Weapon damage

[brent norton]

How did they come up with the damage for weapons in role playing games? Like why does a scimitar have a better threat range than a long sword?

[Bruno Kristensen]

That's a very vague question, so the answer will be as well.

They mainly used the numbers used in earlier editions.

[Name Violation]

1 part is its from older editions, the other part is variety. you could make every weapon the same, but then it doesnt matter what weapon you have. so you get options.

[Selgard]

There are 2 parts to every weapon.

1) Name.

2) Math.

The two do not necessarily coincide. This is for several reasons.

The biggest reason is:
opinions vary W I D E L Y on what the "perfect stats" are for any given weapon. They want to start applying real world physics and how they were (or weren't) used and all that other stuff- most of which bein stuff we don't really have any clue about anyway. Alot of internet-weapon-experts will all swear up and down that the weapons were used this way or that, and .. well, nothing ever gets accomplished.

Also:
Feel free to change the name. The "name" of a weapon is absolutely completely and totally irrlevant. The swords can be "slashing weapon #1, #2,.." and so on. The name is just an easier way to refer to the weapons than by numbered list.

-S

[Rhubarb]

the damage is based on what a couple of guys thought sounded right when they were trying to invent the greatest game ever. i'm sure this could be fixed to more represent reality but then we would have to overhaul the whole hit point thing , and that would just be a pain in the butt. so in a nutshell options are good, reality is bad

[Bright]

Here is a way to test weapon damage at home. You will need black and white tissue paper, string and two potentially dangerous items (weapons for instance). Layer the tissue paper black over white for many many layers. Next hang each item the same distance above the tissue paper, side by side, cut the string. Use several intervals of distance and compare the impact on the black and white stacks of tissue paper. One story that I heard is D&D started when someone got kicked in the head by a horse leading to speculation on how many of those would kill a man as well as many months of sitting at a table indoors. I don't swear to that story.

[Zen79]

I think the weapon stats are the results of a hodgepodge of different considerations:

1. The ideas of a few people at the dawn of RPGs (maybe related to horses).

2. Realism / Simulationism. For example, one possible explanation for the scimitar having a higher threat range than the longsword is because the curved blade means that the force of the blow is concentrated on a smaller area of the edge.

3. Game balance reasons. For example, a glaive is a scimitar on a long stick, so why doesn't it have the same threat range in addition to reach? Probably because it would be too good compared to other weapons.

4. Who knows?

[TLO3]

Zen79 wrote:

I think the weapon stats are the results of a hodgepodge of different considerations:

1. The ideas of a few people at the dawn of RPGs (maybe related to horses).

2. Realism / Simulationism. For example, one possible explanation for the scimitar having a higher threat range than the longsword is because the curved blade means that the force of the blow is concentrated on a smaller area of the edge.

3. Game balance reasons. For example, a glaive is a scimitar on a long stick, so why doesn't it have the same threat range in addition to reach? Probably because it would be too good compared to other weapons.

4. Who knows?

The curved blade seems to be the main type of weapon that receives a high threat range: Kukri, scimitar, falchion, elven curve blade. A curved blade allows for all the force behind a swing to be focused on a single point of contact. I imagine a perfect connection with that "sweet spot" would cause a crit.

Rapiers are an exception to the curved blade model, but this weapon is known for its precision. I guess it would have an easier time striking a vital organ.

That said, real world explanation can only take you so far. HP and damage are abstractions and weapons are more concerned with game balance than reflecting their real world effectiveness.