D&D 5e weapons table Breakdown
An over analysis of a table we all love fudging with
Table Of Contents
Introduction--PG3
Weapons Table--PG3
Initial Analysis--PG4
Honorable mentions--PG4
Flaws--PG4
Further analysis--PG5
Weapons list explanation--PG5
Simple Melee Weapons--PG5
Simple Ranged Weapons--PG6
Martial Melee Weapons--PG6
Martial Ranged Weapons--PG7
Properties--PG8
"Not a spear fix"--PG8
"There can only be one fix"--PG9
"Don’t throw your cutlery fix"--PG10
"I can’t believe it has a function fix"--PG10
2
Introduction
T
he purpose of this exercise is to analyze the
weapons table in order to have a better
understanding of the structure behind it so
that we may have as informed of a
understanding of how to change/ create
homebrew weapons.
We will achieve this by first deconstructing the structural
identity of the weaponry to understand why each weapon has
the stats and properties that it does; to help us with this we
have taken the standard alphabetically listed chart and reorganized it.
3
Initial Analysis
T
he first step in our analysis is to take a quick
overview of the above table and mark weapons
whose design is simulacra of one another;
Weapons can be said to be simulacra when
they deal the same damage dice and type (1d4,
piercing), and have near identical properties.
There are many weapons which are identical
to one another except for damage type; this is perfectly fine
because it provides a mechanical choice in difference as
opposed to the weapons mentioned hereafter which illustrate
flaws in the table.
Flaws in this instance meaning a lack of meaningful
mechanical choice when picking among these weapons; the
reason I consider this a flaw is because the purpose of the
original weapons table was to keep it streamlined and simple
and whatever weapon isn’t on the list use a weapon which
you could consider it analogous to and just call it the weapon
you had originally wanted to use. (There is even an entire
section on this in the DMG PG41). So with that spirit in mind
let us look at the following flaws, but first a couple of...
Honorable Mentions
Quarterstaff<spear:
The quarterstaff and spear are similar in that they both have
the versatile trait and have the same dice code, the difference
is that the quarterstaff can’t be thrown and deals a different
damage type. The damage type difference is enough to
distinguish the 2 weapons, with that said though if we ignore
the damage type we see that it’s the exact same weapon
except you can’t throw it meaning your potential options is
more limited than the spear, considering that both are simple
weapons with the same damage amount, there should be
something to compensate for that difference otherwise the
quarterstaff is flat-out inferior to the spear.
Light-Crossbow ≤ Longbow:
On the surface they seem like similar weapons except that the
Longbow outshines everything in terms or range, also the
Light-crossbow has the loading property meaning you’re only
making 1shot/round with it; with that said how often can you
make 2 or more attacks with a longbow.
The reason I’m mentioning this relationship is different then
what follows in that unlike the rest this relationship does have
a mechanical choice albeit a forced one; the differences being
that the longbow breaks the mold in terms of the ranged
property being 50% better than the next best weapon (heavycrossbow) in terms of distance, that and the loading property
limiting the numbers of attack you can make per round. This
difference is further reinforced mechanically by showing that
the more limited weapon is a simple weapon and the more
effective one a martial weapon, this is why I say that it is a
forced difference. With that being said I want to clear the air a
bit by saying I actually like this “forced difference” because it
further reinforces the idea of a martial weapon being better
than a simple one, something that can’t be said about the first
item in our list of flaws.
4
Flaws
Flaws
trident≤Spear:
They are the exact same weapon except that the trident is a
martial weapon meaning less chars are going to have easy
access to it, this also breaks the idea of martial weapons
being superior because here are two near identical weapons
which begs the question why would you ever get the more
expensive one.
Glaive=halberd:
Pretty self-explanatory, they are the exact same weapon.
Dart<Dagger:
At first glance these weapons appear similar; despite one
being a melee weapon and the other being a ranged weapon
they both seem to have nearly identical mechanical functions,
that is until you look deeper into the specifics of their few
differences. Firstly, it should be noted that because the dart is
a ranged weapon any attack made using that weapon with an
enemy that is not incapacitated at melee range is made with
disadvantage. This alone is enough to relegate the dart as
nothing more than an inferior dagger, however when coupled
with the fact that the dagger also has the light property
effectively allowing it to be used as a 2nd attack as a bonus
action, these things coupled together makes the dart wish
that it was comparable to the dagger.
the best weapon
And Finally the pièce de résistance, what if I told you that the
lowest damage code for a weapon is 1, what if I also told you
that the weapon that deals the least amount of damage was a
martial weapon, what if I also told you it has the loading
property so meaning you could only take 1 shot with it per
round with it. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the blowgun.
Now you must be thinking as a martial weapon surly it has
some redeeming qualities, perhaps like with the longbow it
outranges its non-martial weapon competition…. Nope.
Except for the dart and net it is the shortest range ranged
weapon, it beats out thrown melee weapons because ranged
weapons have a better range efficiency, and even then it is
outclassed by the javelin. Seriously though of all the weapon
designs this one did drop the ball, it feels like the blowgun is
supposed to fit its own specific niche and function but the
mechanics it has doesn’t lend it the opportunity to do that.
Further analysis
Moving on from the negative we can make some generalized
observations on the structure of certain properties most
notably the range property and dice code. with the ranged
property we can note that when the payload is thrown by
hand the max range is 3 times the effective range, in
comparison when using a mechanism to fire the payload the
max range is a 4x multiplier*. With the dice code we can see
that there are 5 degrees of variability when it comes to the
damage potential of the dice IE how much the max roll is, but
there are 6 degrees of variability when it comes to statistical
average of said roll. specifically when we look at 1d12 vs 2d6
both have the same max potential damage(12), but the
average value of a 2d6 roll is higher than a 1d12 (7 and 6.5
respectively).
additionally all 6 of the weapons with the light property are
found on the weaker end of the table with half of them having
the thrown property, 2/3rd of them being the lowest dice
code, one of them has the finesse property, and another
which has the loading property is the only martial weapon
with the light property. Conversely looking at the 7 weapons
with the heavy property all of them exist at the bottom half of
the table. Almost the entire weaker half has the reach
property, the exception being the heavy-crossbow which is a
ranged weapon with the loading property. The stronger half
has no additional properties aside from the two-handed
property which all heavy weapons have. And finally the
versatile weapons exist evenly split between the 1d6 and 1d8
dice code, with the trident/spear weapons having the thrown
property. Besides that the only other weapon with reach is
the whip which is substantially weaker than the other
weapons with reach, but unlike them the whip is not a heavy
weapon and also has the finesse property. No weapon within
the lower half of the table has the finesse property. The
ammunition and loading properties are exclusive to ranged
weapons, and finally the special property further
distinguishes weapons which may initially seem similar.
DnD 5e weapons list re-organized
categorically: firstly by weapon
category (simple, Martial) followed by
dice code, and finally alphabetically.
This first table (see above) allows us to quickly rank each
weapon among their peers and to notice patterns and
correlations between the weapons properties and its dice
code. Using this table as a reference we can create A list (see
below) which is also categorized by dice code, but now we
separate the simple weapons, martial, melee, and ranged
weapons from each other in order to: 1) be able to make exact
comparisons among weapons within the same weapon type,
2) extrapolate logical "upgrades" between the weapons in
different weapon types and properties, 3) to present the list in
a way that is analogous to how it was originally presented.
Simple Melee Weapons
Name
Dice
cost Code
Damage
type
Club
1sp 1d4 Bludgeoning
Properties
weight
Light
2lb.
Finesse, light,
thrown,
(range20/60)
1lb.
Light
2gp 1d4 Bludgeoning Light, thrown,
Hammer
(range20/60)
2lb.
Dagger
Sickle
2gp 1d4
Slashing
1gp 1d4
slashing
Handaxe 5gp 1d6
Slashing
Light, thrown 2 lb.
(range 20/60)
Piercing
Thrown (range 2lb.
30/120)
Javelin
5sp 1d6
Mace
5gp 1d6 Bludgeoning
Light
-
2lb.
4lb.
Quarterstaff 2sp 1d6 Bludgeoning Versatile(1d8) 4lb.
Spear
1gp 1d6 Bludgeoning
Thrown,
(range20/60),
versatile(1d8)
Greatclub 2sp 1d8 Bludgeoning Two-handed
3lb.
10lb.
Analytic Description
Club:
compared to the mace has the Light property; this lowers the
dice code by one degree, halves the weight, and divides the
cost by 50.
Dagger:
The Dagger compared to the mace has the Finesse property;
this halves the weight.
Light Hammer:
The Light Hammer compared to the club has all the same
stats, except that it also has the thrown property; this
multiplies the cost by 20. Comparing to the club we can see
that the thrown property does not decrease dice code degree.
Sickle:
The Sickle is the Slashing damage equivalent to the club, but
costs 10x as much.
Handaxe:
The slashing equivalent to the light hammer, except its dice
code is one degree higher and costs 2.5x more. Same damage
code and price as a mace, half the weight and it can be
thrown.
Javelin:
The Javelin compared to the spear is half the cost, 2/3rds the
weight, and an improved throwing range (both effective and
max) the weight change between the javelin, spear and
quarterstaff are noteworthy, especially when considering the
light and thrown properties.
Mace:
Your standard bludgeoning weapon; considering that it has
no extra properties, we can use this as a standard to compare
the other weapons to.
5
Quarterstaff:
The Quarterstaff compared to the mace has the versatile
property while dividing the cost by 25. important note, adding
the versatile property did not change the weight of the
weapon like the light property did, though the dice code does
change. When two-handing this weapon it is equivalent to the
Great club.
Spear:
Compared to the Quarterstaff the spear also has the thrown
property is 3/4 the weight and costs 5x as much.
Greatclub:
The Greatclub compared to the mace has the two-handed
property; this ups code one degree higher, costs 25x less, and
is 2.5 times the weight. From here we can infer that the twohanded per increases the dice code by 1 degree.
Simple Ranged Weapons
Name
Dice
cost Code
Damage
type
Dart
5cp 1d4
Piercing
Sling
1sp 1d4 Bludgeoning Ammunition,
(range30/120)
Properties
Martial Melee Weapons
Name
Dice
cost Code
Damage
type
Properties
weight
Whip
2gp 1d6
Slashing
Finesse, light
2lb.
Scimitar 25gp 1d6
Slashing
Finesse, light
3lb.
Shortsword 10gp 1d6
Piercing
Finesse, light
2lb.
5gp 1d6
Piercing
Thrown,
(range20/60),
versatile(1d8)
4lb.
Battleaxe 10gp 1d8
Slashing
Trident
Flail
Finesse, thrown, 1/4lb.
(range20/60)
-
Shortbow 25gp 1d6
Piercing
Ammunition,
(range80/320),
two-handed
2lb.
L.
25gp 1d8
crossbow
Piercing
Ammunition,
(range80/320),
loading, twohanded
5lb.
The most basic hand-thrown (max range is 3x the effective
range) ranged weapon, it is inferior to dagger due to being a
ranged weapon it has disadvantage on attacks within melee
range, Also it lacks the light property. Besides that it is
substantially cheaper and 1/4th the weight.
Sling:
The most basic one handed mechanical (max range is 4x the
effective range) ranged weapon, uses stone or metal weights
as ammunition. Compared to the Dart we can see that the
difference is in damage type and whether or not the payload
is propelled by one’s own strength or mechanical means.
Shortbow:
The basic Bow: two-handed mechanical ranged weapon uses
arrows for ammunition. Compared to the Sling the shortbow
is two handed and its dice code increases by one degree.
Light Crossbow:
The standard crossbow: two-handed mechanical ranged
weapon uses bolts for ammunition. Compared to the
Shortbow the light crossbow gains the loading property; its
dice code is one degree higher, is 2.5 times heavier while
being the same cost. We can infer that the loading property is
what’s increasing the dice code.
6
2lb.
Slashing
Morning 15gp 1d8
star
Piercing
-
4lb.
25gp 1d8
Piercing
Finesse
2lb.
Warpick 10gp 1d8
Piercing
Versatile(1d10) 3lb.
versatile(1d10) 2lb.
War
15gp 1d8 Bludgeoning versatile(1d10) 2lb.
hammer
Glaive
20gp 1d10
Slashing
heavy, reach,
two-handed
6lb.
Halberd 20gp 1d10
Slashing
heavy, reach,
two-handed
6lb.
5gp 1d10
Piercing
heavy, reach,
two-handed
18lb.
Greataxe 30gp 1d12
Slashing
Heavy, twohanded
7lb.
10gp 1d12
Piercing
Reach, special
6lb.
Greatsword 50gp 2d6
Slashing
Heavy, twohanded
6lb.
10gp 2d6 Bludgeoning Heavy, twohanded
10lb.
Pike
Lance
Analytic Description
Dart:
-
Longsword 15gp 1d8
Rapier
weight
10gp 1d8 Bludgeoning
Versatile(1d10) 4lb.
Maul
Analytic Description
whip:
Compared to the scimitar the whip trades the light property
for reach, consequently the dice code goes down and is 12.5
times cheaper.
Scimitar:
The Scimitar is identical to the shortsword except 1lb.
heavier; and 2.5 x more expensive.
Shortsword:
The shortsword compared to the dagger losses the thrown
property while increasing its dice code, is double the weight
and 5x more expensive. The shortsword is identical to the
Scimitar except 1 lb. lighter; and 2.5 x cheaper.
Trident:
The Trident is identical to the spear, except it requires
proficiency with martial weapons and is 5 times more
expensive, it is inferior to the spear as a whole. Also
considering the simple weapon martial weapons relationship
between the (cross)bow weapons it should be 1d8(1d10) if
melee weapons follow the same schema the ranged weapons
do, they dont.
Battleaxe:
Compared to the Warpick the Battleaxe gains the versatile
trait, and is 2x more expensive. The Battleaxe, Longsword,
and warhammer are equivalent with the battleaxe being
1/3rd cheaper than the other 2; the warhammer being the
lightest.
Flail:
Like the Mace we will use the flail, morning star, and warpick
as a basis to compare the other weapons to as the dice code
is the same among all these property-less weapons. It should
be noted that the Morningstar is double the weight of the
others, while the warpick is the cheapest with the others
being either 2x or 3x more expensive.
Longsword:
Compared to the Warpick the Battleaxe gains the versatile
trait, and is 2x more expensive. The Battleaxe, Longsword,
and warhammer are equivalent; with the battleaxe being
1/3rd cheaper than the other two, the warhammer being the
lightest.
Morningstar:
Like the Mace we will use the flail, morning star, and warpick
as a basis to compare the other weapons to as the dice code
is the same among all these property-less weapons. It should
be noted that the Morningstar is double the weight of the
others, while the warpick is the cheapest with the others
being either 2x or 3x more expensive.
Halberd:
Compared to the Greatsword the Halberd gains the reach
perk and subsequently its dice code goes down by 1. It is
identical to the glaive and equivalent to the Pike.
Pike:
Compared to the Greatsword the glaive gains the reach perk
and subsequently its dice code goes down by 1. It is the
piercing damage version of the heavy reach weapons.
Greataxe:
Compared to the Warpick, the Greataxe gains the heavy and
two-handed properties; subsequently its dice code goes up by
two degrees. It is almost identical to the Greatsword and
maul but the 2d6 dice code changes the average from 6.5 to 7.
Disregarding the slight average buff the maul is still the best
because it is 1/3rd or 1/5 the price of the other options.
Lance:
to the warpick its dice code increased by 2 degrees gains the
reach and special perks; costing 2x as much. When looking at
the special rules we can see that the weapon does require
being two-handed when one isn’t mounted. Taking this into
account we can compare the Lance and pike where we can
see that the pike is half the price, a dice code degree smaller
while the lance has disadvatage at melee range.
Greatsword:
Compared to the Warpick, the Greataxe gains the heavy and
two-handed properties; subsequently its dice code goes up by
two degrees. Is almost identical to the Greataxe and maul but
the 2d6 dice code changes the average from 6.5 to 7
Disregarding the slight average buff the maul is still the best
because it is 1/3rd or 1/5 the price of the other options.
Maul:
Rapier:
Compared to the warpick the rapier gains the finesse
property. The rapier is one dice code degree higher than the
shortsword, and is subsequently 2.5x more expensive.
Compared to the Warpick, the Greataxe gains the heavy and
two-handed properties; subsequently its dice code goes up by
two degrees. It is almost identical to the Greataxe and
Greatsword but the 2d6 dice code changes the average from
6.5 to 7. Disregarding the slight average buff the maul is still
the best because it is 1/3rd or 1/5 the price of the other
options.
Warpick:
Martial Ranged Weapons
Like the Mace we will use the flail, morning star, and warpick
as a basis to compare the other weapons to as the dice code
is the same among all these property-less weapons. It should
be noted that the Morningstar is double the weight of the
others, while the warpick is the cheapest with the others
being either 2x or 3x more expensive.
Warhammer:
Compared to the Warpick the Warhammer gains the versatile
trait, and is 3x more expensive. The Battleaxe, Longsword,
and warhammer are equivalent with the battleaxe being
1/3rd cheaper than the other 2, the warhammer being the
lightest.
Glaive:
Compared to the Greatsword the glaive gains the reach perk
and subsequently its dice code goes down by 1. It is identical
to the halberd and equivalent to the Pike.
Name
Dice Damage
cost Code type
Properties
weight
Piercing
Ammunition
(range25/100),
loading
1lb.
Hand 75gp 1d4 Piercing
Crossbow
Ammunition
(range30/120),
light, loading
2lb.
Longbow 50gp 1d8 Piercing
Heavy, (range
150/600), twohanded
2lb.
Blowgun 10gp
1
Heavy 50gp 1d10 Piercing Ammunition (range 18lb.
crossbow
100/400), heavy,
loading, two-handed
Net
1gp
-
-
Special, thrown
(range 5/15)
3lb.
7
Analytic Description
Blowgun:
Without a doubt the worst weapon on the surface, need
martial proficiency to use, has loading so can only make one
attack per round, and it does one damage. Has potential when
it comes to administering venoms or toxins to the target.
Hand Crossbow:
comparatively loses the two-handed property, gains the light
property, cost 3x as much. This would mean that the hand
crossbow should be 2 dice code degrees less than the light
crossbow which would make it 1 d4 damage, but the fact that
it is a martial weapon increases it back to 1d6.
Longbow:
two-handed mechanical ranged weapon uses arrows for
ammunition. Compared to the shortbow the longbow gains
the heavy property, its dice code increases by one degree, and
it costs 2x as much.
Heavy Crossbow:
Two-handed mechanical ranged weapon uses bolts for
ammunition. Compared to the light crossbow the heavy
crossbow gains the heavy property; its dice code is one
degree higher, and costs 2x as much. From this we can infer
that the heavy property is providing a dice code increase.
When compared to the long bow we can also see that the
loading property is also conferring a dice code increase.
Net:
It is completely different compared to the other weapons due
to its special property; the special rule gives a good primer
how special weapons for restraining can be structured.
Lastly we will be taking a look at the properties themselves in
more detail.
All heavy weapons are Melee have the two handed property;
deals the two highest dice code avg. (d10-2d6), the weaker
half have another property associated with them. All heavy
weapons are martial weapons
Light:
All light weapons are on the weaker side of the dice code avg.
(d4-d6), and most of them have one or more extra properties.
Loading:
All weapons with the loading property are ranged weapons.
All weapons with the loading property have the ammunition
property, they are found on all but the highest dice code avg.
(d4-d10)
Range:
weapons with the range property are either melee weapons
or ranged weapons; melee weapons will have the thrown
property and ranged weapons and ranged weapons will have
the ammunition property.
Reach:
Almost all reach weapons have the Heavy property. The
exception to this (whip) is the only reach weapon with the
finesse property.
Special: special weapons have unique functions.
Thrown:
All weapons with the thrown property are Melee weapons
(not the dart) and have a range property whose max range is
3x its effective range (except for the javelin who has a 4x max
range). They are in the bottom half of the dice code avg.(d4d6)
Two-Handed:
Properties
all Two-handed weapons are Melee have the Heavy property.
Deals the two highest dice code avg. (d10-2d6), the weaker
half have another property associated with them. All Two
Handed weapons are martial weapons.
Ammunition:
Versatile:
All weapons with the ammunition property are ranged
weapons and have a range property whose max range is 4x
its effective range. The property is found on all but the
highest damage dice code avg.(d4-d10).
Dice code:
The dice rolled on a successful hit; It is important to
remember that the dice code is a representation of a
statistical gradiant.
Damage type:
the type of damage the weapon deals
Finesse:
All finesse weapons are melee weapons (not the dart), most
have one or more extra property associated with it. All but the
highest dice code avg. (d4, d10-d12). Has the finesse property.
Almost all of them are martial weapons.
Heavy:
8
Heavy:
All versatile weapons are melee weapons; they sit in the
middle of the dice code avg. (d6-d8) with the weaker half
having one or more extra properties.
Weight:
How much the weapon weights (some things are just simple).
fixes
"not a spear fix"
Finally with all the Information and patterns that have been
observed in mind we will offer up some possible solutions for
the flaws which were previously mentioned and see what
changes are the least invasive relative to functional difference
we can achieve.
The first set of weapons we should look at is the
quarterstaff, spear, trident. As noted earlier the quarterstaff
feels weaker than the spear as it has nothing to rivals the
spears ability to be thrown, and conversely the trident being a
martial weapon compared to the spear should feel stronger
even though they are the same.
Based on this we can assume that there wont be a need to
change the spear, instead we should buff the quarterstaff so it
becomes a side grade to the spear, and we should do a buff of
similar strength though preferably with different type for the
trident; the reason a differnt type of buff would be preferred is
because it increases variability thus increasing player choice.
Also, in order to make a change that serves its goal but is
also believable you need to consider the fictional and
narrative aspects of the weapon, that is to say the changes
you make to the weapons properties should be believable.
With all this in mind lets consider any properties which
may make logical sense for the quarterstaff to have. a quick
overview and we can see the some of the logical ones are
Finesse, Light, and reach.
If we gave it finesse it would be comparable to the
shortsword, and scimitar when held in one hand and would
effectively be the bludgeoning alternative to the finesse
weapons at 1d6, or when two-handed it is comparable to the
rapier with the 2 of them being the only finesse weapons at
1d8 one being piercing the other being bludgeoning.
Considering it fictionally the dexterous character with a
staff, broom, or other long stick using his ability to
outmaneuver his opponent is a fairly common trope( think
Aang from the last air bender). This seems like a very viable
option.
Neither the Light nor reach property seem like viable
options mechanically or narratively speaking. the light
property would mean that it could be used as a one handed
bonus action attack for 1d6 which is not unprecedented as
shown by the handaxe, but the quarterstaff doesn’t fit the
same profile as the other light weapons which all seem to be
hand sized weaponry. Also while being a long weapon the
quarterstaff isn’t long enough to confer a reach bonus, also
aside from the whip it would break the mold of the weapons
with reach having the two-handed and heavy property.
So the most logical change would be to add the finesse
property, cementing the quarterstaff deeply into a niche of its
own.
Now looking at the trident we can see that we hit a
roadblock if we just try to add a property, as similarly to the
Quarterstaff no other property makes sense except finesse,
and even then a trident isn’t that functionally different from a
spear(point stabby end at enemy and thrust or throw).
So instead of adding a property to buff the weapon we're
going to need to do something else. looking at the properties
it already has we know that it is a martial weapon meaning
we expect it to be more functional or effective than a simple
weapon, the versatile property meaning its dice code goes up
when two-handing, and the thrown property. Now considering
that it is a martial weapon, is there any property that the
trident already has that can be improved.
short answer yes; long answer if we look at the versatile
trait really quick it should be clear that the dice code going up
even higher doesn’t make much sense so improving that
won’t work, this leaves the thrown properties range as the
only option.
and amazingly there is already a precedent set for a hand
thrown weapon which has a better range than the rest, that
being the Javelin. Unlike all other hand thrown weapons, the
javelin has range that is comparable to certain simple and
martial ranged weapons; also the javelin has a 4x max range
just as an ammunition based ranged weapon would. Using
the javelin as a guide we can try to find a range buff that suits
our needs.
the easiest fix would be to simply use the same range code
that the javelin uses, this if the least invasive option but is
seems a tad lack luster so we can try upping the ante a bit
like so (40/160), I like the idea of the javelin having the
highest thrown range because out of all the thrown weapons
it is the only martial one.
On the other hand the javelin is unique because of its
specific design is to be thrown as opposed to the other
weapons which can be thrown as an additional option.
So compromising between these 2 ideas we go back to the
3x efficiency but we increase the effective distance, doing this
we get either (40/120) or (50/150)
It’s kind of convenient that the 40ft effective range has the
same max range as some of the ranged weapons, this way we
can make a comparison.
when we do this it may seem like the trident is encroaching
on the hand crossbow as they would be similar martial
ranged weapons with the trident having a the advantage of
being a martial weapon vs. a ranged weapon very much the
same problem with the dagger and dart on top of also having
the versatile trait. The difference to notice is that the handcrossbow has the light property and as such can be taken as a
bonus action.
so compared to the javelin the trident would have only
slightly better effective range, this buff seems pretty weak
especially when we consider just how much stronger the
longbow compared to the other ranged weapons, as the
martial thrown weapon the trident should have a similar
effect, that’s why i prefer (50/150) it has a clear range
advantage over its competition, it also has an interesting
synergy with the longbow, that being that the tridents max
range would then be the longbows effective range.
The only downside to this is that the max range may seem
absurdly high, but when you take into consideration that the
world record for distance thrown with a javelin is almost
350ft, less than half of that for equipment that’s not modern
seems decently fair.
Dice
Name cost Code
Damage
type
Properties
Quarter 2sp 1d6 Bludgeoning
Finesse,
staff
Versatile(1d8)
Trident 5gp 1d6
Piercing
weight
4lb.
Range (50/150), 4lb.
Versatile(1d8)
"there can only be one fix"
As the name implies, when it comes to the glaive/halberd
there design and function are much too similar, for this
reason one of them will need to be voted off the island.
the other option is giving one of them finesse but that
doesn’t make much sense narratively, these are large
weapons which are difficult to maneuver.
9
That is unless we don’t take glaive to mean the historical
weapon, but instead we interpret it as the glaive found in pop
culture A.K.A the twin blade. if this is the case then we would
remove the reach property and add the finesse property.
Dice Damage
Name cost Code
type
Properties
weight
Glaive 20gp 1d10 slashing Finesse, Heavy, Two- 4lb.
Handed
I leave the choice in the hands of each DM.
"Don’t throw your cutlery fix"
So how can we go about improving the dart so that it is on
par with the Dagger? Before we continue a now important
topic that we've for the most part skipped is cost; cost of
weapons for the most part is semi arbitrary as since
inevitable you will have the gold to buy any item you could
want regardless of your proficiency or lack thereof, or even its
availability. What is important to note though are a couple of
simple analytic conclusions anyone who has gotten this deep
in should have picked up.
Namely weapons with more properties tend to be more
expensive, martial weapons tend to be more expensive,
weapons get more expensive the higher the dice code.
Besides that, weapons which are primarily used for
throwing such as the javelin or dart are cheaper because you
are expected to lose them faster, a process similar t buying
ammunition. so keeping its' cheaper price in the back of our
heads let’s try to see how we can improve it.
Being a ranged weapon, its naturally going to have a
disadvantage in melee so perhaps in order to compensate for
that we increase its potency. There are 2 main ways of going
about this, we can improve the range like we did with the
trident, or we can increase the dice code.
increasing the range to that of the javelin seems like a good
idea, further cementing the idea that these are expendable
weapons.
Increasing the dice code to 1d6 makes just makes it an
inferior javelin.
The minor buff of increasing its range to (30/120) seems
like a logical way to split them apart, still it feels lack luster.
Looking back at how we increased the tridents range
property, after initially trying to give t the same efficiency as
the javelin we instead reverted to the 3x efficiency and
increase our effective range in a way that was analogous to
the efficiency change. With all this in mind I have settled on
altering the dart as follows.
Dice Damage
Name cost Code
type
Dart 5cp 1d4
piercing
Properties
weight
Finesse, Range
(40/120), thrown
1/4lb.
giving it a a large effective range while keeping the max
range similar puts the dart at a very good niche in between all
the other thrown weapons most of whom would out class it if
we simply increased it to (30/120).
And finally the “I can't believe it has a
function"
All things considered i find this fix fairly easy, when i think of
the blow gun I think of a stealthy weapon used to deliver
poison to people silently.
10
It seems that this is what most people try to do with it in
one way or another, but the lack of definition in how that
functions leaves this weapon feeling pointless when looked at
from a purely mechanical perspective.
So given that we will be creating a special property for the
blowgun to better define what its function is.
In order to do this well we should first read the 2 special
properties already present in the original table.
We can see that in the case of the lance the special rules
indicates situations where the lance is less functional than
normal; meanwhile the net special rules give a detailed
description of how the net functions as it has no damage
based applicability in combat.
We want a special rule that is structured similarly to these,
something like:
Blowgun special property
The blowgun is a deathly quiet weapon which shoots out
hard to detect needles; while in stealth behind cover it is
possible to attack an enemy with this weapon and remain
undetected.
I order for this to happen you roll a stealth check when you
make the attack regardless of whether or not you hit; any
creatures who can see the trajectory of the needle when fired
makes a perception check against the stealth check you
rolled. On a fail they don’t see the needle, on a success they
spot where the projectile was fired from but don’t necessarily
see you. Additionally if a creature being hit is not looking at
you it makes a perception check against the stealth roll. On a
fail he doesn’t notice the attack, and on a success the target
knows that he has been attacked but not where the attack
came from.
Dice Damage
Name cost Code type
Blowgun 10gp 1
Properties
weight
piercing Ammunition, loading, 1lb.
range (25/100),
special
Special
When making an attack roll with this weapon roll a stealth
check, any hostile target which has the opportunity to
detect you rolls a WIS(perception) saving throw whose DC
is the result of your stealth roll made for the attack.
Hostile targets will have the opportunity to detect you if:
they are looking in your direction when you make the
attack, or when you are hit by the attack. on a fail you go
undetected, on a success they know what direction the
attack came from.
Now after having read all of this, we have hopefully
garnered a better understanding of the weapons table. And if
choosing to use the patch for the weapons or make your own
homebrew content that you’ll have a better understanding of
what you're doing with each change you make.
Tune in next time( if we ever have a next time) when we will
over analyze the armor table.
Credits
Official content is by Wizards of the coast, perturbations
thereof is by pktenacious.
Version 1.0