Erniemist
2018-05-28, 11:21 AM
If you've ever looked at the list of weapons in 5th edition closely, you would quickly see that they're a complete mess. The halberd and the glaive are literally exactly the same, the costs are all over the place, some weapons are entirely useless, the rapier is optimal 80% of the time, tags are inconsistently valued, and longswords are apparently useless.
That's why I reworked the system to replicate almost all of the weapons (and a couple more) from the original book, but with a more consistent system that allows GMs to create their own weapons with varying cost, tags, and damage. With a little work, it could even be expanded into a 3.5-esque magic system by treating magic bonuses as tags and ratcheting up the price to compensate in a fair way.
Revised Weapon System
A weapon has a number of points based on its cost bracket. It gains or loses points based on which tags it has. Any remaining points are spent on damage.
Cost
Cheap = 4.5, Simple = 5, Martial = 5.5, Expensive = 6
Useful Tags
Ranged = -2
Finesse, Light, Thrown, Reach = -1
Versatile = -0.5
Detrimental Tags
Heavy = +0.5
Two-Handed, Loading = +1
Damage
B = Bludgeoning, S = Slashing, P = Piercing
1d2 = -1, 1d4 = -2, 1d6 = -3, 1d8 = -4, 1d10 = -5
1d12 = -6, 2d6 = -6.5, 1d12 +1 = -7, 2d6 +1 = -7.5
Cheap, 0 - 1 gp
Club: 1d6 B, Light
Greatclub: 1d10 B, Two-Handed
Javelin: 1d6 P, Thrown (30/120)
Quarterstaff: 1d8 B, Versatile (1d10)
Sling: 1d4 B, Ranged (30/120)
Dart: 1d4 P, Finesse, Thrown (20/60)
Simple, 1 - 10 gp
Dagger: 1d4 P, Finesse, Light, Thrown (20/60)
Handaxe: 1d6 S, Light, Thrown (20/60)
Light Hammer: 1d6 B, Light, Thrown (20/60)
Mace: 1d10 B
Shortsword: 1d6 P, Finesse, Light
Sickle: 1d8 S, Light
Spear: 1d6 P, Thrown (20/60), Versatile (1d8)
Whip: 1d6 S, Finesse, Reach
Crossbow, Light: 1d10 P, Ranged (80/320), Loading, Two-Handed
Shortbow: 1d8 P, Ranged (80/320), Two-Handed
Martial, 10 - 50 gp
Battleaxe: 1d10 S, Versatile (1d12)
Flail: 1d10 B
Glaive: 1d12 S, Heavy, Reach, Two-Handed
Greataxe: 1d12 +1 S, Heavy, Two-Handed
Lance: 1d12 P, Reach. Two-Handed unless mounted. Disadvantage against targets in 5 ft.
Longsword: 1d8 S, Finesse, Versatile (1d10)
Maul: 1d12 B, Heavy
Morningstar: 1d10 P
Rapier: 1d8 P, Finesse
Scimitar: 1d6 S, Finesse, Light
Trident: 1d8 P, Thrown (20/60), Versatile (1d10)
Warhammer: 1d10 B, Versatile (1d12)
Crossbow, Heavy: 1d12 P, Ranged (30/120), Heavy, Loading, Two-Handed
Longbow: 1d10 P, Ranged (150/600), Heavy, Two-Handed
Expensive, 50 - 100 gp
Greatsword: 2d6 +1 S, Heavy, Two-Handed
Spiked Chain: 1d8 B, Reach, Versatile (1d10)
Chain Axe: 2d6 +1 S, Thrown (20/60), Loading, Heavy, Two-Handed
Uberaxe: 2d6 S, Reach, Heavy, Two-Handed
Katana: 1d8 S, Finesse, Light
Double-Sword: 1d8/1d6 S, Finesse, Light, Two-Handed. Treat this weapon as if you were wielding a 1d8 S Finesse, Light weapon in one hand and a 1d6 S Finesse, Light weapon in the other for the purposes of two-weapon fighting.
Crossbow, Hand: 1d8 P, Ranged (30/120), Light, Loading
Crossbow, Repeating: 1d10 P, Ranged (30/120), Two-Handed
Disclaimer: Despite the 100% chance that this will be ignored, I feel it is my duty to note that this system is intended to balance weapon design and to allow GMs to create custom weapons - or even modify the values to create custom systems for weapon generation - not for PCs to optimise their characters with whatever weapons they want.
That's why I reworked the system to replicate almost all of the weapons (and a couple more) from the original book, but with a more consistent system that allows GMs to create their own weapons with varying cost, tags, and damage. With a little work, it could even be expanded into a 3.5-esque magic system by treating magic bonuses as tags and ratcheting up the price to compensate in a fair way.
Revised Weapon System
A weapon has a number of points based on its cost bracket. It gains or loses points based on which tags it has. Any remaining points are spent on damage.
Cost
Cheap = 4.5, Simple = 5, Martial = 5.5, Expensive = 6
Useful Tags
Ranged = -2
Finesse, Light, Thrown, Reach = -1
Versatile = -0.5
Detrimental Tags
Heavy = +0.5
Two-Handed, Loading = +1
Damage
B = Bludgeoning, S = Slashing, P = Piercing
1d2 = -1, 1d4 = -2, 1d6 = -3, 1d8 = -4, 1d10 = -5
1d12 = -6, 2d6 = -6.5, 1d12 +1 = -7, 2d6 +1 = -7.5
Cheap, 0 - 1 gp
Club: 1d6 B, Light
Greatclub: 1d10 B, Two-Handed
Javelin: 1d6 P, Thrown (30/120)
Quarterstaff: 1d8 B, Versatile (1d10)
Sling: 1d4 B, Ranged (30/120)
Dart: 1d4 P, Finesse, Thrown (20/60)
Simple, 1 - 10 gp
Dagger: 1d4 P, Finesse, Light, Thrown (20/60)
Handaxe: 1d6 S, Light, Thrown (20/60)
Light Hammer: 1d6 B, Light, Thrown (20/60)
Mace: 1d10 B
Shortsword: 1d6 P, Finesse, Light
Sickle: 1d8 S, Light
Spear: 1d6 P, Thrown (20/60), Versatile (1d8)
Whip: 1d6 S, Finesse, Reach
Crossbow, Light: 1d10 P, Ranged (80/320), Loading, Two-Handed
Shortbow: 1d8 P, Ranged (80/320), Two-Handed
Martial, 10 - 50 gp
Battleaxe: 1d10 S, Versatile (1d12)
Flail: 1d10 B
Glaive: 1d12 S, Heavy, Reach, Two-Handed
Greataxe: 1d12 +1 S, Heavy, Two-Handed
Lance: 1d12 P, Reach. Two-Handed unless mounted. Disadvantage against targets in 5 ft.
Longsword: 1d8 S, Finesse, Versatile (1d10)
Maul: 1d12 B, Heavy
Morningstar: 1d10 P
Rapier: 1d8 P, Finesse
Scimitar: 1d6 S, Finesse, Light
Trident: 1d8 P, Thrown (20/60), Versatile (1d10)
Warhammer: 1d10 B, Versatile (1d12)
Crossbow, Heavy: 1d12 P, Ranged (30/120), Heavy, Loading, Two-Handed
Longbow: 1d10 P, Ranged (150/600), Heavy, Two-Handed
Expensive, 50 - 100 gp
Greatsword: 2d6 +1 S, Heavy, Two-Handed
Spiked Chain: 1d8 B, Reach, Versatile (1d10)
Chain Axe: 2d6 +1 S, Thrown (20/60), Loading, Heavy, Two-Handed
Uberaxe: 2d6 S, Reach, Heavy, Two-Handed
Katana: 1d8 S, Finesse, Light
Double-Sword: 1d8/1d6 S, Finesse, Light, Two-Handed. Treat this weapon as if you were wielding a 1d8 S Finesse, Light weapon in one hand and a 1d6 S Finesse, Light weapon in the other for the purposes of two-weapon fighting.
Crossbow, Hand: 1d8 P, Ranged (30/120), Light, Loading
Crossbow, Repeating: 1d10 P, Ranged (30/120), Two-Handed
Disclaimer: Despite the 100% chance that this will be ignored, I feel it is my duty to note that this system is intended to balance weapon design and to allow GMs to create custom weapons - or even modify the values to create custom systems for weapon generation - not for PCs to optimise their characters with whatever weapons they want.