Bullet06320
2015-09-21, 02:15 AM
as originally posted on the WOTC boars by wabberjacky on Feb 22, 2007
http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1104751
There are tons of cool exotic weapons, but when weighed against the price of taking the feat to wield them without penalty, they might not look so great.
Here's some that are worth the price you pay. More suggestions much appreciated, as well as builds (or links to them) that make use of an exotic weapon, or enable their usage especially well.
Spiked chain: Most of us know how obvious this is. Any sort of search for the word “chain” and maybe “fighter” on this board will turn up numerous builds, a lot of them very nasty.
Bastard sword: Or perhaps more accurately, katana. An Iajutsu Master can Weapon Finesse a katana with only a 2 level dip. This and its cousin, the dwarven waraxe, are also probably the best use of the Exotic Weapon Master’s uncanny blow stunt. For a character with an abnormally high Str score, multiplying your modifier by a full 2 instead of 1.5 can start to get a little unreasonable at a brisk pace.
Dwarven waraxe: See above for use with Exotic Weapon Master. This one also has the very nice benefit of not requiring a feat if you’re a dwarf. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with a dwarf.
Dwarven urgosh: Again, free for a dwarf. Normally, I’d say double weapons aren’t worth the feat, but when it costs nothing, go ahead. Granted, one end has a smaller damage dice, which doesn’t give it the advantage of other double weapons, but having two types of damage is handy, most of your feats apply to both ends, and it can be set against a charge, which is in my opinion an underrated ability.
Sharktooth staff (SS): This one’s infamous with my main group, and for good reason. Combine the damage dice of a greatsword with the crit multiplier of a greataxe, and you have a decent weapon. However, you also get to make a free grapple attempt at any Small or Medium enemy every time you hit them, and then deal free weapon damage in subsequent rounds. The size restriction prevents huge abuse, but it is just as good as it sounds. Hell, it’s even cheaper and weighs less than a greatsword.
Orc shotput (S&F): Yeah, no errata for this thing. A big, silly pile of numbers: 2d6 damage, 19-20/x3 threat, 10 ft range increment. You’ll want to be at least Medium size to use them, though.
Kusari-gama (DMG): A spiked chain that you can wield in one hand! Okay, okay, you can’t Power Attack with it, but still, this is a solid weapon. All the other goodies of the spiked chain wrapped in a cute little package called “light weapon”. Two-weapon Fighting with these can be barrels of fun.
Greathammer (MM4): Another goofy pile of numbers. 1d12 damage and 19-20/x4 threat (!?). And yes, I realize the minotaur’s stat block says just “x4”, blah, blah. Take that debate elsewhere.
Tigerskull club (Frost): Not overpowering, but probably worth a feat if you’ve got room and will make use of its unique combination of properties. A x4 multiplier, two types of damage, tripping and disarming abilities, and it’s one-handed. Anyone have any builds/tricks/combos or specific tactics with this?
Flind bar (MM3): These things are quite solid. They give you a free disarm attempt with a +2 bonus every time you threaten a critical hit. They are also one-handed and have nice numbers for being so at 2d4 damage with 19-20/x2 threat. And hey, if you’re ever a flind gnoll for whatever reason, they’re free!
Jovar (PlHB): Although not as silly as the greathammer or shotput, this is also just a pile of numerals: 2d6 damage with an 18-20/x2 threat. Largest damage dice of any weapon with 18-20/x2? Anyone know of a bigger one? For style points, wield one as an evil character and graffiti the blade to warp the Celestial writing on it into something blasphemous.
Harpoon (Frost): Interesting weapon. It can be lodged in an opponent if they fail a Reflex save, and deals the same damage when pulled out as it did going in. The returning enchantment could theoretically just cause it to do double damage, but that’s definitely a DM’s call. Raise the damage as much as possible, as the DC for the save is 10 + damage dealt.
Elven lightblade (RotW): This little guy and it’s big brother, the thinblade, are just kukris and rapiers (respectively) with bigger damage dice, although the lightblade does piercing damage, not slashing. Normally, this would be a pass, but if you’re an elf, Improved Weapon Familiarity gets you proficiency in both. What’s better, your feats that name rapier (Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, etc) apply to both.
Elven thinblade (RotW): See elven lightblade.
Dragonsplit (MM4): This is the “other” x4 threat one-handed weapon. Unlike the tigerskull club, this does slashing damage, which qualifies it for things that the club can’t, and it counts as a light weapon for Two-weapon Fighting and Weapon Finesse. However, it has no tripping or disarming qualities.
Crescent knife (Dr275): I don’t have the actual text of this or the braid blade, so I’m just going on what I’m told. This lets you make 2 attacks in place of every attack you would normally make. Silly.
Braid blade (Du120): These grant you an extra attack and are affixed to your hair instead of being wielded normally. The extra attacks given by wearing multiples seems to stack, and there seems to be no limit to the number you can wear. Need confirmation on what issue this appears in.
http://community.wizards.com/forum/previous-editions-character-optimization/threads/1104751
There are tons of cool exotic weapons, but when weighed against the price of taking the feat to wield them without penalty, they might not look so great.
Here's some that are worth the price you pay. More suggestions much appreciated, as well as builds (or links to them) that make use of an exotic weapon, or enable their usage especially well.
Spiked chain: Most of us know how obvious this is. Any sort of search for the word “chain” and maybe “fighter” on this board will turn up numerous builds, a lot of them very nasty.
Bastard sword: Or perhaps more accurately, katana. An Iajutsu Master can Weapon Finesse a katana with only a 2 level dip. This and its cousin, the dwarven waraxe, are also probably the best use of the Exotic Weapon Master’s uncanny blow stunt. For a character with an abnormally high Str score, multiplying your modifier by a full 2 instead of 1.5 can start to get a little unreasonable at a brisk pace.
Dwarven waraxe: See above for use with Exotic Weapon Master. This one also has the very nice benefit of not requiring a feat if you’re a dwarf. And there’s certainly nothing wrong with a dwarf.
Dwarven urgosh: Again, free for a dwarf. Normally, I’d say double weapons aren’t worth the feat, but when it costs nothing, go ahead. Granted, one end has a smaller damage dice, which doesn’t give it the advantage of other double weapons, but having two types of damage is handy, most of your feats apply to both ends, and it can be set against a charge, which is in my opinion an underrated ability.
Sharktooth staff (SS): This one’s infamous with my main group, and for good reason. Combine the damage dice of a greatsword with the crit multiplier of a greataxe, and you have a decent weapon. However, you also get to make a free grapple attempt at any Small or Medium enemy every time you hit them, and then deal free weapon damage in subsequent rounds. The size restriction prevents huge abuse, but it is just as good as it sounds. Hell, it’s even cheaper and weighs less than a greatsword.
Orc shotput (S&F): Yeah, no errata for this thing. A big, silly pile of numbers: 2d6 damage, 19-20/x3 threat, 10 ft range increment. You’ll want to be at least Medium size to use them, though.
Kusari-gama (DMG): A spiked chain that you can wield in one hand! Okay, okay, you can’t Power Attack with it, but still, this is a solid weapon. All the other goodies of the spiked chain wrapped in a cute little package called “light weapon”. Two-weapon Fighting with these can be barrels of fun.
Greathammer (MM4): Another goofy pile of numbers. 1d12 damage and 19-20/x4 threat (!?). And yes, I realize the minotaur’s stat block says just “x4”, blah, blah. Take that debate elsewhere.
Tigerskull club (Frost): Not overpowering, but probably worth a feat if you’ve got room and will make use of its unique combination of properties. A x4 multiplier, two types of damage, tripping and disarming abilities, and it’s one-handed. Anyone have any builds/tricks/combos or specific tactics with this?
Flind bar (MM3): These things are quite solid. They give you a free disarm attempt with a +2 bonus every time you threaten a critical hit. They are also one-handed and have nice numbers for being so at 2d4 damage with 19-20/x2 threat. And hey, if you’re ever a flind gnoll for whatever reason, they’re free!
Jovar (PlHB): Although not as silly as the greathammer or shotput, this is also just a pile of numerals: 2d6 damage with an 18-20/x2 threat. Largest damage dice of any weapon with 18-20/x2? Anyone know of a bigger one? For style points, wield one as an evil character and graffiti the blade to warp the Celestial writing on it into something blasphemous.
Harpoon (Frost): Interesting weapon. It can be lodged in an opponent if they fail a Reflex save, and deals the same damage when pulled out as it did going in. The returning enchantment could theoretically just cause it to do double damage, but that’s definitely a DM’s call. Raise the damage as much as possible, as the DC for the save is 10 + damage dealt.
Elven lightblade (RotW): This little guy and it’s big brother, the thinblade, are just kukris and rapiers (respectively) with bigger damage dice, although the lightblade does piercing damage, not slashing. Normally, this would be a pass, but if you’re an elf, Improved Weapon Familiarity gets you proficiency in both. What’s better, your feats that name rapier (Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, etc) apply to both.
Elven thinblade (RotW): See elven lightblade.
Dragonsplit (MM4): This is the “other” x4 threat one-handed weapon. Unlike the tigerskull club, this does slashing damage, which qualifies it for things that the club can’t, and it counts as a light weapon for Two-weapon Fighting and Weapon Finesse. However, it has no tripping or disarming qualities.
Crescent knife (Dr275): I don’t have the actual text of this or the braid blade, so I’m just going on what I’m told. This lets you make 2 attacks in place of every attack you would normally make. Silly.
Braid blade (Du120): These grant you an extra attack and are affixed to your hair instead of being wielded normally. The extra attacks given by wearing multiples seems to stack, and there seems to be no limit to the number you can wear. Need confirmation on what issue this appears in.