Downtime Question: proficiency training for armor/weapon skills

[Temperjoke]

Hypothetical question, assuming that you would let your players train for specific weapon/armor proficiency (like a wizard would like to learn how to use a short sword, or would like to learn to wear leather armor), how long would you say it should take? I mean, bear in mind, a player could multiclass into fighter and pickup all light and medium armors and all weapons, so I'd imagine that it'd be relatively easier with a proper trainer to learn a single weapon proficiency without multiclassing. This is more about character development than optimization.

[Spiderguy24]

Well if they wanted to self train themselves, I would use the training rules on page 187 of the PHB, which would take them 250 days and 1 gp a day. If they manage to find a teacher or get one of their party members to agree to train them, the UA downtime has a training option that takes 10 weeks and 100 gp per week.

[Temperjoke]

Well if they wanted to self train themselves, I would use the training rules on page 187 of the PHB, which would take them 250 days and 1 gp a day. If they manage to find a teacher or get one of their party members to agree to train them, the UA downtime has a training option that takes 10 weeks and 100 gp per week.

I missed that, thank you, although I don't know if that time table makes as much sense. For me, I imagine that learning a new tool or language would take longer than how to use a weapon, especially if they're already familiar with other weapons, while language/tools can have more nuances. But it's a place to start.

[DeTess]

I missed that, thank you, although I don't know if that time table makes as much sense. For me, I imagine that learning a new tool or language would take longer than how to use a weapon, especially if they're already familiar with other weapons, while language/tools can have more nuances. But it's a place to start.

Remember that it isn't just learning to swing a sword, but to learn to use a sword like a professional with all tricks and nuances that implies. Fighters and wizards have the same proficiency bonus for weapons they are proficient with, after all (and a wizard with sword proficiency would therefore be the fighters equal in technique, if not in raw strength/speed) .

[Spiderguy24]

I missed that, thank you, although I don't know if that time table makes as much sense. For me, I imagine that learning a new tool or language would take longer than how to use a weapon, especially if they're already familiar with other weapons, while language/tools can have more nuances. But it's a place to start.

Don't forget that D&D is a horrible simulator, and it shouldn't be treated with the same rules of realism we're accustomed too. With that said, you can adjust those two rulings however you want. Just remember that the players won't want to use something that will take up too much downtime days or weeks for very little benefit compared to other options.

[Temperjoke]

Remember that it isn't just learning to swing a sword, but to learn to use a sword like a professional with all tricks and nuances that implies. Fighters and wizards have the same proficiency bonus for weapons they are proficient with, after all (and a wizard with sword proficiency would therefore be the fighters equal in technique, if not in raw strength/speed) .

This is true, although as I mentioned, a wizard could gain a level and is suddenly proficient with various armor and all the different weapons by multiclassing as a fighter, while the book implies that training to use a particular weapon takes most of a year.


Don't forget that D&D is a horrible simulator, and it shouldn't be treated with the same rules of realism we're accustomed too. With that said, you can adjust those two rulings however you want. Just remember that the players won't want to use something that will take up too much downtime days or weeks for very little benefit compared to other options.

This is true as well. In fact, I think the time factor was a large part of the complaints of that particular UA.