cat claws and katars [Archive] - Wizards Community

cat claws and katars [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
saidin0111
04-21-07, 04:24 PM hey, I was wondering if cat claws and katars had D&D equivalents, I figure the punching dagger is pretty much a katar, but I have yet to find anything like cat claws, does anyone know of anything like that in any of the books

EDIT: current incarnation of custom weapon

Exotic Light Weapon
Cat Claws 175gp(ea.) 1d6 18-20/x2 2lb. Slashing

Cat claws cannot be disarmed. A wielder proficient
in the use of cat claws gains a +2 bonus on attempts
to disarm an opponent while wielding a pair of cat
claws. It takes a standard action to strap a cat claw
into place, or a full-round action to strap on a pair.
This provokes attacks of opportunity as it draws your
attention away from battle.
jacobi289
04-21-07, 04:28 PM cat claw = natural weapon.

the damage is based on the creature size, so find the natural weapon damage for a tiny (I think that's what a cat is) natural weapon.

or do you mean some sort of claw like weapon that a person can wield?
bobothechimp
04-21-07, 04:37 PM Take punching daggers, make the damage slashing. Ta-dah.
draconic_swine
04-21-07, 05:08 PM Take punching daggers, make the damage slashing. Ta-dah.

Bingo.

Alternately, you could make cat claws 1d4 19-20/x2 to differentiate them somewhat from punching daggers. And I'm pretty sure the PHB lists katar as an alternate name for the punching dagger.
MCage
04-21-07, 07:07 PM I cant remember what book but they call it a necoid...it might be from the pool of radiance campaign, something the cult of dragons use
Evandar_TAybara
04-21-07, 07:49 PM Arms and Equipment guide list katars as an alternative name to the punching dagger (same statistics).
Not sure exactly what a cat claw weapon is, but from the name it sounds a bit like the claw bracer that appears in the Arms and Equipment guide, FRCS, Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor adventure and probably other sources too. Essentially, it has the same stats as a dagger, but comes in the form or a bracer with multiple blades that protrude beyond the fingers of the hand. It has the advantage of leaving your hand free for activities such as spellcasting, and can't be disarmed. It is however an exotic weapon.

Evan.
RavenDrake
04-21-07, 08:48 PM There are a couple of claw-like weapons that could substitute for the Cat Claws.

Neko-de: A bracer-like weapon, you slip them on and can claw at foes like a cat(the name is japanese for Cat Hands or Cat Fist). They also provide a bonus to climb checks. (Underdark[3.5], Oriental Adventures[3.0])

Clawed Bracer: A gauntlet weapon with a pair of long blades. (Forgotten Realms Book[3.0], Arms and Equipment Guide[3.0])

There are also the Panther Claw and Tiger Claw, which are similar claw-like weapons, which I believe are both in the Arms and Equipment Guide.

Alternately, there's the basic fallback of describing your punching Dagger as being as being set of claws and letting it do slashing damage instead as has been suggested.
saidin0111
04-25-07, 02:16 AM hey, thanks for the ideas
I figured I'd have to probably use the punching dagger and redo the damage type and probably needs to be exotic, though I suppose it could be martial
for those that don't know what the cat claw weapon is, admitidly I should have put that in the op, if you are familiar with Vega, from Street Fighter, or with the claw weapons from Diablo II, those are cat claws, they strap on the arm and have about three slightly curved blades extending from them, they are used for slashing an opponent and are generally used in pairs
katars are similar, just with a single piercing blade on them
I suppose the clawed bracer would be the place to start, since it probably reflects the difficulty of disarming weapons that are strapped on
draconic_swine
04-25-07, 09:15 AM If all you're going to do is change the damage type of the punching dagger from piercing to slashing, then there's no need to change its proficieny to exotic or even martial. If you do, the weapon will be underpowered. It's balanced as a simple weapon, no matter which of the damage types it deals. If you want to boost its stats to make it an appropriate exotic weapon, that's fine, but you definitely don't need to make it exotic just because it seems exotic (special monk weapons, I'm looking at you).
John Q. Mayhem
04-25-07, 10:50 AM Actually, to leave the hand free, a spiked gauntlet might make a better starting point. Make it martial and have it do 1d6 slashing damage because of the longer blades.
saidin0111
04-25-07, 09:10 PM I was thinking about giving them an 18-20 crit range, which would almost definitely mean martial, plus, I was thinking that with three almost foot long blades, they should do damage at least equal to that of a short sword, so that would make them equal to a rapier that can't be disarmed, or at least one that is really, really hard to disarm
another thought that I had was to make them exotic, but allow martial use, kinda like a bastard sword, but different in that they are always light weapons, but with exotic proficiency, you reduce two-weapon fighting penalties by 2 when using a pair of them
draconic_swine
04-26-07, 06:12 PM If you're looking at making them light 1d6 18-20/x2 weapons, then that's an exotic weapon. If you boost either the damage or the threat range over the punching dagger, then it's fine as a martial.

I'd be careful about being able to further reduce TWFing penalties, as that's quite a nice ability, and no other weapon can do that. Really, if you give them the ability, then there's no reason for any TWFer to ever use any other weapon. At most I'd suggest treating anyone wielding a pair of cat claws as having taken TWFing for the purposes of reducing the attack penalties, and even that's pushing the envelope.
j3st3r
04-26-07, 06:31 PM The panther claw was also presented in one of the Dragon magazines and later in the Dragon Compendium (great accessory btw). It can also be found from one of the D&D articles: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20020623c.
saidin0111
04-27-07, 01:09 AM okay, how about:

Exotic Light Weapon
Cat Claws 175gp(ea.) 1d6 18-20/x2 2lb. Slashing

Cat claws cannot be disarmed. A wielder proficient
in the use of cat claws gains a +2 bonus on attempts
to disarm an opponent while wielding a pair of cat
claws. It takes a standard action to strap a cat claw
into place, or a full-round action to strap on a pair.
This provokes attacks of opportunity as it draws your
attention away from battle.

More or less what I want them to do, but it seems to be a bit complex compared to the rules for most weapons. EDIT: not as complex now
DarkRhystar
04-27-07, 01:58 AM okay, how about:

Exotic Light Weapon
Cat Claws 175gp(ea.) 1d6 18-20/x2 2lb. Slashing

Cat claws cannot be disarmed. A weilder proficient
in the use of cat claws gains a +2 bonus on attempts
to disarm an opponent while weilding a pair of cat
claws. While weilding a matching pair, a set of cat
claws designed to be weilded together with the same
weight, balance, and shape, a proficient user with
the Weapon Finesse feat reduces Two-Weapon Fighting
penalties by two, this reduction is superceded by the
reduction granted by Two-Weapon Fighting and does not
stack. It takes a standard action to strap a cat claw
into place, or a full-round action to strap on a pair.
This provokes attacks of opportunity as it draws your
attention away from battle.

More or less what I want them to do, but it seems to be a bit complex compared to the rules for most weapons.

It's strictly better than the Elven Lightblade (RotW).

By the way, get rid of the Weapon Finesse/TWF stuff. Most anyone who will be TWF'ing and hoping to hit anyone will already have the feat.

I understand you want these to be TWF-able and finesse-able at level 1, but unless you start dropping weapon stats or switch races it won't happen.

Regardless, the Lightblade is exotic, light, d6, and 18-20/x2; you're going to be balancing against it with these things.
saidin0111
04-27-07, 02:36 AM I'm definitely going to axe that bit, as it doesn't provide enough benefit for the increase in complexity and, as you pointed out, the Elven Lightblade has set a precedent on balance. I was wondering, what is the price of the Elven Lightblade, as I don't have RotW and won't be able to drop by the local Barnes and Noble for a while. Oh, ****, I didn't realize what time it was, I've got to get back to work or I won't be done when the day shift comes in, oops.
saidin0111
04-27-07, 10:18 AM I took out that extra bit from the stat block, they shouldn't be so bad now

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
saidin0111 04-21-07, 04:24 PM	hey, I was wondering if cat claws and katars had D&D equivalents, I figure the punching dagger is pretty much a katar, but I have yet to find anything like cat claws, does anyone know of anything like that in any of the books EDIT: current incarnation of custom weapon Exotic Light Weapon Cat Claws 175gp(ea.) 1d6 18-20/x2 2lb. Slashing Cat claws cannot be disarmed. A wielder proficient in the use of cat claws gains a +2 bonus on attempts to disarm an opponent while wielding a pair of cat claws. It takes a standard action to strap a cat claw into place, or a full-round action to strap on a pair. This provokes attacks of opportunity as it draws your attention away from battle.
jacobi289 04-21-07, 04:28 PM	cat claw = natural weapon. the damage is based on the creature size, so find the natural weapon damage for a tiny (I think that's what a cat is) natural weapon. or do you mean some sort of claw like weapon that a person can wield?
bobothechimp 04-21-07, 04:37 PM	Take punching daggers, make the damage slashing. Ta-dah.
draconic_swine 04-21-07, 05:08 PM	Take punching daggers, make the damage slashing. Ta-dah. Bingo. Alternately, you could make cat claws 1d4 19-20/x2 to differentiate them somewhat from punching daggers. And I'm pretty sure the PHB lists katar as an alternate name for the punching dagger.
MCage 04-21-07, 07:07 PM	I cant remember what book but they call it a necoid...it might be from the pool of radiance campaign, something the cult of dragons use
Evandar_TAybara 04-21-07, 07:49 PM	Arms and Equipment guide list katars as an alternative name to the punching dagger (same statistics). Not sure exactly what a cat claw weapon is, but from the name it sounds a bit like the claw bracer that appears in the Arms and Equipment guide, FRCS, Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor adventure and probably other sources too. Essentially, it has the same stats as a dagger, but comes in the form or a bracer with multiple blades that protrude beyond the fingers of the hand. It has the advantage of leaving your hand free for activities such as spellcasting, and can't be disarmed. It is however an exotic weapon. Evan.
RavenDrake 04-21-07, 08:48 PM	There are a couple of claw-like weapons that could substitute for the Cat Claws. Neko-de: A bracer-like weapon, you slip them on and can claw at foes like a cat(the name is japanese for Cat Hands or Cat Fist). They also provide a bonus to climb checks. (Underdark[3.5], Oriental Adventures[3.0]) Clawed Bracer: A gauntlet weapon with a pair of long blades. (Forgotten Realms Book[3.0], Arms and Equipment Guide[3.0]) There are also the Panther Claw and Tiger Claw, which are similar claw-like weapons, which I believe are both in the Arms and Equipment Guide. Alternately, there's the basic fallback of describing your punching Dagger as being as being set of claws and letting it do slashing damage instead as has been suggested.
saidin0111 04-25-07, 02:16 AM	hey, thanks for the ideas I figured I'd have to probably use the punching dagger and redo the damage type and probably needs to be exotic, though I suppose it could be martial for those that don't know what the cat claw weapon is, admitidly I should have put that in the op, if you are familiar with Vega, from Street Fighter, or with the claw weapons from Diablo II, those are cat claws, they strap on the arm and have about three slightly curved blades extending from them, they are used for slashing an opponent and are generally used in pairs katars are similar, just with a single piercing blade on them I suppose the clawed bracer would be the place to start, since it probably reflects the difficulty of disarming weapons that are strapped on
draconic_swine 04-25-07, 09:15 AM	If all you're going to do is change the damage type of the punching dagger from piercing to slashing, then there's no need to change its proficieny to exotic or even martial. If you do, the weapon will be underpowered. It's balanced as a simple weapon, no matter which of the damage types it deals. If you want to boost its stats to make it an appropriate exotic weapon, that's fine, but you definitely don't need to make it exotic just because it seems exotic (special monk weapons, I'm looking at you).
John Q. Mayhem 04-25-07, 10:50 AM	Actually, to leave the hand free, a spiked gauntlet might make a better starting point. Make it martial and have it do 1d6 slashing damage because of the longer blades.
saidin0111 04-25-07, 09:10 PM	I was thinking about giving them an 18-20 crit range, which would almost definitely mean martial, plus, I was thinking that with three almost foot long blades, they should do damage at least equal to that of a short sword, so that would make them equal to a rapier that can't be disarmed, or at least one that is really, really hard to disarm another thought that I had was to make them exotic, but allow martial use, kinda like a bastard sword, but different in that they are always light weapons, but with exotic proficiency, you reduce two-weapon fighting penalties by 2 when using a pair of them
draconic_swine 04-26-07, 06:12 PM	If you're looking at making them light 1d6 18-20/x2 weapons, then that's an exotic weapon. If you boost either the damage or the threat range over the punching dagger, then it's fine as a martial. I'd be careful about being able to further reduce TWFing penalties, as that's quite a nice ability, and no other weapon can do that. Really, if you give them the ability, then there's no reason for any TWFer to ever use any other weapon. At most I'd suggest treating anyone wielding a pair of cat claws as having taken TWFing for the purposes of reducing the attack penalties, and even that's pushing the envelope.
j3st3r 04-26-07, 06:31 PM	The panther claw was also presented in one of the Dragon magazines and later in the Dragon Compendium (great accessory btw). It can also be found from one of the D&D articles: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20020623c.
saidin0111 04-27-07, 01:09 AM	okay, how about: Exotic Light Weapon Cat Claws 175gp(ea.) 1d6 18-20/x2 2lb. Slashing Cat claws cannot be disarmed. A wielder proficient in the use of cat claws gains a +2 bonus on attempts to disarm an opponent while wielding a pair of cat claws. It takes a standard action to strap a cat claw into place, or a full-round action to strap on a pair. This provokes attacks of opportunity as it draws your attention away from battle. More or less what I want them to do, but it seems to be a bit complex compared to the rules for most weapons. EDIT: not as complex now
DarkRhystar 04-27-07, 01:58 AM	okay, how about: Exotic Light Weapon Cat Claws 175gp(ea.) 1d6 18-20/x2 2lb. Slashing Cat claws cannot be disarmed. A weilder proficient in the use of cat claws gains a +2 bonus on attempts to disarm an opponent while weilding a pair of cat claws. While weilding a matching pair, a set of cat claws designed to be weilded together with the same weight, balance, and shape, a proficient user with the Weapon Finesse feat reduces Two-Weapon Fighting penalties by two, this reduction is superceded by the reduction granted by Two-Weapon Fighting and does not stack. It takes a standard action to strap a cat claw into place, or a full-round action to strap on a pair. This provokes attacks of opportunity as it draws your attention away from battle. More or less what I want them to do, but it seems to be a bit complex compared to the rules for most weapons. It's strictly better than the Elven Lightblade (RotW). By the way, get rid of the Weapon Finesse/TWF stuff. Most anyone who will be TWF'ing and hoping to hit anyone will already have the feat. I understand you want these to be TWF-able and finesse-able at level 1, but unless you start dropping weapon stats or switch races it won't happen. Regardless, the Lightblade is exotic, light, d6, and 18-20/x2; you're going to be balancing against it with these things.
saidin0111 04-27-07, 02:36 AM	I'm definitely going to axe that bit, as it doesn't provide enough benefit for the increase in complexity and, as you pointed out, the Elven Lightblade has set a precedent on balance. I was wondering, what is the price of the Elven Lightblade, as I don't have RotW and won't be able to drop by the local Barnes and Noble for a while. Oh, ****, I didn't realize what time it was, I've got to get back to work or I won't be done when the day shift comes in, oops.
saidin0111 04-27-07, 10:18 AM	I took out that extra bit from the stat block, they shouldn't be so bad now