D&D (2024) With Weapon Mastery likely making it in, do you want optional exotic weapons and exotic weapon masteries?

[Shardstone]

every unique weapon mastery they think along the way can be added to base weapon mastery table.
Why make another category?

The other category isnt really the point. Arguing about whether to format it as a table or category is missing the point of the idea.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Most boring response in the thread. Need some more imagination!

Boring.

Mod Note:

You can disagree with someone without being disagreeable. It’s one of the hallmarks of civil discourse. And we expect civility from ENWorld’s posters.

In what way is this civil?

Do better going forward.

 

[tetrasodium]

armor categories have no sense also.
They started good with some str requirements, now they need to make it global for armor.

padded min STR 8
up to plate with min STR of 18.
with every armor having it's own max DEX mod.

Yea they stripped away too many build influenced subjective elements (acp asf variable max dex etc) and didn't apply a hard gating like that wither. I prefer the more variable subjective style used with 3.x armors but that could work if there were stuff between 8&16(ie 1012 14 16) as well

 

[CreamCloud0]

I don't see the need for exotic weapons. Invariably they end up not being any better than regular weapons mechanically because of the costs it requires to be able to use them. An Exotic Weapon requires a feat to use? Well, that exotic weapon's base stats better then be on par with the mechanics you can get when you combine a 2-Handed Weapon and Great Weapon Master or Polearm Master, otherwise you are paying a hefty price just to say you are using a goofy-looking weapon (which you could do otherwise just by taking a normal weapon and saying that it's that goofy weapon.) I have yet to see why it's worth it to have them in the game.

there's no reason that there should be exotic weapons that wouldn't still be compatable with those feats, My multi-targeting chakram would still be compatible with sharpshooter's -5/+10.

 

[CreamCloud0]

armor categories have no sense also.
They started good with some str requirements, now they need to make it global for armor.

padded min STR 8
up to plate with min STR of 18.
with every armor having it's own max DEX mod.

i think medium and heavy armour should be split evenly between the low and high tiers of both dex bonus and str requirement armours, as it stands heavy and medium armour are essentially just two equal but different progression tracks based on if you favour str or dex,

put hide, chain shirt, scale mail, ring mail and chain mail into medium armour and spiked armour, breastplate, halfplate, splint and plate into heavy, that way heavy is actually an upgrade to medium no matter what stat you're using for AC.

 

[DEFCON 1]

there's no reason that there should be exotic weapons that wouldn't still be compatable with those feats, My multi-targeting chakram would still be compatible with sharpshooter's -5/+10.

Yes, but that would require two feats to get there. One for the Exotic Weapon, and one for Sharpshooter.

So as I said... if we are going under the assumption that to gain proficiency in an Exotic Weapon it would cost you a Feat (now granted, if someone has a different method for giving a PC Exotic Weapon proficiency, then that would make this point moot)... then that Exotic Weapon would need to have the power mechanically of a Martial Weapon AND one of the normal weapon Feats that get paired with it. Otherwise, spending the Feat on Exotic Weapon proficiency just isn't worth it in my opinion.

Your multi-targeting chakram would have to be hella powerful to be worth spending the Feat slot to get it, rather than just spending the Feat slot to take GWM or SS on a normal weapon (plus getting it four levels earlier than you would end up having to take it.)

 

[tetrasodium]

i think medium and heavy armour should be split evenly between the low and high tiers of both dex bonus and str requirement armours, as it stands heavy and medium armour are essentially just two equal but different progression tracks based on if you favour str or dex,

put hide, chain shirt, scale mail, ring mail and chain mail into medium armour and spiked armour, breastplate, halfplate, splint and plate into heavy, that way heavy is actually an upgrade to medium no matter what stat you're using for AC.

Medium armor could be made to have interesting progression by linking it to fon instead of strength. Assuming plate mail needed 18 str... Maybe something like
Hide 12 con
Chain shirt 14
Scale 16 con
Breastplate 16 con
Half-plate 18 con

That would leave hide as an option for people who invest a little in con &dex both., Chain for those who put a little in dex and treat con as a secondary stat, then scale/breastplate for significant con with ac/stealth type split, and finally half plate for those who treat con as a near primary stat but can't use heavy armor for whatever reason(ie barbarian).

A split like that would allow medium armor to be a good investable area on a wide range of builds and mesh nicely with the light/heavy armor in marking out a bit of a zone scaling usefully between squishy <-> crunchy. That zone would have some real tradeoffs in build: f/ex it's not so easy for a wizard to get heavy armor Prof or the dex/str to make great use of light armor without self inflicted wounds but 14 or maybe even 16 con along with 12 dex can be made with minor opportunity cost that might make more laser focused on casting builds difficult to swing.

We could go back to squishy being squishy and gish builds coming with costs. Maybe even do something like make heavy armor reduce the relative value of a spell slot or give it asf again.

 

[mamba]

they dont have it.

I know that, it sounded like you were arguing for them getting it

Well, they can have it with a feat.
As it should be. Martials get it as class features, casters need to invest extra resources.

no, not as it should be, they should not have it ever, it's not like a Fighter can suddenly cast spells up to say 3rd level by choosing a feat. I see no reason why wizards should be allowed to use weapon masteries, ever.

 

[mamba]

Boring.

not really, just a different approach, and one I'd argue is less boring than having 4 different longswords that all dip into some masteries pool but come out with different ones that all classes then can / have to use

 

[DEFCON 1]

Think of the possibilities with unique weapon masteries, man. We are one step from a great weapon arts system ala Elden Ring

I don't disagree that it could be possible to create really powerful Exotic Weapons, plus make unique masteries for them to make them even more powerful... I just don't see anyone at WotC who might be willing to do that as part of 5E24 design. Because at the end of the day... really uniquely-designed and powerful Exotic Weapons + masteries just become an alternative equivalent to Magic Weapons, don't they?

Nothing wrong with the idea per se... but is there enough of an audience for them to warrant WotC to design them (rather than a 3PP making a system for players to grab off of DMsG)?