield since it costs you your bonus action.

that's what I said, but I really like your version.

Only problem is it's functionally worse than a shield since it ties up your bonus action, and provides no compensatory mechanical benefit.

 

[Illithidbix]

that's what I said, but I really like your version.

Only problem is it's functionally worse than a shield since it ties up your bonus action, and provides no compensatory mechanical benefit.

Quite useful if it could also be used to Attack with a bonus action instead of parrying, if you want to go on the offensive..

Gives versatility to using a D4 damage weapon in offhand rather than a D6 damage shortsword/handaxe.
(Perhaps remove the throwing ability to differentiate it from a normal dagger)

(I was a little sad the shield as weapon stats (rather than just improvised weapon) were removed from 5E after they were in the playtest. )

 

[dmnqwk]

that's what I said, but I really like your version.

Only problem is it's functionally worse than a shield since it ties up your bonus action, and provides no compensatory mechanical benefit.

EXACTLY!
The entire point is to make it worse than a shield in this instance, to enable Rogues and Lore Bards to be able to wield it.
The big issue you have is trying to enable it for both Rogues AND Fighters (one gets shield proficiency, one does not) so while it's romantic to allow both to use it, it's a struggle to balance it for both without it simply being better for someone.

One further suggestion is change it from +2 to a 1d4 and if this causes it to miss, you can use it to make an AoO with your main hand weapon (as the Main Gauche locks up their weapon enabling your counter offensive).

 

[Salamandyr]

This was my version:

The Main Gauche: When holding a dagger or torch in the off-hand while attacking with a one-handed or versatile weapon in the main hand, the character has +1 to AC and rolls an extra d4 on critical hits. When used in this fashion, the dagger or torch is not considered a weapon.

BTW, when I call it a main gauche, I'm not talking about a new weapon type, but a just any dagger (or torch!) used in the left hand.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

I completely agree. Which is why it is so annoying when expected combinations aren't supported by the rules. Take the swashbuckler rogue archetype. The sidebar explicitly tells us they are designed for two-weapon fighting. And we are told that what sorts of characters they represent.

But then they aren't actually able to use the weapons of those characters. They can't fight with rapier +...anything..., because two-weapon fighting won't allow it. They can't use the pirate's cutlass, because it's a scimitar, and rogues are not proficient in scimitars.

So they are probably stuck using their two-weapon fighting with short swords and/or daggers. Because that's exactly what we imagine when we think of "Duelists and pirates."

The swashbuckler can use a smallsword (stats as shortsword) until he builds up the strength to use a rapier at level 4. Or he can fence with an empty hand until he gets good enough to suplement it with a dagger. Or, as I suggested, he can fence with rapier and dagger and just not attack much with the dagger until he learns how.

A cutlass is a short, but very solid and heavy, straight-edged chopping sword. You could stat the thing as a longsword (I've definitely seen pirates in movies taking a two-handed grip on), sickle, or just houserule in a more delicate version as a shortsword that deals slashing damage. All of which Rogues can use.