D&D 5E The best solution for longswords

[DEFCON 1]

Out of curiosity, did you include a finesse weapon with reach other than the whip which gets crappy damage?

Edit:. And that is a simple weapon for non- martial classes?

Nope, never have had the need. At my tables, 'reach' is required so infrequently that none of my players have ever made a weapon selection based on trying to get that specific property. If they decide to go polearm for whatever reason, having the 'reach' property is a nice ribbon for that rare occasion it comes in handy... but it's rare enough to get a player of a STR-based melee PC wanting a polearm. I've never once had a DEX-based melee PC ever suggest wanting a finesse reach weapon.

Not saying other tables couldn't find a use for a "whip-ish" weapon on the chart (those games that do more dungeon-delving when having a front line and a line behind them with reach weapons comes much more in handy)... but it's never been asked for at my tables at all. But at some point if someone really wanted to go the Indiana Jones whip-master archetype... I'd probably make it work for them and adjust the chart accordingly.

 

[DEFCON 1]

The dart and dagger are very different in terms of game rules. Darts are RANGED thrown weapons. Daggers are MELEE thrown weapons. This means that things like the Archery fighting style applies to darts, but not to daggers, since it requires specifically a ranged weapon, not ranged weapon attack. Also, darts cannot be used in Melee. While I realized thrown weapon fighting as a fighting style was not a thing when you posted this, it does mean that characters who wanted to specialize in thrown weapons could stack more bonuses on a dart's damage than on a dagger, but they'd incur the downside of having to carry a dedicated melee sidearm as a backup.

That is such a minor rules quibble that I don't care about that personally. I've not once ever seen a player at one of my tables try and stack bonuses to create a legitimately OP daggermaster that I've needed to worry about keeping the rules of darts and the rules of daggers different.

I mean let's be honest... a rogue's max damage potential comes out of their Sneak Attack and not the weapon itself... so I find quibbling over the idiosyncratic bits of the weapons table to be a waste of time.

 

[ECMO3]

There isn't anything medieval they call a short sword, and even Classical era swords like the gladius aren't that short. There are big daggers like the cinquedea but they're not swords.

I think the Spathion which was used by the Roman Empire into the 10th century would be what we call a short sword.

 

[Yaarel]

In past editions, longswords were a strong, iconic weapon choice for many races and classes. In 5e longswords have sub-optimal weapon stats but maintain some strange vestigial niches. Elves and rogues are automatically proficient in longswords despite longswords being an especially poor weapon choice for dext-based characters and can't be used for sneak attacks. Longswords remain popular magic items (sword of answering, sunsword, moonsword, pictures of swords in DMG, popularity of longswords in published modules).

What's the best way to fix this?

Best fix is tweak the weapons table. The longsword makes a great longsword.

Blade Length: Sword Group
upto 1 foot (30 cm): Knife (a dagger is a double-edged knife) 1d4 piercing, finesse, light, throw
1 to 2 feet: Shortsword (gladius, seax, wakizashi, machete, etcetera) 1d6 piercing/slashing, finesse, light
2 to 3 feet: Sword (knightly, viking, spatha, katana, etcetera) 1d8 slashing/piercing, finesse
3 to 4 feet: Longsword (longsword, claymore, odachi, etcetera) 1d8 slashing; when versatile gains 1d12 slashing and reach

Renaissance Settings
3 to 4 feet: Rapier (renaissance rapier is a very thin longsword) 1d6 piercing, finesse, reach
over 4 feet: Greatsword (renaissance zweihander) 1d12 slashing, heavy, reach



This is an easy fix, and can be added conveniently to any setting where swords are in use.

 

[Yaarel]

I think the Spathion which was used by the Roman Empire into the 10th century would be what we call a short sword.

The spathion is the Byzantine Greek name for the Roman Latin name spatha, making them the same sword category, with a bladelength between 2 and 3 feet.

 

[Coroc]

Ironically a true bastard sword is never meant to be used 2-handed.

Not really, a bastard sword would be also called hand and half, so you could use it 1 handed from horseback mainly or eventually with a shield,
but on fooot you would normally use it two handed. The "correct" naming of a one handed sword in longer than a shortsword in this period would be arming sword / backsword / eventually broadsword

It is in between what we would call a short sword and a longsword. Meanwhile most actual longswords were meant to be promarily two handed.

True that, if you go with the (historically ) correct definition of Longsword = Greatsword = two handed use only except for some special manoevers, which i would prefer in game also, because it makes most sense mechanically.

I houserule short sword 1d6p, arming sword 1d8s 1h, bastard sword 1d8s / 1d10s versatile and longsword (greatsowrd) 2d6 2h only.
Thsi way you got a good scaling of damage output and size of swords without confusion.

 

[ECMO3]

Not really, a bastard sword would be also called hand and half, so you could use it 1 handed from horseback mainly or eventually with a shield,
but on fooot you would normally use it two handed.

I think this is only true in fantasy. I think historically bastard swords were used two-handed or used from horseback.

 

[Charlaquin]

I think this is only true in fantasy. I think historically bastard swords were used two-handed or used from horseback.

I think historically people probably used swords all sorts of ways. Hand and a half swords were probably mainly used in two hands while on foot, but certainly could be used one handed, which means some folks probably did use it that way sometimes.

 

[Bill Zebub]

I think historically people probably used swords all sorts of ways. Hand and a half swords were probably mainly used in two hands while on foot, but certainly could be used one handed, which means some folks probably did use it that way sometimes.

I wonder if some day (once teleporters are invented) people will be having these sorts of debates about cars. "No, station wagons were used to transport people and baggage between train stations and homes; they weren't intended for families. That would be called a 'minivan' and was slightly taller, with sliding doors."

 

[Weiley31]

Adventures in MIddle-Earth pretty much has the Broadsword, which is a 1D8 Finesse Longsword basically.

Best solution for Rogues Elves with longswords