I had a brilliant idea. What if the basic weapons (and armor?) in the core rules were more diverse in statistics? Here's what I'm thinking:
To avoid the pattern of melee combatants only specializing in the "good" weapons (scythe, scimitar, etc) and completely avoiding the more modestly statted weapons, why not make every basic weapon (and armor!) come in different critical ranges and damage dice?
The way the weapons are statted at this point is reasonably illogical to begin with. A scimitar doesn't really "critically hit" more than a longsword, they're both a piece of metal that was probably kept in poor condition at the time and the fragility of the human body made how often the weapon might "Crit" completely moot. So for our fantasy world where we're willing to stretch our imaginiations, why does a curvy sword = better than a straight sword?
I suggest that all weapons come in a basic form that's always x2 crit, and perhaps reducing the damage die on some of the weapons (say max 1d6 for a 1h weapon and 2d4 for a 2h). Then, it's possible (by paying for a masterwork weapon, or perhaps a less expensive solution (Sharpening?)) to have the crit range of a mundane weapon advanced to a certain limit (18-20, is the clear limit) OR the multiplier advanced (x4, making every weapon "good" for Devastating Blow). Perhaps these two considerations could balance each other (high crit threat range or crit multiplier = low damage die, vice versa) to avoid creating any weapons more powerful than those in the PFRPG core.
This same principal can easily apply to armor and shields as well, varying the weight type, as well as weight, armor check penalty, max dex and AC. Not only does this suggestion provide weapon balance among the choices, but makes it seem like the game has far more cool equipment in it than it really does. I mean, finding a 1d6 x2 +2 longsword is okay, but finding the 1d8 19-20 +2 shortspear is great! (Nobody likes finding magic shortspears as it is, :P)
Thoughts?
It's simple and easy, but it's as boring as hell. If I wanted WFRP weapons, I'd play WFRP.
I think it is a good idea but the real problem with the system is that some of the numeric values do not match the weapons. The perfect example is the scythe. If things stay the same you are going to see a LOT of scythe wielding super-criting fighters or barbarians pop up.
Historically this was not a weapon for war, it was a farming item used to "reap" wheat and such. If it WAS a great weapon for war then I would imagine that we would have seen armies or scythe wielding knights. Now I dont think that we should try to gain historical realism in our game, but the play testing for these sorts of things was done hundreds of years ago, they knew what worked. In comparison, as the original poster said there is no reason that the scimitar would be a better choice (numerically) than the long sword. I think that your X4 weapons should be your war hammer (or a great hammer) and Great axe.
I think that your X4 weapons should be your war hammer (or a great hammer) and Great axe.
This is the same problem rearranged. The point is that making all the weapons start with reduced, but different values and be able to be improved in various ways puts the x4 or the 18-20 in anybody's court. Of course, maintaining the balance so that no weapon gets better than scythe or scimitar are currently is pretty important.
So why not just make a system where weapons have something like feats....
Say a regular weapon can have one feat,
1 better damage type (D8 instead of D6)
1 better Crit, 19-20
1 better crit multiplier, X3 and so on...
Then a Mastercrafted weapon would have 2...
And a magical weapon could have 3 or even more.
I think that is simple and allows the player to build weapons he/she wants.
I would love to see all the weapons in D&D follow this system: http://www.ucalgary.ca/~ammaster/d_n_d/custom_weapons.html
It's a flexible system of creating custom, balanced weapons.
IMO there are 2 main reasons there aren't a lot of unique weapons out there.
#1 is the relative abundance of certain weapons in treasure (thus it's easier to find better items) -- Longsword
#2 is the fact that some weapons are just plain better than their counterparts. The Long Bow is seriously borked.
If you equalized all the weapons using a standardized system like the above then you could have a variety of crit ranges and bonuses and have all your weapons roughly balanced.
url=http://www.ucalgary.ca/~ammaster/d_n_d/custom_weapons.html]Linked[/url] that up for you.
D'oh... don't know why I missed that step
It looks like a good base, but needs further development to cover things like multiple types of damage (piercing/slashing/bludgeoning).
It's not my system, I saw it and thought it was a great idea though. I agree that it could definitely use some fine tuning but even as it is pretty good.
It can however take away from the uniqueness of different weapons. That uniqueness has traditionally come form a longsword not being a longsword, but a 1d8 one handed slashing weapon with a crit of 19-20 x2 that has the word "longsword" engraved on it. Going to a standardized system files off the engraving and hands you a set of stencils. Weapons are defined by their stats as much as by their name if not more so.
There is also the fact that a customizable system plays havoc with standard pricing as each item needs to be priced individually based on it's stats.
I don't really think you should just wholesale release the system in the main book. The point is that all weapons should be balanced, Martial Weapons should all be stronger than Simple, Exotic better than Martial. As it stands the best ranged weapon in the game is the composite longbow but it's just martial... should be exotic. There are plenty of other loopholes and most folks know what they are.
Ultimately whatever you call a weapon people are going to look for the stats, I just think they should be standardized in some way.
Though I agree that the current system is good enough, I do believe that one could simplify my idea by creating a system in which any weapon in any category can have the stats of another weapon in that category.
So you might find 1d6 18-20 longswords or 1d8 19-20 scimitars, or 1d6 x3 shortswords and 1d6 19-20 hand axes etc, etc. This way we've both eliminated the problem I'm having with the current system and retaining the exact same balance that's in the current system.
The weapons are currently balanced.
What the "best weapon" is depends largely on what it is you are looking for.
Want a light weapon with really good crit range? Kukri is pretty good.
want a 2h wep with a big crit multiplier? Great axe is pretty good.
As to "why is a curved blade better than a straight".
How you fluff your weapons is entirely irrelevant to the game. Weapon statistics take precedence. Feel *free* to let your players describe their weapon however they choose to- so long as they are using one of the modeled damage types.
i.e. it doesn't matter if they have a "great sword" that does d12/x3 or a "great axe" that does 2d6/19-20. Both are balanced regardless of whether or not it's a sword or axe.
incidentally- the same applies if the Pc (or DM) wants to create a "new" weapon. Imagine the weapon, apply one of the statistical models to it, and you are good to go.
The reason we have long swords and scimitars and falchions and such are just to create an easy way to differentiate between the statistical models. Call them what you wish, pad the fluff however you want to make them different- but one shouldn't use the fluff as a reason to change the statistical model.
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This is exactly what I posted last.
I had a brilliant idea. What if the basic weapons (and armor?) in the core rules were more diverse in statistics? Here's what I'm thinking:
[An interesting idea]
Your system is interesting, and could certainly work (though you can't allow a 19-20/x3 weapon - that's far better than 18-20 or /x4.)
However it would make the overall statistics far *less* diverse - every weapon would be essentially the same. Also it is hard to balance this with such factors as damage type (slash/bludg/pierce) and various bonuses to combat maneuvers, speed of use, etc.
Also it is hard to balance this with such factors as damage type (slash/bludg/pierce) and various bonuses to combat maneuvers, speed of use, etc.
This, my friend is where being a dungeon master comes in.