Without any rules changes i'd rather the scimitar/curved sword just be treated as a "flavor reskin" of the long sword. As in mechanically a long sword but you describe your character using a shamshir/katana/kopesh/bat'leth etc. because you just want that drip.
For me, the problem with the D&D interpretation of Scimitar is that it's just outright wrong. The general issue with light weapons is that they're explicitly balanced around being wielded in pairs; this is bad enough for notional tertiary weapons like daggers and "short swords," realistic Scimitars are explicitly designed to be used alongside shields. Even if you were to use the "Scimitar" as a stand-in for basically any one-handed saber, you don't really have a legacy that incentivizes the use of paired sabers. You could argue that the "Scimitar" is meant to stand in for single-edged short swords such as the butterfly swords of Wing Chun, but between the name and potentially giving "Shortsword" slashing damage, this doesn't feel adequate. Unless the "Shortsword" is meant to stand in for arming swords, the "Scimitar" should be a D8 Slashing weapon without the "Light" property. You could even make it "Versatile" to allow players to reskin it as a Tachi for a samurai build. In addition, given that the weapon is meant to be used from horseback, the Scimitar could benefit from mounted combat. Since its purpose is to deliver devastating slashing attacks during a charge, you could tie the 18+ Crit trigger to attacks made after moving (say 4 spaces/20 feet). By contrast, giving Longswords 'piercing' damage means it could function as a better counter to armored or hardened enemies (who would be immune to slashing damage).
there are many types of curvature in scimitars (actually not, but most consider most middle-eastern swords to be scimitars for some reason). shamshirs and mamelukes have a deeper curvature and can be quite effective with/against shields. others are little more than sabers...
The first character I rolled for myself wound-up being a dex paladin because that’s how the dice rolled(Oath of the Ancients for those wondering). He had 18 dex., 13 str. and a 12 in charisma. Not very paladin-like, but he was there to keep the party alive and avoid taking hits with an AC of 14+5. He wielded a spear as his primary weapon but had a scimitar on backup for closer encounters. The most he got to do was hold the BBEG in place using Nature’s Wrath, but it did feel very satisfying to snap my fingers and say “Don’t move”, the fight ended soon after that. His nickname, by the way, was Kevin. Sorry, I edited a grammar mistake, could you re-heart?
I always thought that the Scimitar should have a bonus action attack option built in, you know like the Scimitar of Speed. Basically treat it kinda like the Hand Crossbow with the Crossbow Expert feat. Not only would something like this set the Scimitar apart, but it would be perfect for classes like the Rogue that need an extra attack. Plus that way the lower damage doesn't actually matter. Of course I think that of the Rapier as well, so...
With the apprehensiveness of worrying about if the Weapon Actions from BG3 are adding too much micromanaging to the game, in the new Player's Handbook and new updated edition of the game, they are already adding a feature like it in the "Weapon Mastery" mechanics that their giving to every weapon now. IMO while I haven't seen any of the new properties nor know of how they work, I do absolutely love BG3 Weapon actions that you can do and will in the future add them to every game I play just because it adds so much more you can do with your weapon than just roll for the same boring attack.
One thing that made Scimitar's (Or curved swords in general) sometimes more useful than straight swords was in a one-on-one scenario. Due to the curve of the sword, when one thrusted with a Scimitar, it was possible to use the curve of the sword to slash at the wrists of an enemy while keeping your enemies sword away from you. Though not very useful in a battle field, it would be neat to give it some type of advantage in a duel against straighter swords. Either that, or just give it the 18, 19, 20 crits while on horseback.
Laceration and the Nick properties of BG3 & One D&D is a good start for improving the scimitar. Maybe it should have a additional property if you are dual wielding scimitars? I think it would have a natural +1 to ac like with the dual wielder feat. Or have a reaction to riposte once a round because of how light and finesse the scimitar has. Maybe depending on the fighting style you have changes what kind of properties give the scimitar, so its unique to the wielder?
Making mundane damage types matter more would do a lot to make the underused weapons more relevant. If more enemies had resistances, immunities, and especially vulnerabilities weapon choice would be something a character might change for each combat
The issue with the Nick weapon mastery that the scimitar, daggers, and sickles gets in OneD&D is that it's only useful for two weapon fighting, based on how the new Light Weapon property works. It then becomes useless to single wield a scimitar. At least it was so in the latest UA. We'll have to see if there were any changes in the final release when the new PHB comes out.
Rename it to sabre/saber in english versions of the game. That way it can encompass all curved or single-edged swords. Perhaps it could get a bonus to hit when used with a shield and a bonus to damage when used while mounted.
I generally disagree with how dnd gives damage. I would argue that curved blades would do as much or more damage than straight blades in slashing. One of the big purposes of curved blades is that they concentrate more force into a smaller area, cutting easier and also they actually concentrate more of their weight in the blade due to the curvature, as opposed to a back or sidesword, which balances more towards the base of the blade. Straight swords offer great versatility for thrusts and cutting mo also provide excellent lines of defense. The benefit of heavier blades mainly is for their ability to defend a bit better against things like polearms or other weapons with a lot of heft in their strikes. I would argue curved swords would sit at 1d8. Straight blades would stay at 1d8, I think, due to the organ damage of thrusts and such and also generally better at piercing mail and gaps.. on the other hand, I'd say curved blades would technically be more damaging against unarmored foes, mainly in cutting, though they also can thrust. Maybe I'm missing something, idk there are lots of details to consider for weapons. I personally liked how poe did the weapons with the armor system, but that's a lot of math for pen and paper. Also love the mention of palestine!
there are many types of curvature in scimitars. shamshirs, kilij, and mamelukes have a deeper curvature and can be quite effective with/against shields, afoot or horsed. other types are more a saber and should be treated as such (except 1d8(1d10) slash versatile/finesse). the shamshir type ought to be a 1d8(1d10) slash/pierce versatile/finesse with a -2AC effect on defensive shields (and the same restrictions as longswords for trying to dual wield). it should also be comparatively expensive, special, and harder to find...
Since the scimitar is inherently a cavalry weapon, I figured an easy fix would be to change the damage die to 1d8 while the wearer is mounted.
Without any rules changes i'd rather the scimitar/curved sword just be treated as a "flavor reskin" of the long sword. As in mechanically a long sword but you describe your character using a shamshir/katana/kopesh/bat'leth etc. because you just want that drip.
For me, the problem with the D&D interpretation of Scimitar is that it's just outright wrong. The general issue with light weapons is that they're explicitly balanced around being wielded in pairs; this is bad enough for notional tertiary weapons like daggers and "short swords," realistic Scimitars are explicitly designed to be used alongside shields. Even if you were to use the "Scimitar" as a stand-in for basically any one-handed saber, you don't really have a legacy that incentivizes the use of paired sabers.
You could argue that the "Scimitar" is meant to stand in for single-edged short swords such as the butterfly swords of Wing Chun, but between the name and potentially giving "Shortsword" slashing damage, this doesn't feel adequate. Unless the "Shortsword" is meant to stand in for arming swords, the "Scimitar" should be a D8 Slashing weapon without the "Light" property. You could even make it "Versatile" to allow players to reskin it as a Tachi for a samurai build.
In addition, given that the weapon is meant to be used from horseback, the Scimitar could benefit from mounted combat. Since its purpose is to deliver devastating slashing attacks during a charge, you could tie the 18+ Crit trigger to attacks made after moving (say 4 spaces/20 feet). By contrast, giving Longswords 'piercing' damage means it could function as a better counter to armored or hardened enemies (who would be immune to slashing damage).
there are many types of curvature in scimitars (actually not, but most consider most middle-eastern swords to be scimitars for some reason). shamshirs and mamelukes have a deeper curvature and can be quite effective with/against shields. others are little more than sabers...
The first character I rolled for myself wound-up being a dex paladin because that’s how the dice rolled(Oath of the Ancients for those wondering). He had 18 dex., 13 str. and a 12 in charisma. Not very paladin-like, but he was there to keep the party alive and avoid taking hits with an AC of 14+5. He wielded a spear as his primary weapon but had a scimitar on backup for closer encounters. The most he got to do was hold the BBEG in place using Nature’s Wrath, but it did feel very satisfying to snap my fingers and say “Don’t move”, the fight ended soon after that. His nickname, by the way, was Kevin.
Sorry, I edited a grammar mistake, could you re-heart?
I always thought that the Scimitar should have a bonus action attack option built in, you know like the Scimitar of Speed. Basically treat it kinda like the Hand Crossbow with the Crossbow Expert feat. Not only would something like this set the Scimitar apart, but it would be perfect for classes like the Rogue that need an extra attack. Plus that way the lower damage doesn't actually matter. Of course I think that of the Rapier as well, so...
With the apprehensiveness of worrying about if the Weapon Actions from BG3 are adding too much micromanaging to the game, in the new Player's Handbook and new updated edition of the game, they are already adding a feature like it in the "Weapon Mastery" mechanics that their giving to every weapon now. IMO while I haven't seen any of the new properties nor know of how they work, I do absolutely love BG3 Weapon actions that you can do and will in the future add them to every game I play just because it adds so much more you can do with your weapon than just roll for the same boring attack.
One thing that made Scimitar's (Or curved swords in general) sometimes more useful than straight swords was in a one-on-one scenario. Due to the curve of the sword, when one thrusted with a Scimitar, it was possible to use the curve of the sword to slash at the wrists of an enemy while keeping your enemies sword away from you. Though not very useful in a battle field, it would be neat to give it some type of advantage in a duel against straighter swords. Either that, or just give it the 18, 19, 20 crits while on horseback.
Laceration and the Nick properties of BG3 & One D&D is a good start for improving the scimitar. Maybe it should have a additional property if you are dual wielding scimitars? I think it would have a natural +1 to ac like with the dual wielder feat. Or have a reaction to riposte once a round because of how light and finesse the scimitar has. Maybe depending on the fighting style you have changes what kind of properties give the scimitar, so its unique to the wielder?
Making mundane damage types matter more would do a lot to make the underused weapons more relevant. If more enemies had resistances, immunities, and especially vulnerabilities weapon choice would be something a character might change for each combat
The issue with the Nick weapon mastery that the scimitar, daggers, and sickles gets in OneD&D is that it's only useful for two weapon fighting, based on how the new Light Weapon property works. It then becomes useless to single wield a scimitar. At least it was so in the latest UA. We'll have to see if there were any changes in the final release when the new PHB comes out.
I've given them a few deeper looks in various videos for this series, but I'm planning on doing a full review once the 2024 PHB releases in September
Rename it to sabre/saber in english versions of the game.
That way it can encompass all curved or single-edged swords.
Perhaps it could get a bonus to hit when used with a shield and a bonus to damage when used while mounted.
Interesting.
I generally disagree with how dnd gives damage. I would argue that curved blades would do as much or more damage than straight blades in slashing. One of the big purposes of curved blades is that they concentrate more force into a smaller area, cutting easier and also they actually concentrate more of their weight in the blade due to the curvature, as opposed to a back or sidesword, which balances more towards the base of the blade. Straight swords offer great versatility for thrusts and cutting mo also provide excellent lines of defense. The benefit of heavier blades mainly is for their ability to defend a bit better against things like polearms or other weapons with a lot of heft in their strikes. I would argue curved swords would sit at 1d8. Straight blades would stay at 1d8, I think, due to the organ damage of thrusts and such and also generally better at piercing mail and gaps.. on the other hand, I'd say curved blades would technically be more damaging against unarmored foes, mainly in cutting, though they also can thrust. Maybe I'm missing something, idk there are lots of details to consider for weapons. I personally liked how poe did the weapons with the armor system, but that's a lot of math for pen and paper. Also love the mention of palestine!
there are many types of curvature in scimitars. shamshirs, kilij, and mamelukes have a deeper curvature and can be quite effective with/against shields, afoot or horsed. other types are more a saber and should be treated as such (except 1d8(1d10) slash versatile/finesse). the shamshir type ought to be a 1d8(1d10) slash/pierce versatile/finesse with a -2AC effect on defensive shields (and the same restrictions as longswords for trying to dual wield). it should also be comparatively expensive, special, and harder to find...