Why a rapier is bad for an adventurer

[Paul Farquhar]

TLDW: adventurers (vice military in the video) are more likely to choose a broadsword over a rapier because the rapier has big issues vs multiple opponents and is less likely to break. And three other reasons.

I don’t think rapiers were in D&D originally if my memory serves. They were added in 3e I think, possibly due to the popularity of Princess Bride!

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I think that most players realise rapiers are for fighting duels, not soldiers or monsters, and when they use one embrace the absurdity.

 

[Dioltach]

Bows for instance do damage based on the draw weight of the bow and the weight of the arrow. If D&D was real then the weapons the adventures would use would vary with the campaign style and themes.
Dungeon heavy campaigns, or with a lot of fighting in confined spaces would use shorter weapons and shorter bows. A longbow is a very awkward thing to use in small spaces.

My personal pet peeve: elves having a natural proficiency with the longbow. Because when you live in a forest, what you really need is something that can shoot a hundred yards or more? And the longsword, too. In among the branches and the brush, you can't go wrong with three feet of steel to swing.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

My personal pet peeve: elves having a natural proficiency with the longbow. Because when you live in a forest, what you really need is something that can shoot a hundred yards or more? And the longsword, too. In among the branches and the brush, you can't go wrong with three feet of steel to swing.

It worked for Robin Hood. D&D is about tropes, not logic.

 

[Horwath]

There are many reasons I like str more than dex and one of them is that I never want to be tempted to use a rapier.

In fact, I would use a s d6 shortsword well before a rapier.

I read something about the advantages of the Gladius recently and durability was one of them.

I get people like them but l like any weapon more. Logical? Maybe not. It’s one time when I prefer a d6 to a d8 and will eat that one point per strike every time just to imagine something cooler.

I design a 1Handed finesse slashing weapon and can imagine something cooler and keep the d8 damage die.
It's easy.

 

[Horwath]

My personal pet peeve: elves having a natural proficiency with the longbow. Because when you live in a forest, what you really need is something that can shoot a hundred yards or more? And the longsword, too. In among the branches and the brush, you can't go wrong with three feet of steel to swing.

Bow is a good hunting weapons, so its natural to be used in forests.
And it's excellent for shooting those lowly humans that are "approaching" the forest.

As for longsword and historic elven affinity to dex, shortshord+rapier is a better combo.

That is why we got tasha's options for those weapons. and naturally they axed it for 2024. Geniuses.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

The obvious weapon for a dungeon crawler is a pike. It combines long reach and thrusting action (because you'll often have limited space preventing you from taking a swing); a pike is perfect for holding back a monster in a narrow tunnel.

Your sidearm would be a short sword, something to use at close quarters when a foe gets past the pointy stick. It would probably acquire some morbid slang name, because if a monster is close enough that you need the short sword, your odds of survival are... not good.

Crossbows would be the ranged weapon of choice. Again, they work better in tight spaces than other ranged weapons, and pack a lot of punch for Large-sized foes.

I can't see either a rapier or a broadsword getting much use. It's not that they're bad weapons, they're just designed for very different forms of combat.

A pike is 16 feet long, good luck in a dungeon with one of those.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Yeah, the AD&D books weren't super-accurate about the weapons. There was many an early cleric that used the Lucern Hammer.

I wrote a short essay a while back about how a simple mistake in weapons and history is the reason that scimitar (?!?) ended up being an iconic druid weapon.

D&D General - Druids and Path Dependency: Why the Scimitar Helps Illuminate D&D

In another thread, people are having a great discussion about what, exactly, a D&D (5e) scimitar really is. Like many D&Disms, the inclusion of scimitars is ... well, it's certainly a choice. But reading the thread, I saw a great comment by @Gradine ... They're swords that druids can use I...

www.enworld.org

“The Druid abides.”

 

[Horwath]

A pike is 16 feet long, good luck in a dungeon with one of those.

obviously, you make one with 2 screw on joints for easier trasport.

 

[Dioltach]

obviously, you make one with 2 screw on joints for easier trasport.

And hope you roll high for initiative.