D&D (2024) The rapier problem

[Knight_Marshal]

Part of the problem is that scimitar is set up wrong. The saber, also known as a backsword, should be the d6 damage slashing and piercing finesse weapon. The scimitar should be a d8 weapon.

 

[Horwath]

Part of the problem is that scimitar is set up wrong. The saber, also known as a backsword, should be the d6 damage slashing and piercing finesse weapon. The scimitar should be a d8 weapon.

that is not the problem.

only problem can show up in balancing weapon damage die size and weapon properties.

name, design, damage type is just flavor.
you can have scimitar with d6 Slashing, finesse and light and
scimitar d8 Slashing, finesse. and call it "big scimitar"
or d12 Slashing, 2handed, finesse and call it "really big scimitar" or falchion

 

[Yaarel]

Part of the problem is that scimitar is set up wrong. The saber, also known as a backsword, should be the d6 damage slashing and piercing finesse weapon. The scimitar should be a d8 weapon.

Because the word "scimitar" means the same thing as a "sword", there are many different kinds of scimitars.

I am not at all clear about what kind of "scimitar" 5e is talking about. Its d6, finesse and light properties, suggests a small weapon, like a shortsword, about the bladelength of ones forearm. Is this the kind of scimitar that the 5e Weapons Table has in mind?

Probably, in a medievalesque context, from the 1200s onward, the "scimitar" especially refers to the long sabers that the Turkic cavalry used. But this is a kind of longsword, and not at all what the 5e Weapons Table is describing.

I find the Japanese classification of bladelengths most useful and most convenient.
• 1 foot or less = knife
• 1-2 feet (12-24 inches) = shortsword
• 2-3 feet (24-36 inches) = sword
• 3-4 feet (36-48 inches) = longsword
• 4 feet or more = crazy long

The scimitars that the Turkic cavalry wields are between 30 inches and 40 inches. In other words, the "scimitar" is comparable to a "normal" knightly sword or else a longsword.

But this sword-maybe-longsword isnt at all what the 5e Weapons Table is statting.

What is the Weapons Table statting?