Malhost Zormaeril
First Post
Aust Diamondew said:Exotic weapons in DnD aren't exotic because they are from a different culture or some far away land but because they gain an additional mechanical benefit(s) over martial weapons and are thus more difficult to use requiring a feat.
They should really rename them, as the term 'exotic weapon' is a misnomer.
That's true for some weapons, but untrue for others. Lots of specialised weapons introduced in splatbooks wind up in the Exotic category because they're weird and usually a hallmark of some kind of society, but aren't particularly good from a mechanics standpoint. For example, for double weapons, they're all exotic, save for the quarterstaff, which is simple. Now, it is true that the exotic double weapons all do 1d8/1d8 or 1d8/1d6 while the staff does 1d6/1d6, but I hardly think that difference justifies two whole familiarity categories...
The same thing is valid for firearms, which are slightly better than crossbows (1d12 for a musket, I think, vs. 1d10 for a heavy crossbow) but it does cost around 1.3 gp a shot, very much more expensive than the 1 sp for a crossbow bolt.
Similarly, bastard swords and dwarven waraxes are only exotic if you want to wield them one-handed, a kind of poor man's Monkey Grip. Otherwise you're fine with Martial Weapon Proficiency.
Finally, some of the (in my opinion) best weapons in the game are Simple or Martial. For high damage output, you're much better off with a scythe than an orc double axe. And don't even get me started on the whip!
Still, that's neither here nor there, is it? We'll have to see if the folks at Wizards think they can do better than this. I'm not counting on it, though.