Exotic weapons.
We've all accepted that D&D 3.5 is a shit system, but some of us choose to continue playing it any way. Some of us even look for ways to fix it. It's the same feeling of satisfaction that one seeks from fixing up old cars or houses.
How does one make exotic weapons worthwhile?
The only reason anyone takes the exotic weapon proficiency feat is for the spiked chain.
That's not true; occasionally people to take the feat for harpoons or eagle's claws, but that's very rare.
The thing about spiked chain proficiency is that it opens up an entire combat role: zone control. It gives you the reach you need to affect a wide area. It gives you options for dealing with enemies in that area.
People occasionally take harpoon proficiency because it gives you a way to attack enemies from a distance, control their movement, and drag them in close.
(Come to think of it, nets also see a little bit of use since they can entangle foes from a distance.)
People occasionally take eagle's claws because they can do additional attacks per round with a high crit range for extra damage.
But those other options still don't see nearly as much use as spiked chains.
What do you think, /tg/? How do you fix exotic weapons?
Please, don't ever try to speak for anyone aside from yourself.
Oh, and go eat a dick.
>>44294787
These whip swords are called urumi, by the way.
>>44294787
Fuck me, Gideon is really getting dark.
This is why you dont listen to /tg/ memes before ever cracking open a book for a system you spew shit about.
>>44294787
First remove weapons that are so simple in form that they don't warrant an extra proficiency an make them martial. Katana and Tetsubo fur example.
>>44294787
You can put sprinkles and frosting on a terd, but it will still be a terd, anon.
>>44294787
Exotic weapons should cost about five times as much as a martial weapon and do one of the following:
- Deal 2 or 2.5 more damage on average than a martial weapon of the same type
- Deal 1 or 1.5 more damage, but have a special combat trick you can use
- Deal the same damage, maybe .5 higher, but have two special combat tricks you can use
Make a list of weapon tricks, like tripping your enemy, returning to your hand after being thrown, letting you disarm at range, having a Reach weapon threaten adjacent squares, having a larger ammo capacity, being able to be fired and/or reloaded with one hand, etc. Assign to weapons for specific exotic weapons, or let people build them a-la-carte.
Examples:
- A Claymore is a One-Handed Exotic melee weapon that deals 2d6 + Str damage, or + 1.5 Str if used in two hands. Basically a Longsword with extra damage.
- A Hooked Crossbow is a Two-Handed Exotic ranged weapon that deals 1d10 damage and, when fitted with its custom ammunition that costs more, allows you accurately knock the weapons out of the hands of enemies. Basically a Light Crossbow with a bonus.
- A Spiked Chain is a Two-Handed Exotic melee weapon that deals 2d4 + 1.5 Str damage, has a Reach of 15 feet, and may be used to attack adjacent enemies. A Ranseur with two nifty benefits.
There you go, OP. Write up some cool weapon tricks or properties, maybe 20 in total, and go to town.
>>44296379
Neat. Isn't that how it works in 5th edition?
>>44294897
>>44296116
>>44296211
Did the kiddos start their winter break already?
Fucking Christmas fags.
>>44296426
You can stop any time Op, the poster count doesnt lie.
>>44296397
5e has no exotic weapons, but special but non-magical equipment has shown up in the adventures. Princes of the Apocalypse has "sharktooth longswords" that deal extra damage to opponents not wearing armor (super useful in that campaign actually, since there are a lot of elemental cultist monks). There are hooked spears and repeating crossbows in Out of the Abyss. I hope they introduce a bunch of such things in an Unearthed Arcana desu.
>>44296466
That's neat.
So far my only experiences with 5E have been with the playtests. I'm waiting to see how the game holds up over time before buying any of the books.
>>44296505
5e is good and continually growing in popularity. Post-core releases are slow coming but the team is small and the stuff they have put out is of decent quality and balance.
>>44294787
Like most people who criticise 3.5, you haven't even looked into the solutions 3.5 offers for its problems. Unearthed Arcana- weapon group rules.
>>44296563
Eh, I'm dubious about Unearthed Arcana. Flaws and Rituals seem to work kinda okay, but the rest of it seems a bit hit and miss.
Want to sell me on UA weapon group rules?
>>44296596
Sure. I'm on a phone, so it will be a bit brief. Basically all weapons fall into a group, like hammers, two-handed swords, whips, or bows, with a special group called "simple" containing basically all the simple weapons. Depending on your class you get to have proficiency in a number of groups chosen at character creation, with options to get more through feats. The rule also expands weapon specific feats to include all weapons of a group. Instead of just one type. It lets DM's supply different kinds of loot besides (exactly the same type of weapon)+1, and does not penalize players for branching out. To balance some weapons that have inherent bonuses they are usually put into slightly more narrow groups.
>>44294787
Not really an exotic weapon, at least according to DnD rules, but in my heavily homebrewed setting I made chakrams an automatically returning throwing weapon. Not sure if that makes them much better than they were, but I was wanting there to be a viable throwing weapon option that didn't gimp any players that wanted to try it... plus chakrams are one of my top two favorite weapons sooooo...
>>44296696
Hmmm... you know, I am a fan of Tome of Battle.
I'm sure a weapon group feat for each of the disciplines would work just fine.
>>44296522
>5th ed. growing.
I've been to a dozen game stores this month. 3.5 used books are selling like mad. 4th and 5th no one is buying. Game shops aren't bothering to keep them in stock. Only place I see 5th ed being called popular is here at /tg/. Like it or hate it 3.5 is still the d&d game being played.
>>44296841
It's a regional thing. It's pretty popular at my old FLGS in Seoul, and it seems to be doing well where I'm at right now.
>>44296841
It's also the most popular game on Roll20, growing with each quarterly report and overtaking Pathfinder as the most popular game like 6 months after release.
Local reports are likely to vary wildly. Game stores in my area love 5e because their organized play is cheap and easy and draws in customers.
>>44296884
Probably so. 5th & 4th are ignored here. 3.5 (oddly enough) is common.
>>44296957
Speaking of PF, whole walls full of pf books. Shop owners said that it sells somewhat, but pf reps keep them stocked with new shit all the time. On the "seeking players" boards; it was all 3.5 and zombie/vamp games. I hope its regional.
>>44296466
I mean, there's always homebrew.
>>44296841
Well what do you expect when you live in retards-ville.
>>44297035
>>44296957
>>44296841
Oh look, it's the mong that made the 3.5 appreciation thread.
Butthurt about how completely stomped you got in that thread?
>>44297164
Didn't say that I played it, fuckhead. Just saying what I have been seeing. Leap to wrong conclusions often?
>>44296738
The favored weapon lists for the ToB disciplines look a little anemic.
I want to add stuff from Sandstorm, Stormwrack, and Frostburn into the mix, plus more of the weeaboo weapons from the DMG. I mean, why aren't shurikens on the shadow hand list?
Any suggestions, /tg/?
