3 House Rules to CUSTOMIZE Your D&D Weapons
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- Опубликовано: 7 июн 2024
- D&D weapons that use the same damage dice often feel the same, so here are three custom-weapon homebrews to make them feel unique! ⏬ More below! ⏬
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00:00 meaningful customization in dnd
01:39 awesome "unlock-able" weapons
03:21 damage dice freedom!
04:02 weapon tiers & upgrades
05:01 new dnd weapon system??
#dnd #dungeonsanddragons 
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I know this is a older video but is there somewhere where this is all written down I understand this is 5 mins long but id love to have it as a quick (look at it real quick to make Sure I got it right) note.
I think this idea is just a terrible one, making weapons more powerful with no reasons it's like having goblins that are much higher in lvl so they have more hp and damage. Also it's horrible for game mechanic purpose that an enemy have more damage with a small weapon that was supposed to do less. Making team strategies useless. Dagger have a small blade and then less damage, it makes no sense to give to a dagger the same damage of the sword, otherwise what is the need of a bigger weapon?
It's good to add damaged or not optimal equipment, but a well done sword should do always the tot max damage. A different kind of sword can do more damage, but it need some downsides, like serrated blades. Otherwise magic or poison or skill do increase damage.
@@marcus4046 I think there is a written version on his Patreon. I came here to ask what tier of Patreon could find this?
Absolutely.
3d2,6 d ones (the d twos area coin with one or two, while d one is a coin where it's one or nothing) 3 d 2s, a 12 divided by 2, and a 3d four al divided by 2's.
I agree.
yes, some weapons would be more likely to hit but not well, others well if hit, others the damage would be a little random a bit differently than hit well if hit.
In fact, having different dice types against certain armos might be better than advantag or resistance, as the math from halving damage or whatever it is with hit chances might be a bit too intense.
Having a hammer do 3 d 2s against plate armor, might make more sence then another pokemon type match up system, as it's basically gauranteeing 3 damage if hit, while a bad weapon gets a one, while the other methods mean no damage or half damage, which means, 1,1,2,,or 3
On real life, chain mail, plate armor, and leather all protected against different theings. Leather was fine against arrow, gambasen was better with bolts, felt was perfect against arrows, chainmail prevented slashing from cutting you to death, while stabbing allow the crhains to be broken, while protectinga bit from arrows and good 'weaves' actually could prevent a needle from penetrating, and plate armor was actaully bad against blugening, and in fact, you could inflict permanent minor damages to them over time if yoru enemy had a dent to deal with.
Just use the 1st ed tables!
What I use:
Normal Longsword: 1D8 (1-8 damage)
Finely made, Elven Longsword: 1D6+2 (3-8 damage)
In this way you can raise the minimum damage output while preserving the top end. Over time it will deal more damage.
Very nice!
This is neat
Simple, elegant
Clever!
Also 1d4+1 is equal to 1d6 mathematically, but with more reliable damage. Good to show that something is "reliable".
I really like the advantage/disadvantage on damage but requiring higher stats to use.
Yeah dude, big time. I might have to add this to my game. Diablo style.
You could use the real world craftsman scale: apprentice, journeyman, and master. A masterpiece weapon wouldn't necessarily be magical, but would be of better quality.
I mean your players are just going to minmax. So maybe that hooked sword requires a 14 strength as well as 16 in dex. Maybe the edged cards require proficiency in perception and slight of hand to use.
Requiring higher stats to use? I'm sorry, how is a blunt axe lighter in the hand than one sharpened to a razor's edge? How is a poorly balanced sword easier to swing than a finely balanced one? You're talking about masterwork weapons here, which tend to get lighter, quicker, more elegant, AND more deadly than common weapons. Raise the price of the weapon, sure, but not the stat requirements. If anything, the more expensive weapon should have a LOWER requirement than a poorly made replica.
Also, magic weapons should always be based on your masterwork weapons, with extra bonuses on top. Nobody's going to go through the rigmarole of imbuing magic into an apprentice's weapon. It even says in the DMG that magic weapons were made with superior craftsmanship before becoming magical.
@@Nurk0m0rath Actually, I think requiring higher stats to get bonus makes a lot of sense. It's like how an expert could get better use out of better tools that a novice couldn't tap into. An expert with a standard tool will be better than novice with standard tool, but even better with higher quality tools. A novice might perform exactly the same with either tool quality.
„Which custom weapon would you like?“
Hexblade taking notes: „Yes“
my guy (mountain dwarf fighter): Got a bearded axe that'll return to me?
DM: So basically Kratos axe/ Thor's Stormbreaker?
Me: Yes but as a bearded axe with runes on the blade and a bit of the handle.
DM: (Shrugs) OK I can't see that becoming broke-
Me: (Kills all the enemy's because a strategic axe throw)
DM:....Oh no.....
Love the “roll two dice pick the lower” as a trait for tarnished and worn weapons.
We have it so different weapons can "damage" armor on a crit, based on the type of damage they do. Slashing damage can damage light armor. Piercing damage can damage medium armor. Bludgeoning damage can damage heavy armor. AC can only go down as far as 10, and if they aren't wearing armor then the DC isn't affected. It's a little more complicated but it at least makes the weapons more strategic.
Really like this idea - gives purpose to some weapons....like a hammer with a blunt side and a pointy side depending on if against chainmail or plate.
Sort of like the Fire Emblem rock paper scissors system?
@@thatonerosebud2530 sword - axe - lance
But what about natural armor?
Love it 👌
I like the "Roll two dice and take the higher/lower" I idea, just like advantage or disadvantage in 5e. I can also imagine using something like those feats that let you treat any roll below a 10 as 10. A mace that always does a min of 3 or more damage because you treat everything below a 3 on the D6 as a 3, sounds to me more powerful than a "+2 mace" while being mechanically more balanced toward consistent low damage without allowing for higher damage
I like this idea. you could call a "Broken" sword one that rounds DOWN to half max if you roll high.
and have a "Heart seeker"(or something special) sword always do minimum half. i like it
Hell yea. I love this also. I just like having some different options. Cuz yeah always just a + on things is just kinda boring 😴😴
when i run firearms in modern settings i use this for shotgun: if the target is outside idea range the damage roll has disadvantage to represent the pellets spreading out
mage hand press has a CRAFTSMAN class that dose exactly what you want. it even uses Key word like Changeable, Collapsible, Hooked, Fist, Returning. and many more. the craftsman can chage weapons into new fighting styles and properties. making moiney uysefull again and maging cool improve weapons.
Link?
Should also mention that Craftsman is one of the TEN complete classes included in Valda's Spire of Secrets
Yes! That class is in the book!
Exactly the kind of stuff I want to put in my own game, we’re playing a gritty realistic campaign and no using feats, that give me the freedom to give more interesting features to items
Awesome! Yeah I plan to use these ideas much more in my next campaign which will be similarly grittier/lower fantasy
If you want gritty realism try Warhammer Fantasy RPG, just switched over fromDnD 5E.... The grass is greener, it really is
No need to buy a bunch of Warhammer books! Just increase every damage by the next die and only give marshal classes a con mod on hit points. I give players their starting hit die as their starting up then make the roll it after that. You could also get ride of spell slots and make magic characters roll to attack on a fumble bad things happen.
@@willcherry9029 I do something like that, I’m using the gritty realism rules of the DMG with the 5e Hardcore Mode of Runehammer, plus a roll to cast inspired by DCC. To be honest at first I believe that no one would like to play with a wizard but now I saw the glint of malevolent delight in the eyes of the players when a fumble happens...
@@rriosl I did skill checks for magic all the way back in AD&D. This is a great mechanic to balance out the power of magic. 5e makes this incredibly easy now. Just roll against a DC of 10 + Spell Level for a successful casting. If you fail the roll, THERE IS NO MAGIC SLOT COST for the attempt. Only success uses a spell slot.
The damage advantage and ability prerequisites are awesome ideas that give players more options.
“I attack with my sword” is an interesting option again if I chose that sword for the adjustments that my decisions called for.
Thanks!
@@BobWorldBuilder heya this video remembered me of an npc blacksmith I made for my homebrew campaign.
My player bought a Compound Steel Bow.
Compound bow's usually require more strength to be used, so it's like a longbow but it only uses strength.
But if the character had enough strength '16' it would deal an additional dice damage and shove back a creature not bigger than medium for 1,5 Meters back.
Oh and (steel bow) because the bow's body was made out of steel. That's the reason why it dealt an extra dice of damage. But also weighed a lot more.
We also had things like, silvered gloves, for our unarmed fighter.
Glaive for our samurai, a slashing weapon with reach, so yeah pole arm mastery was compatible. And etc.
Check out Beyond Damage Dice by Kobold Press... same rules are in their Midgard Heroes Handbook. Each weapon gets two "manuevers" that anyone proficient with the weapon can use an action (some work as reactions, like the simple "parry" on the longsword.)
Hmm I'll have to look into that!
I tried creating something similar. My system included a list of different materials (about 10) that had unique effects on the weapon. It also included a crafting tradition (like "Elven-made" or "Goblin-forged") that would also impact the weapon. The standard list in the PHB was assumed to be human-made and crafted from iron (or whatever standard material made sense) and had no extra properties or drawbacks or additional costs attached. I was working out an additional list of customization options, but I never got around to finishing it. This way, an elven-made mithral longsword would act just a little bit different than a dwarven-made mithral longsword, creating a massive possibility space.
I made a similar effort when working on (and never finishing) a weapon system for a bronze age setting. There's definitely something good here! Great ideas!
Awsome
Pathfinder 2E has a great trait system for weapons that you could likely adapt over to 5e. I highly recommend it.
That's what I'm doing for my next campaign
Counterpoint, just play Pathfinder 2e instead
This sounds pretty cool, and not as finicky as I was expecting
Different damages for weapons doing multiple kinds of damage; stiletto dagger does 2d4 piercing, 1d4 slashing... Kerambite dagger does the opposite, with +1to grapple.
That would be nice, could also go the route of having weapons deal only non physical damage like the moonlight greatsword in dark souls like a dagger that deals pure force damage to negate traditional non magic armor or some other magic type to allow martial classes to deal other kinds of damage
@@rateros9006 In a medieval kingdom, far far away... *magic lighstaber ignites*
This would be nice if there was ever a reason to use the other damage types, which there isn't besides when you're fighting skeletons or using the piercer/slasher/crusher feats (which aren't really super great).
@@justas423 Avernus? Psychic/Force/Radiant
Pf2e has some really cool things that non magical weapons can do, like on crit cause bleeding and the ability to disarm with a 2 handed weapon, but it's based on which weapo. Your using
Personally, I like using dice configurations for weapons that make them feel super unusual. I've bought d7s and d9s before, and they lend a really cool feel to a unique weapon. As for magic items, I've always been a huge fan of the exploding dice mechanic - where, if you roll max damage on the damage die, you get to roll again and add the total to your original roll. As long as you keep rolling maximum, you get to keep rolling! it's so interesting, because it's a damage mechanic that lends itself more to lower sided dice - you're more likely to roll a 4 on a d4 than a 12 on a d12, after all. Amazing video, thanks for all the ideas!
Pathfinder, another successor to D&D 3.5, has some pretty interesting weapon properties, and they are more or less on the same power plane as the weapons in 5e. For folks looking for some variety in the utility department, that is a decent place to look.
Yeah I think that's where most people go for more interesting mechanics. That game just has so many mechanics! haha
@@BobWorldBuilder That is probably the truest thing one can say about Pathfinder, lol
Its one place that I definitely recommend people look.
I'd love to see you put together a system with all these customizations! I like the way you're headed with this idea and it would be valuable to have it all written down in a single place. It does sound like it could get pretty crunchy with all the options, but some people (like me) enjoy that kind of product; it lays things out and makes it easy to see how to put things together.
Thanks for the support! :)
I'd love to use that tarnishing idea for combat against things like rust monsters.
All good ideas here!
Bingo!!
Love this!
I'm a big fan of lowering the dice value, but upping the number of dice. Your 1d12 war hammer? How about 3d8 take the highest 2?
You want a strength based d6 or d8 based slashing weapon to be a dexterity based weapon? No problem! Let's give it some extra flair and make it 2d4
I definitely think blending some of this with the idea of being able to "upgrade" your weapons or unlock more powerful attacks with higher ability scores is fantastic!
Thanks! Glad you found some inspiration here :)
Simple and good customizations. One thing I find annoying about D&D as a player is that the variety of default (!) weapons is often not a variety because most players - myself included - will most likely not go for a worse weapon, eventhough you might like it due to it's weapon type or how it looks. With these kind of customizations it would make sense, they'd either be on par or perhaps in damage still lower but have a nice added ability. Good stuff!
@Gerbie you are correct for me it feels like I’m doing something wrong if I pick a lower damage weapon it’s not but feels that way
Exactly! I don't think of myself as a min-maxer, it just feels illogical to choose a definitively "worse" weapon when it comes to the damage, so my intent with this video was to show players and DMs that the 5e weapon tables are not set in stone!
Excellent content. No lengthy
intro, no longwinded explanations. Straight to brass tacks. Subscribed.
This is the first video I’ve seen of yours. These are some good ideas I think I’ll try out in my games. Thanks Bob!
Thanks for checking it out! Glad you found some inspiration here :)
Very cool! I like exploding damage: the max damage on the die and roll again. Now daggers are dangerous!
That's definitely the coolest way to do crits!
@Carolyn Stell Pretty cool idea!
do you include sneak attack and divine smite die in that?
if your players aren't always doing paladin-rogue then they're missing out
Bob this is one of my favorite D&D videos I have come across in a long time. Truly just open my imagination on all that we could do with just weapons and add more flair and fun to weapons.
I'm gonna add a goblin "artificer" to my game who found a bottle of sovereign glue and makes all kinds of "new" weapons with it like the double dagger (two daggers glued together that does 2d4 damage) and the whife (a whip with a dagger glued to the handle that can be used as either weapon).
This is dope and I'm stealing it
@@josephsilipino5422 ditto
Don’t touch me Whife, she is very important to me. That’s it, I’m stabbing and whipping ye with my whife!
👏👏👏
I just gotta know, is it said like "Wife"(female companion) or "Wiff"(missing a hit)
It's funny to see several of the fantasy-adjacent youtube channels getting tagged as World of Warcraft by the algorithms.
Also, great video as always!
Hmm that is interesting. I guess I don't mind if it helps me reach some new people :)
Some great ideas here. Oddly enough The longer I play the less I like different damage for weapons - now adding qualities like trip and poison, that seems interesting to me. I guess I just feel like the HP Cold War in 5e just leads to (IMO) boring combats everyone makes videos about avoiding 😂
Weapons that add the abilities for battlefield control onto their attacks or as specialized actions sound fun.
Totally agree, just inflating monster hit points lead to monsters that end up being bullet sponges. You can totally see it in many video games on the higher difficulties, where combats often devolve into grinds.
What ive been thinking of doing is having magic items get new abilities the longer someone uses them, so instead of players just trading in their plus one for a plus two, they get attached to it and it can do new cool shit instead of just having slightly higher numberz
I remember finding a history piece once about a dagger or knife used by assassins in the middle ages that had a shallow grove only on one side of the blade. By using it to carefully cut something like say an apple without squeezing the two halves together while doing it, you could poison only one half. Offer that half to your target and eat the safe half yourself to show it was safe to eat or prove your innocence.
Also I introduced basket hilts as an add on for weapons with hilts like swords or daggers. With this you got advantage on parries. Alternatively one could consider it a buckler and give the user +1 to their AC.
@@twilightgardenspresentatio6384 for sure! I could see trip/push/grapple being super useful and fun.
This is the first video Ive ever watched of yours. The calm vibe you give off and the warm tone you have really makes it feel like "Hey man, let's talk about this and have fun while we're doing it." Got my sub with that intro and definitely kept it by the end of the video. Keep up the good work dude!
Love the short, straightforward videos packed with cool ideas and tips. Will definitely try this out!
I’ve thought about doing this, as well having the damage increase at certain lvls to make the weapon ‘grow’ with the characters to show their increasing skill/ power as they lvl up, great vid as always!
Nice! Thank you!
I love the idea of cursed weapons, they do higher damage but take something from the user after prolonged use. this can be an RP thing or a stat thing... just adds flavor
Nice. I have a really good RP guy in my group. I'm thinking of giving him a sweet weapon, but it lowers his charisma to 3 or something. Just to see what he does. :-)
That's a cool idea!
Using this for sure.
Side note: Not a weapon, but speaking of curses, I have a warlock character in my homebrew campaign that when she dies, her patron rolls a d4 and steals that many HP from anyone within a 50ft radius to give her to keep her alive (for his own purposes), potentially killing her enemies and allies alike in the process. Theoretically you could make some sort of weapon that does something similar. Haven’t had to use it yet, and the character has no idea she has this ability, but interested to see how this plays out when the party realizes what’s happened. *steeples fingers and chuckles evilly*
One of my players has a hellish sword that deals 4d12 Necrotic damage but he has to take half the damage he deals. Weapons like that can be really fun.
Bob's voice recording is so good in this video. Radio DJ smooth, relaxing but not monotone. This is the first Bob video I've seen that's not recorded outdoors so maybe all the indoors ones are like this. Keep it up!
Having dis-/advantage on damage rolls is such a good idea. That way you are so much less likely to roll an infuriating 1 on later levels.
Also yes on the follow up video!
I *love* this. I can't wait to use this stuff for my game!
Wonderful idea! I'll try implementing this in my future sessions and see what my players think...
Awesome! :D
Awesome customization options. I've trying to get more people into D&D and this helps. The different weapons in Valds' Spire of Secrets seems like exactly the stuff that i would home brew in my games.
I found this channel a little while back with the strength score video. Absolutely loving it
Thanks! :)
I like the trope of having a starting weapon level up alongside the wielder, kind of like a Loyalty property or something. As long as you kept that weapon on hand, either main or off-hand, throughout an entire level up, it would gain stats alongside you. That way it can be viable for early levels, and a safe back-up for higher levels.
I definitely don't like the 2d8 dwarven waraxe, or the elegant/super heavy rule for one simple reason.
In 99% of cases you're going to pick a weapon that's more effective for you. If you meet the requirement of a 16 in a single stat, you're going to pick one of those instead of the wider variety of choices.
A better option could be a weapon focus feat that improves as your proficiency does. At prof +2 it's a +1 with said weapon, at say prof +3 it becomes +2 to hit and damage, and at +4 give it a technique, polearms could gain trip or sunder, swords could lend to ac or give advantage on certain persuasion or intimidate tests.
Just adding bigger damage weapons actually limits strategic choices. For those of you who say, but RP choice is still there. I totally agree with you, rock your barbarian with those d4 daggers you heathen king, but bring your waraxe for dragon fighting.
He touches on this in the middle of the video, with the same weapons with different damage dice. That's far more exciting and easily added to a game. A +1 longsword that does a d8 or a longsword that does a d10, now there's strategic and RP choice.
Same. D8 damage for an edged card is ludicrously high damage for something that's functionally identical to a throwing dart.
I also don't like the fact that having a high stat is already boosting the damage, so getting double reward for it seems unfair.
@@MikeMurrayFTW yeah, basically what I got from the video is "have variety by just changing the damage dice, usually bigger". At that point, why use a longsword when my dagger deals 1d10 points of damage. And I could throw it or dual wield if I want to. That hook sword is just straight up better than its counter part to the point you should take one over the other. I'd say adding weapons features would be much better. Adding crit range, crit multiplier, maybe a bleed mechanic, and those are ways just to add damage without just increasing the standard die. Now add in other features that may be battlefield oriented. Look at the battle Master and maybe see if you could do something similar to that.
TL;DR there are more ways to flavor weapons mechanically than just "more base damage".
Definitely would like to see more variety with weapons. There is a lot of magic weapons that do different things, but the different damage dice is really cool.
I love the simplicity but usefulness of this. It’s making me want to run a campaign again! Thank you!
Cool ideas. I think there could also be more done with the basic descriptors for damage type: bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing. Maybe each could do something different on a crit ... piercing do the standard crit damage, slashing can cause a character to start taking bleeding damage every turn until they're healed or stabilized, and bludgeoning might stun someone for a round on a failed CON save.
Hey Bob. I came up with the 'superheavy' ruling on my own for a player's custom sword, except instead of losing your modifier if you fell below the threshold, it was just a -X weapon, where X was the amount below the threshold you were. If you had STR 14, it was a -2 sword. STR 13, -3, etc.
(For anyone curious, the weapon was just a 10 ft. long Zwei that had all the properties of a greatsword + reach.)
Nice! That sounds like a pretty smooth way to handle it
Interesting mechanic.
That said, a zweihander isn't actually all that heavy - if I'm not misremembering, it's usually somewhat lighter than a comparable polearm, due to a slender steel blade being lighter than a thicker wooden shaft. It's not much heavier than one of the beefier variants of hand-and-a-half sword, in fact.
It does require a specialized fighting style and advanced metallurgy to make in the first place - thus, it's expensive and has some specialized uses (from historical/archaeological research, it was likely used in an anti-cavalry and anti-pike/polearm capacity, with some ceremonial uses due to it's impressive size).
I’m really in love with the advantage for the damage weapons. Earned my sub and like!
Dude, seriously another great vid with great suggestions, I'm so glad RUclips found your channel for me. 😎🤘
This gives me some awesome ideas for next sessions loot table! I wanted to give my lvl 4 players some new and interesting toys.
Being in a horrific gritty campaign, battling eldritch abominations. Currently within an inner sanctum for some cult, we ended off in the main chamber, 2 Maddened Argos surrounding them.
These weapons will mesh wonderfully with an "upgrade" item I'm about to introduce.
And here I was wondering about new fun things to add to my campaign. Thank you, please do another video expanding on this.
Woo! Glad you found some inspiration in this video!
@@BobWorldBuilder much inspiration indeed!
I haven't really given them much loot yet honestly, I want it to be kinda special. This will give me an excellent framework to do so. Much excited world building today. cx
I have tried making some of the lighter armors more useful to players even without high dexterity. For padded armor consider giving players advantage to saving throws versus cold damage or reducing cold damage by 1 point per die rolled. And for leather armor doing the same against fire damage.
I found your channel through this video and have just subscribed and watched a few more like the lockpicking video! You're really knowledgeable, you seem like a great guy, and you've got lot of great ideas that I'd love to bring to my campaign! Keep up the awesome work! :D
Even if I don't use all the information, it feels like I am listening to Bob Ross when I have you on in the background while I am making maps. Always a happy coincidence to stumble on one of your videos in my recs.
I love some of these ideas for more interesting weapons, especially advantage/disadvantage on damage dice or higher damage options for higher str/dex. However it does have a greater possibility of slowing combat down when that’s already a big problem in the game.
I really dont think its fair to say fighter would slow down combat deciding which of 2 weapons to choose when wizard thinks for 2 min what spell to use
Maybe, I personally don't really buy that rolling attacks and damage together saves a *significant* amount of time, so the extra ones here don't feel like they would add time to me
One thing that never goes wrong is split damage. I like making rusted weapons do one less die type, but add 1d4 poison damage. You can do this with a lot of things too. Like having a branding iron do 1d4 fire damage. Make things unique.
VERY fresh DM here. I'm eating up all the D&D content that I can so I know what's in my toolbox, but I'm quickly learning that the game is whatever I/we want to make it! Love this idea of small tweaks to really customize the game and add so much depth to the possibility of what loot the party might encounter or how they can interact with NPCs to have them work on their equipment, for example. Love the videos, keep them coming.
Hey :D
I just wanna say how inspiring your videos are! I have been watching them for ages and they have inspired me to start creating my own :3 thank you!
Makes sense, add flavour to weapons and equipment not just the characters and enemies. So not only do the players get to deal with an amphibious swamp dwelling goblin variant, those boglins also wield non-magic, rust and filth covered weapons that do less base damage but extra poison damage.
Bingo!
Or if you are going for a more grim or dangerous campaign they can inflict diseases such as tetanus instead.
@@shanewebb3341 there are other kinds of campaigns?
I just had an idea based on this video (great one by the way!) How about the pc says I swing extra hard, gets a -2 on attack, but does one level dice higher damage with the roll. Or, I swing precisely, get a +2 on my attack roll, but the damage dice is one lower. Thoughts?
I love these mechanics, and have used some of of them in home games previously! When I was running Lost Mines of Phandelver, i switched up the loot in Wave Echo Cave to match the PCs fighting styles. One of my favorites was a Katar-style push dagger. It had a 1d6 damage die but lost the thrown property. Your system for poor/standard/fine weaponry sounds super fun.
Great video, well explained and easy to understand everything
I have a kensei monk that uses a blowgun, though when I picked it I made sure my dm was cool with me having the ability to buy poisons for it.
That sounds great!
I know it can seem sacrilegious for D&D players to consider other systems but I recommend the Witcher TRPG system - their weapons all have inherent qualities that make them pretty different in action and can even change up tactics versus some enemies.
It has probably the best tactical combat I have run in an RPG to date and I am almost 50.
Thanks for the videos man. You’re helping me a lot
Amazing video! Great work! ^^
I dunno, I feel like if I wanted that level of complexity out of an RPG, I'd just go play Pathfinder. 5e's simplicity is actually a big ease-of-use consideration for me. (Not knocking Pathfinder by the way, lots of fun, but I've been replaying kingmaker before diving into wrath of the righteous and my god, the complexity verges on overwhelming, and that's in a simplified CRPG form!)
5e's simplicity is always criticized for... being simple
Although I agree that it is very streamlined in ways that older mechanics stop being that complex and interesting, it in turn makes homebrewers much more valuable in creating new stuff! _But the weapons could've definitely been better from the get-go._
I always saw that complaint about simplicity as misguided.
I think that's the beauty of 5e, it's simple by default and you can easily add onto it if you like. Out of all the example weapons he had in the video you could also just think, a weapon that can trip people is cool, I'll add that in my game without adding those requirements, keeps it simple but does add a little bit of flavour.
@@nairocamilo seconded. I mean I fully get why some look down on 5e if theyre used to the more elaborate systems. But that kind of complexity is the root of some of the biggest issues with those systems: Combat and the like taking three times as long just because of more math and more feature effects being solved.
Sure it meant every encounter was more varied and intense. But it also meant even fodder fights just took far too long. Especially with efficient parties that would space out and saturate the area with fireballs on a held action or had very regular go-to tactics. Then it becomes heavily samey but still takes longer to get places.
5e's streamlining makes it much easier to get into for new players. And just easier to play for people who dont enjoy cumbersome math in their game nights. And sure it does strip out some of the more interesting things from older editions but as was remarked homebrew is where you can really add just the bits you want without extra. And has always been the best part of tabletop gaming. The freedom to change up rules to make the game fit the players better
Totally, everyone has different preferences for level of complexity. Many elements of 5e seem over the top for me. I don't really think 5e is a simple game-- it's mostly only simple compared to the 3.5e days!
@@Desdemona-XI Well, yes and no. If 5E aimed at being simple, they have failed by a far shot. All those subclasses and multiclassing certainly do not make the game more simple, quite the opposite. 5E is more simple than 3.5E. But there is still a tendency for bloat. An elegant, concise system to create tailor-made custom classes (next to the iconic base classes) would be the way to go. Multiattacks for martial classes are also not a good mechanic (up to six or seven attacks per round is utter madness IMHO, one single target attack and one for dealing damage to multiple opponents would be enough IMHO).
"There's no reason that a dagger can't be a D6"
Well I mean, if you want to throw out, all of the existing legitimate rules that say it can't then yeah.
Game balance/Class proficiency balance/weapon availability balance/weapon weight and or material cost and or versatility balance.
The issue I see with the "dice damage freedom" and the "weapon tier upgrade" methods are the "arms race" scenario that will likely follow.
If someone could make a dagger that did 1d8 then why would they also not enchant it with +1, or why stop there? Why didn't they make a 2d12 dagger?
Again you're free to do whatever you want in your game, that makes it YOUR game. Having fun at your table should be the most valued aspect of the game you all play.
If you're not having fun playing D&D because of the combat, there are tons of other RPGs out there with much more involved or much less involved combat/conflict resolution.
I think the last tally I heard was something like 78% of all of the "rules" in D&D pertain to combat and how to adjudicate it. A lot of the rest of it is just lore and setting.
There are games and tables where Role-playing is the core focus and dice are second fiddle to a good player performance.
There are games and tables where exploration is key and you have no idea what you'll find. Neither the players nor the "GM" fully knows what will happen next.
The argument also goes the other way around, that there are quite a few weapons which aren't really used because they are strictly less good then their counterparts while they fall under the same 'weapon proficiency'. I personally think balancing the weapons isn't as important in D&D unless you're playing competitively, with the big given that the players are fine with it. That said.. adding things other than some extra damage to weapons is often more fun to both create and give to your players.
Arguably, balance goes out the window when casters are thrown in to the mix. Who would get mad at a d8 short sword or a 3d6 drop lowest greatsword?
Me, but I'm also mad that magic is too good even though it's limited.
Changing a dagger from d4 to d6 changes to balance pretty much the same as making that dagger a +1. So I don't really see how you would find this game breaking or anything. 😊
@@KevinTheDane seems pointless anyway as mechanically shortswords and daggers are identical (except daggers can be thrown). The only people using those weapons are the inproficient or rogues and their damage comes from sneak attack anyway
As long as there is a rule that these effects are separate and distinct from each other then I don't think its an issue. You could rule that, in universe, each enchanter has to choose how their magic weapon manifests. This could be an enhanced crit range (Precision), a +1-3 bonus to attack and damage (Balanced), or even an above average damage die / amount of damage die (Powerful).
Depending on a PCs level, party composition, and the encounter's design, having the choice between 1d4+1 vs 1d8+0 could have some interesting implications. The 1d8 will have a higher damage ceiling (especially on a critical hit) but a lower chance of hitting the target outright resulting in higher damage variation. This makes the +1 dagger more effective against higher AC enemies, but the other options potentially stronger if you're lucky enough to land that hit or have access to advantage or a high volume of attacks. (The Barbarians 'Power' or 'Precision' axe might have a -1 or -2 chance to hit compared to the 'Balanced' one, but thanks to Reckless attack, the benefits might outweigh the penalty)
Think of it almost like a weaker version of the GWM or Sharpshooter feats that offer a penalty to hit for increased damage, but baked in to the weapons themselves.
This video is pure gold. Great job!
I love these ideas and will incorporate all of them, along with some from the comments. Good vid. I just subbed.
so basically, characters that have high stats which come with their own bonuses for attack and damage gain exclusive access to weapons with even more base damage. Yep, very easy to add to any campaign with no draw backs.... oh, those great unearthed arcana rules. XD
I personally like the idea but I would make it tied to their Constitution score instead of Strength or Dexterity
@@destinpatterson1644 Con doesn't make sense for elegant weapons, superheavy yeah. Yet even then you got melee Warlocks and Artificers. It'll give people melee options either way because magic still has more usefulness.
I will again suggest Beyond Damage Dice by Kobold Press. It's a great little pdf that adds small maneuvers to each weapon that anyone can use if they're proficient with the weapon.
Hmm I think that's the first time I'm hearing of of it, gotta check that out!
Great ideas, Bob. Would love to see more on this weapon customization system.
I love all these ideas. Bob delivers as per usual :)
Double-Bladed Scimitar gang, where you at?!
Im so lost now. DDO and neverwinter has ruined my real game perception... At 50, there are no more players around from my younger days, and no new players to mingle. So, DDO and neverwinter is all i get 😂
Congrats on 40k subscribers!! Also.. OMG Bob!!! I was just complaining about this to my dm who doesnt really care about this sort of thing. Thank you so much for this video!
Thank you! haha yeah send them this video! :)
@@BobWorldBuilder You know I already did haha! I can honestly say, your videos are the most friendly dnd videos I have seen. Something about you and how you make your videos just feel super cozy! I'm so happy for your growing success with this channel! Ive been here since early 10k subs I think!
This is such a good idea about giving weapons different properties, I'm going to incorporate it into my own game!
There is actually a reason for type of dice for damage, for example gnawing teeth is represented by a lot of D4s, a dagger is a D4 because Wizards of the Coast are extremely unfamiliar with actual medieval weaponry and assumes a dagger to be like a knife which tells me probably none of them held a real dagger before in their life but is represented by a D4 because it is assumed that you will need more stabs to do a killing blow to a normal person on average a lot like a knife.
Just changing the type of dice for weapons shouldn’t be haphazard and whimsical I think, since dice type does indeed tell a micro story of how the damage is done. A D8 dagger suggests a dagger that is homing towards vital parts or something, or a dagger that is long enough to be a sword. While I agree that a dagger should be a D6 not a D4 based on how real daggers are, they are in no way a D8 weapon that will kill all commoners with one stab on average.
I am seriously thinking about doing a supplement for 5E called “The Fighter Expanded” which expands on the fighter mainly in the form of weapons and damage types, preferred weapon, and custom fighting styles (as in the player makes up the fighting style that their fighter is trained in, which is by the way a world wide historical thing not just an east Asia thing). There is so much to unpack and actually make the fighter’a weapons training actually shine, not just give the rogue a deadlier dagger than a long sword on an average hit.
Sorry if I seem condescending but I firmly believe that damage dice really are part of the story told during the landing of the hit, having a super dagger that somehow mundanely is slicing necks left and right (again always think of commoner as the average here) is not really the way to go about it.
Hmm the affect against a commoner is interesting way to think about damage!
**cough*Pathfinder2e Weapon Traits*cough**
Haha idk enough about Pathfinder, but from what I do know, that might be too complicated for my taste
@@BobWorldBuilder oh it's certainly a rules heavy game, but that's what I like about it. Different shapes of weapons have different traits and critical specializations to learn as a character that I really dig. A lot for the GM to keep track of though lol
I love this so much. Hello from a new lurker!
Awesome! Thank you!
bob, you're a genius. im using this for sure, really great tips!
Advantage/Disadvantage on damage dice is genius! I'll definitely incorporate it in my campaign. Thanks!
I like this style of video Bob, thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Big fan of this advantage disadvantage idea for damage. Nice work
Nice. New weapons are welcomed, with their new tags, but I actually like the 3rd option best. Simple, dicy, and it provides objectives and ways to spend money for the players. Nicely done sir !
Great stuff Bob. I love this
Awesome idea, great way to add more depth to play and make rewards that my players will appreciate!
I only found this video today, but damn that was good timing! Your ideas seem very interesting, to me espcially as i just recently made some homebrew weapon cards for my new weapon system because I like to overcomplicate things for the fun of it.
Like your thumbnail, I also saw it as really disappointing that weapons were kinda bland, especially the damage dice being only one type and one die which meant weapons like the glaive and halberd were just skins of the same polearm. So I made each weapon have the potential to deal piercing, slashing or bludgeoning on an attack, therefore allowing weapons to feel different from one another and have purpose - of course some weapons, like a Dane axe, don't deal piercing since they don't stab.
Besides that, I also added a little inspired system from the MC LOTR mod I played, Modifiers! With these I decided I could make each weapon feel unique - without inundating the world with weak magic weapons - whilst also solving two little problems I wanted to solve for a while... loadout evolution and minor 'punishments'! So the same minor elements that can make your sword sharper can also show its wear and tear - such as chipping, rolling or even blunting. It was always an issue for me to decide how to punish a player's circumstance or mistake without them always taking a crit; a small bump to the hand; or just breaking their items under the weight of a troll's club, so I decided to allow minor damages that inconvenience the player and build up over time - kinda like your disadvantage system but less strong and instead negating their overall damage by about 1 per bit of damage. But the best thing to come of this implementation is the eventual change of equipment a character will go through several times in a campaign, rather than holding onto the same longsword they got at the start - which in turn upps the value of weapons they find, magic ones especially so.
anyway, I have rambled on enough. The system is still completely experimental and yet to have a complete template.
But if you happen upon this comment, somehow, I would love to hear your opinions on these changes - im still a bit green gilled in DMing so it would be great to hear feedback.
Thank you anyone who actually made it through reading this, sorry its like an essay - I just wrote one earlier.
Very similar to what I do, with a few extra ideas I can use. Love it!
I'm glad to see you talking about different damage die for weapons. Back in my 3.5 days I homebrewed a quick quality system for weapons, poor quality would reduce the dmg die by one, while Great would raise the damage die by 1. So a 1d6 would become either a 1d4 or 1d8. There was more crunch to it but this was the only aspect to it that affected damage directly.
I enjoyed your thoughts on the subject, and maybe your video will inspire someone to try something new to help make their table more unique.
I really like the idea of advantage/disadvantage on the damage. Might try that out.
Im hoping to start a DND campaign this year and am happy to have found your videos. They are sick!!
Oh wow I really like that weapon tier/advantage on damage rolls system. That's a really good way to explain why the rusty shortswords my adventurers pick up off of goblins aren't worth all that much but still have the same stats. Had a party who wanted a side hustle as scrap metal dealers or something haha.
The Mr. Rogers of the D&D world, in the best way. I find myself just smiling 10 seconds in to every video. Thank you!
This is a really interesting idea! I had actually homebrewed a Great Cleaver weapon for my barbarian (based on a character of mine known for Herculean strength and a big ass sword) that required 15 Strength to use, dealt 2d8 slashing damage but reduced your speed by 10ft.
I really liked the "tattered" and "strong" weapon quality where you basically roll damage with dis/advantage, definitely want to incorporate that in my games.
Love the last one. That's a great tweak.
I absolutely loved your video. The idea of a weapon system reminds me of games like Kingdom Hearts 2 or Onimusha Dawn of Dreams, by the concept that I loved that not only the weapons were visually different, but also their properties were. In this case though it doesn't only have to be elemental-like... silver blades for example should work better against werewolves... I've been thinking of some examples of "basic" or "non-magical" weapons that would complement the whole system.
Between us, just improvising any magical weapon, even though the "product" would be original, that's still a standard everyone would look at while creating a new weapon. You should definitely try to explore it in a next video. I'd love to see it.
I’ve been wanting to make weapon and armor brands for my game inspired by the borderlands gun brands. This is the exact way I’ve been looking to differentiate them. I think I’ll make some have advantage on the damage. An older out of business brand that made very powerful items before the deep snow about a thousand years ago. And stuff like that. Thank you!! My little brother is excited lil
You actually have my brain racking for ideas now!
Last session I threw in a couple "extended-blade daggers" that are awkward to throw (no "short range"), but have "advantage" on their damage dice in melee. They were wielded by an assassin - and now that he's dead, the party has the daggers. Thanks Bob! This was a good way to introduce a little "huh, that's interesting" without really introducing any craziness or power to the PCs.
Love to see that champions of norrath callback. I'm actually running an everquest ttrpg right now and I like a lot of these ideas! Might throw some in.
This is such an awesome idea!