Balance of the Elven Court Sword [Archive] - Wizards Community

Balance of the Elven Court Sword [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Bantam
04-01-05, 12:46 PM Me and another member in my group were having an argument over the balance of the elven court sword from Races of the Wild.

The stats of 1d10, 18-20/x2, piercing or slashing is already enough to warrant an exotic proficiency. I think that allowing Weapon Finesse to apply to a two-handed weapon, exotic or not, is too much, making Dex an even more uber stat.

I'm not too sure anymore what my group member's argument was. It revolved mostly around that two-handed weapons were more strength oriented and the court sword provided an alternative or something like that.

What do the rest of you think of the sword?
Tony Vargas
04-01-05, 01:29 PM The stats of 1d10, 18-20/x2, piercing or slashing is already enough to warrant an exotic proficiency. I think that allowing Weapon Finesse to apply to a two-handed weapon, exotic or not, is too much, making Dex an even more uber stat. Weapon Finesse already aplies to a two-handed exotic weapon, the Spiked Chain. The court sword does 0.5 more average damage with it'd d10, then the similar threat-range falchion - not as much better as you'd expect from an Exotic weapon. Finesse presumably is meant to make up for the difference.

If you compare that to the rapier & scimitar (same damage and threat range, yet one is finesseable and the other isn't), it doesn't seem that out of line.

Finally, a big advantage of a two-handed weapon is the x1.5 STR bonus to damage. The big advantage of a finesseable weapon is adding DEX to AB instead of STR. The higher your DEX and lower your STR, the greater the value of Finesse. The higher your STR, the greater the value of two-handing. They're rather at cross purposes.
reese
04-06-05, 11:54 PM first of all, i don't know why they called it a court sword or have it doing piercing damage. and i don't like the picture.

second, the first thing i thought of when i saw it was the elf swords from the LotR movies. a two handed sword that accents the elves fighting style of smooth movements and balance. i actually used this sword in my bladesinger rework that was posted in the classes forum.

third, i think it is well balanced, a decent way of a dex fighter to use something besides a rapier all the time. besides, if your dex is high enough to gain a decent advantage by weapon finesse your str can't be to great, so there goes your added two handed damage.

and it looks cool.
Vahenir
04-07-05, 01:17 AM and it looks cool.

Bwuah? The weapon illustrations in Races of the Wild look retarded. They don't even seem to resemble the weapon they're picturing, nor do they resemble a reasonable weapon to begin with.

And if I remember correctly.. one sword even has the "basket hilt" on the wrong side of the hilt (facing the inward curve of the blade instead of the outward curve).

Anyway.. there's nothing wrong with an Exotic Weapon being better than its martial counterparts. That's the whole point OF an exotic weapon. The PH exotic weapons are, generally, kind of weak. Most supplements since the PH was released have tried to remedy that.. which leads to people saying all these new weapons are 'overpowered.'

They're not.
Eliza_Stormwhisper
04-07-05, 01:46 AM I'd compare it to the bastard sword:

BS: 1d10, 19-20/x2, One-handed, non-finessable
ECS: 1d10, 18-20/x2, Two-handed, finessable

I don't see a problem with it. If it were a one-handed weapon, I would have a problem with it. Also, compare it to the Tallblade (as presented in the Arms & Equip. guide): 2d8, 19-20/x2, Two-handed, non-finessable.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Bantam 04-01-05, 12:46 PM	Me and another member in my group were having an argument over the balance of the elven court sword from Races of the Wild. The stats of 1d10, 18-20/x2, piercing or slashing is already enough to warrant an exotic proficiency. I think that allowing Weapon Finesse to apply to a two-handed weapon, exotic or not, is too much, making Dex an even more uber stat. I'm not too sure anymore what my group member's argument was. It revolved mostly around that two-handed weapons were more strength oriented and the court sword provided an alternative or something like that. What do the rest of you think of the sword?
Tony Vargas 04-01-05, 01:29 PM	The stats of 1d10, 18-20/x2, piercing or slashing is already enough to warrant an exotic proficiency. I think that allowing Weapon Finesse to apply to a two-handed weapon, exotic or not, is too much, making Dex an even more uber stat. Weapon Finesse already aplies to a two-handed exotic weapon, the Spiked Chain. The court sword does 0.5 more average damage with it'd d10, then the similar threat-range falchion - not as much better as you'd expect from an Exotic weapon. Finesse presumably is meant to make up for the difference. If you compare that to the rapier & scimitar (same damage and threat range, yet one is finesseable and the other isn't), it doesn't seem that out of line. Finally, a big advantage of a two-handed weapon is the x1.5 STR bonus to damage. The big advantage of a finesseable weapon is adding DEX to AB instead of STR. The higher your DEX and lower your STR, the greater the value of Finesse. The higher your STR, the greater the value of two-handing. They're rather at cross purposes.
reese 04-06-05, 11:54 PM	first of all, i don't know why they called it a court sword or have it doing piercing damage. and i don't like the picture. second, the first thing i thought of when i saw it was the elf swords from the LotR movies. a two handed sword that accents the elves fighting style of smooth movements and balance. i actually used this sword in my bladesinger rework that was posted in the classes forum. third, i think it is well balanced, a decent way of a dex fighter to use something besides a rapier all the time. besides, if your dex is high enough to gain a decent advantage by weapon finesse your str can't be to great, so there goes your added two handed damage. and it looks cool.
Vahenir 04-07-05, 01:17 AM	and it looks cool. Bwuah? The weapon illustrations in Races of the Wild look retarded. They don't even seem to resemble the weapon they're picturing, nor do they resemble a reasonable weapon to begin with. And if I remember correctly.. one sword even has the "basket hilt" on the wrong side of the hilt (facing the inward curve of the blade instead of the outward curve). Anyway.. there's nothing wrong with an Exotic Weapon being better than its martial counterparts. That's the whole point OF an exotic weapon. The PH exotic weapons are, generally, kind of weak. Most supplements since the PH was released have tried to remedy that.. which leads to people saying all these new weapons are 'overpowered.' They're not.
Eliza_Stormwhisper 04-07-05, 01:46 AM	I'd compare it to the bastard sword: BS: 1d10, 19-20/x2, One-handed, non-finessable ECS: 1d10, 18-20/x2, Two-handed, finessable I don't see a problem with it. If it were a one-handed weapon, I would have a problem with it. Also, compare it to the Tallblade (as presented in the Arms & Equip. guide): 2d8, 19-20/x2, Two-handed, non-finessable.