House Rules for Weapons and Physical Combat

[Wryte]

Looking for some critique on a handful of house rules I'm thinking of using, mostly revolving around weapons and physical combat. The aim here is to make Dex-based builds less restrictive of what weapon types they can make use of, while not rendering Strength builds obsolete, and giving martial classes more universal attack options.

Weapons
* All non-Heavy weapons can be used with either Strength or Dexterity for the attack and damage rolls, but must use the same ability for both.
* Heavy weapons no longer disadvantage Small characters. Instead, Heavy weapons have a minimum Strength score requirement to be wielded without disadvantage (1d8 = Str 11, 1d10 = Str 13, 1d12/2d6 = Str 15).
* All non-Two-Handed melee weapons have the option to be wielded with two hands for an increased damage die (1d4 -> 1d6, 1d6 -> 1d8, etc.).
* Daggers may be used as the second weapon for Two Weapon Fighting whether the first weapon is Light or not.

Called Shots
* When making a weapon attack, a creature may take a penalty to their attack roll to target a specific body part. If the attack is successful, it deals its normal damage and has an added effect. Sample called shots:
** Head: -10 to hit. On hit, the target has disadvantage on its next saving throw, attack roll, or ability check before the end of its next turn. Crit: the target is stunned until the end of its next turn.
** Vitals: -10 to hit. On hit, The target takes an additional 5 damage. Crit: The target takes an additional 10 damage.
** Arm: -5 to hit. On hit, the target has disadvantage on its next attack roll or ability check using its arm before the end of its next turn. Crit: The target can take either an action or a bonus action, but not both, until it recovers hit points.
** Leg: -5 to hit. On hit, the target's movement speed is reduced by 10 feet until the end of its next turn. Crit: The target's movement speed is reduced by 10 until it recovers hit points.

Grappling
* While grappling a creature, the grappler has the following additional options:
** When the grappled creature makes an attack roll or ability check, the grappler may use their reaction to impose disadvantage on the roll.
** The grappler may use their action to pin a creature they have grappled, rendering both creatures restrained (as in the current Grappler feat).
* The Grappler feat gains the following options for interacting with a grappled creature:
** When the grappled creature casts a spell with a somatic component, the grappler may use a reaction to force the caster to make a concentration check, expending the slot without casting the spell on a failure.
** When targeted by an attack that the grappler can see, the grappler can use their reaction to impose the grappled creature between themself and the attack, causing it to target the grappled creature instead.

[Magzimum]

The key thing with Dex is that it is tied into the calculation of AC, for light and medium armor, as well as the barbarians and monks.

You allow all these classes a much broader choice of weapons with no penalty and possibly more damage because they would max out their Dex anyway.

If I were a Paladin or melee Fighter in your game, I would probably ask if you would allow me to add my crappy Dex to my AC as well now, just to balance it out?

[Gilrad]

A more DM-friendly suggestion for called shot:

The attacker may spend a bonus action before an attack, and attack with disadvantage to cause a wound to a targeted extremity. Wounded characters have disadvantage on all attack rolls, saves, and ability checks that utilize the damaged body part.


I mean you might not mind remembering a chart and a bunch of specific costs and effects, but rolling it all into dm arbitration seems so much easier to me.

[Samm]

* All non-Two-Handed melee weapons have the option to be wielded with two hands for an increased damage die (1d4 -> 1d6, 1d6 -> 1d8, etc.).


Two-handed daggers seems just kinda weird. I think making everything "Versatile" is not necessarily a great idea.

[Tanarii]

The aim here is to make Dex-based builds less restrictive of what weapon types they can make use of, while not rendering Strength builds obsolete,Dex based builds don't need less restriction in what weapon types they can make use of. One of the best house rules to 'fix' Dex weapon builds is to make Rapiers into d6 weapons instead of d8. It fixes them by making them less competitive for S&B with longsword et al ... which is as it should be.

And your rules changes certainly go towards making Str builds less desirable.


Grappling

** The grappler may use their action to pin a creature they have grappled, rendering both creatures restrained (as in the current Grappler feat). Balance wise, the main worry here is you make already weak solo encounters more so. Unless they're always big enough creatures they can't be grappled.

From a guy at the gym perspective it also seems weird for any PC to be that good at grappling. Getting someone in a full lockdown wresting/mma move doesn't seem like something anyone should be able to do without special training. Maybe limit this move to PCs with martial weapon proficiency?