Creating new weapons [Archive] - Wizards Community

Creating new weapons [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Bane
09-28-04, 11:27 AM One of my players is playing as a gnome illusionist who goes some inventing too. My question is twofold:
A) Would the gnome be able to craft entirely new weapons with Craft (weaponsmithing)?
B) Would the gnome be proficient with a weapon he invented?
Beamup
09-28-04, 11:34 AM A) Yes, with a couple caveats. The DC would be quite high, and you would have to individually approve each thing he wanted to do. No 2d10 10-20/x5 light weapons with all the special abilities of a Spiked Chain at ANY DC, for example.

B) No. They'd be Exotic weapons, he'd have to spend the feat to gain proficiency normally. Coming up with an idea and forging the weapon doesn't necessarily mean you know techniques for its use. Those would have to be worked out seperately.
Thorak
09-28-04, 01:37 PM A good general rule of thumb with weapons is to look at the other weapon's stats, and don't make anything that is 'better' than other weapons. Take into account damage type (bludgeoning generally counts as a 1 'point' bonus, because a lot of things have DR/Bludgeoning), critical range, and any other sundry bonuses as well as pure damage.

And, generally, a Martial weapon is 1 'point' better than a Simple weapon, and an Exotic weapon is one 'point' even higher.

So, say you wanted to create an overly thick sword, that does more damage than most one-handed weapons. If you wanted to keep it Martial, you could make it 1d10 x2, dropping the 19-20 threat range most swords get to boost the damage up a die. Or, you could make it 1d10 19-20 x2 as an Exotic, essentially the same as a bastard sword. Or even 1d12 x2 Exotic. Though if the Warmace from CW is any example, the guys at WotC think a one-handed weapon going past 1d10 damage is so good it's worth 2 'points', since with the Warmace you take a -1 AC penalty for swinging it as well.

But it's a good rule of thumb. And prevents overpowered weapons that are created by people not considering balance. i've seen Claw Gauntlets proposed where the creator obviously thought "well, each claw's like a dagger, so it'll do 3 daggers worth of damage. And it's easy to use, just punch, so it's Simple." And ended up with a 3d4 19-20 x2 Simple weapon. Which is better than any exotic one-handed weapon.
Woas
09-28-04, 01:53 PM A Guideline For Making Custom Weapons In 3 Ed D&D (http://www.ucalgary.ca/~ammaster/d_n_d/custom_weapons.html)

That is from Edymnion's sig.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Bane 09-28-04, 11:27 AM	One of my players is playing as a gnome illusionist who goes some inventing too. My question is twofold: A) Would the gnome be able to craft entirely new weapons with Craft (weaponsmithing)? B) Would the gnome be proficient with a weapon he invented?
Beamup 09-28-04, 11:34 AM	A) Yes, with a couple caveats. The DC would be quite high, and you would have to individually approve each thing he wanted to do. No 2d10 10-20/x5 light weapons with all the special abilities of a Spiked Chain at ANY DC, for example. B) No. They'd be Exotic weapons, he'd have to spend the feat to gain proficiency normally. Coming up with an idea and forging the weapon doesn't necessarily mean you know techniques for its use. Those would have to be worked out seperately.
Thorak 09-28-04, 01:37 PM	A good general rule of thumb with weapons is to look at the other weapon's stats, and don't make anything that is 'better' than other weapons. Take into account damage type (bludgeoning generally counts as a 1 'point' bonus, because a lot of things have DR/Bludgeoning), critical range, and any other sundry bonuses as well as pure damage. And, generally, a Martial weapon is 1 'point' better than a Simple weapon, and an Exotic weapon is one 'point' even higher. So, say you wanted to create an overly thick sword, that does more damage than most one-handed weapons. If you wanted to keep it Martial, you could make it 1d10 x2, dropping the 19-20 threat range most swords get to boost the damage up a die. Or, you could make it 1d10 19-20 x2 as an Exotic, essentially the same as a bastard sword. Or even 1d12 x2 Exotic. Though if the Warmace from CW is any example, the guys at WotC think a one-handed weapon going past 1d10 damage is so good it's worth 2 'points', since with the Warmace you take a -1 AC penalty for swinging it as well. But it's a good rule of thumb. And prevents overpowered weapons that are created by people not considering balance. i've seen Claw Gauntlets proposed where the creator obviously thought "well, each claw's like a dagger, so it'll do 3 daggers worth of damage. And it's easy to use, just punch, so it's Simple." And ended up with a 3d4 19-20 x2 Simple weapon. Which is better than any exotic one-handed weapon.
Woas 09-28-04, 01:53 PM	A Guideline For Making Custom Weapons In 3 Ed D&D (http://www.ucalgary.ca/~ammaster/d_n_d/custom_weapons.html) That is from Edymnion's sig.