The Concept Is... he DOESN'T use a sword.

[RangerWickett]

Hm, I think the weapon of choice for common folk who cannot afford plate armor ought to be the longspear, the one with reach. Sure, against other humans, longswords tend to be the weapon of choice, but against nasty critters like wooly mammoths, sabertooh cats, trolls, and your typical dragon, the less you have to incur attacks of opportunity from moving through the critter's reach, the better.

I do think perhaps some sort of variant system would have been a worthy addition to the DMG, to represent the whole history of warfare, what with its "swords vs. flesh, armor vs. swords, picks and maces vs. armor, guns vs. armor, fast and nimble vs. guns."

 

[Bagpuss]

Heck in second edition my character stood out because he used a Broadsword and not a Longsword! You'll find players tend to use the longsword as it's the most commonly found magic item and it is the best damage for its size usually.

 

[Holy Bovine]

For fighters I have made personally I have used (for different characters), a greatsword (with no Dex bonus either ), a scimitar with a kurki in his off hand, and a glaive. I honestly can't remember the last time a PC of mine used a longsword.

In games that I have run i have a Ranger who doesn't carry a melee weapon. I don't know how that will work out for him but his character concept just about prohibits melee combat. At least he's trying to come up with something different (and the party already has 3 frontline fighter-types if you include the AC13 STR20 monk). We also have had a Barbarian/Ranger who dual wielded a Warhammer and a Light Pick - lives for the heavy damage crit! (too bad the player rarely rolls above 12 )

I often base my character concept (for fighter types) around the weapons he carries. My greatsword wielding fighter gained his sword from his father who was assassinated. The DM was so impressed by the rather large background I wrote up that he decided the sword (named Blacksong) was a MW weapon so I could later get it enchanted! I love when players (speaking as a DM again) do stuff like that and usually reward them in a similar fashion.

 

[Paragon]

I had a dwarf that used a Halberd. He was famous for it, mainly because he liked to throw it. He was pretty good at it too.
I had a paladin use a warhammer (tyr), I really want a character with a harpoon. i don't know why. a crazy guy with a harpoon that is a sailor, who is no where near the water.

 

[Epametheus]

My favorite 3E fighter so far was a dwarf with Improved Unarmed Strike and Improved Grapple (out of Oriental Adventures). His primary weapons were his bare hands and his armor spikes. His damage output was miserable, but since most enemies don't fight worth spit while grappled, it worked out anyways. The campaign ended before I could get around to making the armor spikes Shocking.

 

[wolfen]

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Heavy Flail. Disarm bonuses, Trip attacks, and definitely a "get noticed" weapon.

He's not the most powerful guy in the world, but I've drawn up a Human Fighter with Weapon Focus HFlail, Improved Disarm, Trip, and Combat Reflexes.

I've considered turning him Monk at around 8th level or so...A high-speed, Heavy-Flail-wielding Monk with Spring Attack, etc... That's a guy who can really move through a crowd. And if the disarmed folks wanna grapple, why not?

Love that Flail.

wolfen

 

[Greybar]

IMC, the cultural and religious background makes axes a man's weapon, whereas swords are a woman's weapon.

So our female paladin goes sword'n'shield with a longsword, but the guys are using paired battleaxe/handaxe (ranger TWF) or greataxe. There are other weapons around as well, but if your a man going to a fight people expect you to have an axe.

It adds a nice touch. Oh, and the badguys from the enemy culture are known to use "crooked blades" (i.e. scimitars, falchions) which just goes to prove that they are *obviously* evil since they neither use the weapons of reputable men nor women.

john
p.s. the triple-crit on the greataxe doesn't hurt. 137pts of damage in one round last session ... OWIE! How are my poor undead of wretched evil supposed to stand up to that!

 

[Norfleet]

Personally, IRL, I'm a blunt instrument fan. Blunt instruments are versatile, highly available, and concealable. Also, you'll never have to worry about dulling, rusting, or chipping. Blunt instruments are always dull, and work exactly the same when rusty or chipped.

The usefulness of the shield also depends on the group. If no-one in the group uses a shield, it's a nash equilibrium. The enemies have no point in concentrating on any single combatant. If one has no shield and deals bigger damage with a 2-h sword, he gets the brunt of the attacks over the high-AC shielded people. Not good.

On the other hand, if nobody uses a shield there's little point for one character to use a shield. The enemy won't even try to hit you because there are lower-AC, higher damage output threats out there. End result isn't good for the team.

Above analysis applies only if the DM is a rat bastard (as I am) and uses effective tactics.

The best solution here is the buckler and bastard sword. A buckler shield is inobstrusive and does not interfere with your ability to hold things in both hands, such as your sword, and with a bastard sword, you can strike with either the one-handed or two-handed grips, depending on whether defense has become more important, or damage capacity.

As a DM, however, when players have high AC, it's time to break out the napalm. Molotov cocktails use a player's touch AC, because even if you hit his armor, he's still on fire. Muhahaha.

 

[El Seso]

Has anyone seen a benefit in using a bastard sword over of a long sword? I haven't been able to justify using a feat for the extra two points of maximum damage.

edit: spelling, grammar

 

[tetsujin28]

You're right -- it's not worth wasting a feat on.