D&D (2024) Which Weapon Mastery is Your Favorite?

[CleverNickName]

The latest Unearthed Arcana (April 26, 2023), "Player's Handbook Playtest 5," has a brand-new mechanic called Weapon Mastery. It comes in nine new flavors, which are keyed to certain weapons. Most of them have resemblances to cantrips, warlock invocations, and other stuff you might have seen before:

Cleave: melee attacks only. If you hit a creature with this weapon, you can attack a second creature within 5 feet.​

Applies to: Greataxe, halberd​

Similar to: green flame blade cantrip​

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Flex: the weapon always deals the weapon's Versatile damage.​

Applies to: Quarterstaff, longsword, war pick, warhammer​

Similar to: --​

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Graze: the weapon deals damage when it misses its target.​

Applies to: Glaive, greatsword​

Similar to: --​

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Nick: make one extra attack without using your Bonus action, and only once per turn.​

Applies to: Dagger, light hammer, sickle, scimitar​

Similar to: --​

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Push: on a hit, you can push your target up to 10 feet away.​

Applies to: Greatclub, heavy crossbow, pike​

Similar to: repelling blast invocation​

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Sap: a creature hit by this weapon has Disadvantage on its next attack roll before the start of your next turn.​

Applies to: Flail, mace, morningstar​

Similar to: vicious mockery cantrip​

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Slow: if you hit and deal damage, that creature's speed drops by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.​

Applies to: Club, javelin, light crossbow, longbow, musket sling, whip​

Similar to: ray of frost cantrip, lance of lethargy invocation​

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Topple: creatures struck by this weapon must make a save throw or be knocked prone​

Applies to: Battleaxe, lance, trident​

Similar to: --​

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Vex: if you hit a creature with this weapon and deal damage, you get Advantage on your next attack against that creature.​

Applies to: Blowgun, dart, hand axe, hand crossbow, pistol, rapier, shortbow, shortsword​

Similar to: true strike cantrip​

So now that you know what they all are, and how they all work, I have two questions for you:

Question No. 1: Which one is your favorite? No wishy-washy cop-outs here; you can only have one favorite in this poll. (But feel free to list as many as you want in the comments below.)

Question No. 2: And why? What made you decide to vote the way you did?

 

[CleverNickName]

I voted for Nick, for three reasons.

1. It gives some love to my favorite light weapon, the sickle
2. They put a double-check on it to prevent balance issues ("one extra attack, and only once per turn")
3. It's clever, and it's my name.

 

[Bayushi_seikuro]

I like Nick because I like two-weapon fighting and it feels in-line with a monster's Multiattack. It has limitations about how often and what you can use with it.

 

[Gorck]

I chose Cleave because . . . well, just look at my avatar.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Cleave gives you what you cannot get otherwise, the saddest little bit of AoE potential...

 

[Vaalingrade]

Graze. Sets an important precedent. However meekly

 

[CleverNickName]

Graze. Sets an important precedent. However meekly

Why do you consider that precedent "important"?

 

[JAMUMU]

Why do you consider that precedent "important"?

I can't answer for @Vaalingrade , but whenever I've been undertaking serious weapon training, the sort with decent sparring, you find that a lot of the time you're not scoring "hits" against opponents of equal ability, but you do get a lot of "little hits" you weren't necessarily expecting, as the weapon bounces off them in ways you didn't intend. Calling these little hits "grazes" makes sense.

 

[CleverNickName]

If I could choose a second one, I'd choose Topple because it just looks like a lot of fun.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Why do you consider that precedent "important"?

Sorry, your post was something else last time I looked, I swear.

I think it's important in terms of design philosophy and getting rid of the remainder of the old simulationist trappings.

Once we she HP and meat and Hit as physical contact, miss as physical miss, and finally Rules as Physics, a lot of design space opens up that is currently stifled.