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Message: <blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8322227" data-attributes="member: 6790260">Well, as said, in the 4e version you didn't use axes (unless they also counted as sword-like, e.g. the khopesh), because you actually had features that were specific to swords (heavy blades and light blades). More importantly, though, even names that are pretty darn specific drift over time. "Bard" originally meant the semi-priestly oral historians and court orators of Ireland, then it came to be high praise for poets in general (e.g. Shakespeare is still "The Bard," as a proper noun), then it became a term for wandering minstrel types, and now we use it for the "magical generalist" class. Or how "Paladin" meant "soldier of the Palatine Guard," and then came to mean Charlemagne's closest knights, and then got blended up with the main char of Three Hearts and Three Lions, and now refers to a holy knight dedicated to deities or oaths. The terms have evolved a LOT, but properly speaking they retain the exact same form they had long ago when they didn't mean anything like what they mean today.You could even have a sidebar addressing this, if it's that much of a concern, e.g....SWORDMAGES AND OTHER WEAPONSFor some, it may sound strange to hear about a combatant calleda "swordmage" who neither uses nor carries any type of sword. Intruth, the name is a historical relic; the first people who masteredthese arts, the elves, almost exclusively favored duelling swords, rapiers, or occasionally daggers. As a result, those who practiced this style of combat came to be called "swordmages." The magic itself, however, is more than versatile enough to be used with nearly any one-handed weapon. Some cultures that have built their own traditions of weapon-bound arcana, such as the dwarf kingdoms or the orcish tribes, use names in their native tonguesthat translate closer to "weaponmage," but for better or worse, the Common term comes from the elven swordmages of old.If a DM has problems with an axe-wielding swordmage or the like, there are at least two ways to address the problem. One is to simply have the class's name adapt to whatever weapon thecharacter happens to use; a swordmage who picks up an axe isan "axemage", and "swordmage" is just more commonly-usedas swords are more popular overall. The other is to say that thisclass's name comes from some language other than Common,but it is difficult to translate. "Swordmage" is thus the closestCommon calque, with the original word being more generic.You could also simply say that swordmages always use swords, so their abilities don't work with axes, but this may be seen as punitive by players who simply wanted a different aesthetic.Obviously, I padded this out a bit to include more lore and worldbuilding stuff. You could easily condense this down to a three-sentence paragraph. "Some may see a contradiction in a 'swordmage' class that can use axes. If so, you could change the name with context (wielding an axe means "axemage"), give a narrative explanation (e.g. the elf word for "swordmage" actually means "weapon mage," but was translated wrong long ago), or require that all swordmages use only swords. Try not to be punitive, because the name we gave a class shouldn't get in the way of players having fun."</blockquote>

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