Saturday, April 17, 2010

Weapon Proficiencies

Since I am trying to capture a sword & sorcery feel to the campaign as opposed to the standard Tolkien-esque/pseudo-medieval vibe that so many D&D campaigns aspire to, I’ve allowed any class to use any weapon. However, I can see how this could get out of control if no guidelines are established. So, as promised, I’ll be introducing a (hopefully) quick and easy weapon proficiency system at the next meeting. Since I find it easier to explain longer concepts in writing, here’s a preview of what we’ll be doing on Sunday.

Each character starts with an initial number of weapon proficiencies based on their class. Fighters begin knowing how to use four weapons competently; clerics can use three with skill, and magic-users are adept with only two. Dwarves are treated as fighters in this case, giving them four weapons of proficiency.

Any character attempting to use a weapon they aren’t adept with suffers a penalty to any and all attack rolls. Fighters using a weapon they aren’t trained in are -2 to hit; clerics are -3 to hit, and magic-users are -4 to their attack roll. As above, dwarves are treated as fighters and suffer a -2 penalty. For those of you who like charts, it breaks down like this:

Class

Number of weapon proficiencies

Penalty to hit with a non-proficient weapon

Fighters (including dwarves)

4

-2

Cleric

3

-3

Magic-users

2

-4

As characters advance in level, they will gain addition weapon proficiencies based on their class. As each class reaches the levels listed below, they gain another weapon proficiency chosen from the list at the bottom of the page. Fighters gain a new weapon proficiency every two levels after the 1st; clerics gain one every three levels after the 1st, and magic-users gain one every four levels after the 1st. Again, in chart form, this looks like

1st level

3rd level

5th level

7th level

9th level

Fighter

4

5

6

7

8

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1st level

4th level

7th level

10th level

13th level

Clerics

3

4

5

6

7

1st level

5th level

9th level

13th level

17th level

Magic-users

2

3

4

5

6


Weapon Breakdown

I don’t want to get too crazy with this system so rather than make every single weapon cost its own proficiency, I’ve broken them down into categories, some broader than others. Being proficient in a category allows you to utilize any weapon in that class without penalty. These weapon categories are:

Weapon Category

Weapons Include…

Axe, long

Battle axe

Axe, short

Hand axe

Ball & chain

Flail, morning star

Blunt

Club, mace

Bow, long

Longbow

Bow, short

Short bow

Crossbow

Light and heavy crossbows

Dagger

Dagger, knife

Dart

Dart

Implements

Hammer, pick

Javelin

Javelin

Lance

Lance

Pole arm

Pole arms of many assorted styles and flavors

Sling

Sling

Spear

Spear (both in melee and thrown), trident

Staves

Quarterstaff, magical staves

Sword, great

Two-handed sword, bastard (two-handed

Sword, long

Long sword, scimitar, falchion, bastard (one-handed)

Sword, short

Short sword

1 comment:

  1. You could just give fighters proficiency with all weapons.

    ReplyDelete