I know it's early and the 2024 version of the game isn't available to everyone yet but...
...I really see great potential with Weapon Mastery allowing WOTC, 3PPs, and homebrewery to create new weapons and add new Weapon Masteries to their games to customize martials to the liking of players and DMs.
I remember listening to SlyFlourish questioning whether Weapon Masteries would slow down the game. And after a while I thought "What if the DM just adds a few new weapons with the identical base stats of current weapons but with a simpler faster to resolve Weapon Mastery?".
Core 5e encourages you to just reflavor your weapons.
What if you just... don't.
My own table has regional and racial weapons that players might have to travel or build relationships to get. What if the Dwarfhammer and Dwarven axe were just the same as the Warhammer and Battleaxe but with the Pummel weapon mastery that lets you add your Constitution modifier to damage. Simple and quick.
But if you want to go to the opposite end and want more complexity, you add the Long Flail and Scourge which are like the Flail and Whip which let you replace an attack with a spin which adds a ton more damage and grapples on hit. Silly headache to DM if you want it.
Unlike simply adding new weapons like people do now, Weapon Mastery doesn't require the downgrading that balancing new weapons with the base ones as Weapon Mastery is an additional aspect.
Although there is a special type of hype in creating magic weapons for treasure, I think adding new weapons with new weapons masteries could potentially be a get addition to keep D&D fresh for warrior players to same way DMs allowing new spells do for casters. It's something that I hop WOTC and other publishers explore.
What are your thoughts?
...I really see great potential with Weapon Mastery allowing WOTC, 3PPs, and homebrewery to create new weapons and add new Weapon Masteries to their games to customize martials to the liking of players and DMs.
I remember listening to SlyFlourish questioning whether Weapon Masteries would slow down the game. And after a while I thought "What if the DM just adds a few new weapons with the identical base stats of current weapons but with a simpler faster to resolve Weapon Mastery?".
Core 5e encourages you to just reflavor your weapons.
What if you just... don't.
My own table has regional and racial weapons that players might have to travel or build relationships to get. What if the Dwarfhammer and Dwarven axe were just the same as the Warhammer and Battleaxe but with the Pummel weapon mastery that lets you add your Constitution modifier to damage. Simple and quick.
But if you want to go to the opposite end and want more complexity, you add the Long Flail and Scourge which are like the Flail and Whip which let you replace an attack with a spin which adds a ton more damage and grapples on hit. Silly headache to DM if you want it.
Unlike simply adding new weapons like people do now, Weapon Mastery doesn't require the downgrading that balancing new weapons with the base ones as Weapon Mastery is an additional aspect.
Although there is a special type of hype in creating magic weapons for treasure, I think adding new weapons with new weapons masteries could potentially be a get addition to keep D&D fresh for warrior players to same way DMs allowing new spells do for casters. It's something that I hop WOTC and other publishers explore.
What are your thoughts?
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