D&D 4E Weapon variety in 4E

[Keenath]

And considering that this work has already been done in the form of the aforementioned Weapon Group feats from Unearthed Arcana, it would more likely be "fiendishly easy".

I'm not a HUGE fan of the UA weapon groups, largely becuase some of the groups are too big and others too restricted. Claw Weapons and Flails are stupidly small groups, while Maces and Clubs is huge (why is a club not a basic weapon, anyway?) and Swords is very broad.

Add in the fact that the Monk and Druid groups make no sense, and it's really gonna need redoing.

But your example was "A dwarf fighter who's focused on axes."

Yeah, my fault for using sloppy language -- I didn't mean he had the Weapon Focus feat, I just meant he uses axes all the time because that's what the player wants his character to use, because axes are traditional for dwarves.

I don't have a problem with someone trained in the arts of war having basic proficiency with common weapons of war.

Well, while I tend to agree, rapiers aren't war weapons -- they're duelling blades -- and it's a little strange that a guy who's trained with axes can't help but know polearms too.

But do these grouips make sense? Are pick and hammers really so similar in use?

Well... yes, pretty much. A pick is just a hammer with a point stuck on, isn't it?

Or Spear and Guisamre?

Well, I just figured putting all the polearms together was a good idea. You could split that up into spearlike polearms and halberd (or 'axelike') polearms, but as I recall, most polearms include a spike of some sort (and are thus usable as a thrusting spear) regardless of what other sharp bits they have one them.

Rapier and Dagger?

I thought those two worked pretty well together -- they're both light blades that are finessable and depend on accuracy more than massive strength.

Scimitar and Greatsword?

Eh. Saber-style weapons seem close enough to fit into the sword group -- otherwise you'd have to split up the single-edge blades and the double-edge blades, and that doesn't seem to make much sense IMO.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

But do these grouips make sense? Are pick and hammers really so similar in use? Or Spear and Guisamre? Rapier and Dagger? Scimitar and Greatsword?

(But for the record: I like this grouping)

Just to answer this, from a usage point of view, definately no, they don't make any sense at all. It's hard to think of two 1h melee weapons whose usage is more different than a kukri and a rapier, for example. Kukris, usage-wise, should be in with the axes, or maybe with "chopping" swords/knives. Pick and hammer are quite similar, but as you say, scimitar and greatsword (which is in no way whatsoever a "saber")? Not at all. Still bizarre that a "falchion" in D&D is a big curved 2h sword, when historically, pretty much every single weapon ever called that was a mid-length 1h chopping sword with a point.

Still, whilst they make little sense usage-wise, the groups aren't terrible in practical terms (though I really would move kukri somewhere else).