Nodachi question

[Xavier319]

The Nodachi is a martial weapon, right? 1d10 18-20x2 and brace. It's better than the falchion, which appears to be the go-to weapon for crit builds. is there a reason this weapon wouldnt be used? It seems like it should be exotic. I'm just a bit confused.

[Martiln]

Well, it is better in that it has a larger damage dice, but the Falchion is more likely to do a consistent amount of damage with it's 2d4 as opposed to a 1d10. It's a small difference, but it adds up in the long run. Also some GMs don't allow the Eastern Arms/Armor unless they're doing an eastern themed campaign.

[Mort the Cleverly Named]

Martiln wrote:

Well, it is better in that it has a larger damage dice, but the Falchion is more likely to do a consistent amount of damage with it's 2d4 as opposed to a 1d10. It's a small difference, but it adds up in the long run.

Uh... in the long run, it goes further Nodachi. Average Falchion damage is 5, average Nodachi damage is 5.5.

On the actual question, I think the Nodachi just hit a weird place. The damage is really close to a Falchion, and brace alone isn't enough to make it a worthwhile exotic weapon. Probably should have done 1d8 damage, like an upsized Scimitar, but what are you going to do. Yes, it is simply better than the Falchion, but by such a small amount even optimizers don't seem to particularly care. Unless you are doing things with brace or increased weapon sizes, it really isn't much more than a flavor choice.

[Xavier319]

Well, how good is a Heavy Flail as a two handed weapon? I've always liked that it's a trip weapon, and also bludgeoning with a decent threat range.