3.5 Wield Oversized Weapon Feat - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

3.5 Wield Oversized Weapon Feat

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
The_Hooded_Boy
Sep 13, 2012 12:56:18 Hey, I was just wondering if the Wield Oversized Weapon feat allows me to weild a large sized weapon in my off-hand (as long as I have the Oversized Two-Weapon Fighting feat). I know Monkey Grip doesn't count it for off-hand weapons but this feat doesn't say anything about it.
#2
Tempest_Stormwind
Sep 13, 2012 13:47:56
Hey, I was just wondering if the Wield Oversized Weapon feat allows me to weild a large sized weapon in my off-hand (as long as I have the Oversized Two-Weapon Fighting feat). I know Monkey Grip doesn't count it for off-hand weapons but this feat doesn't say anything about it.

If you're Medium, it does in fact do this - a Large one-handed weapon (used as a two-handed weapon by Medium creatures) becomes usable as a one-handed weapon by a Medium creature, regardless of which hand you're in, and Oversized TWF lets you use a one-handed weapon in your off-hand with penalties as if it were light. Furthermore, you actually treat the Large weapon as Medium as well, so it doesn't actually give you the extra -2 for using a weapon of the wrong size.

Why you'd want to do this, I don't know. Spending an EPIC feat on this (and one which requires Monkey Grip, no less!) and switching from a Medium short sword to a Large short sword in your off-hand only increases your damage output by 3.5; presumably if you've invested in all the prerequisite feats you have another source of bonus damage (Sneak Attack, Shadow Blade, Insightful Strike, etc.), which (except in the case of Power Attack) doesn't care about the size of your weapons. And even Power Attack only needs Oversized TWF to work on your off-hand weapon - and even then the attack roll penalties put TWFing behind just using a regular ol' two-hander, which doesn't require the extra feat.

One of the biggest traps in D&D is this fixation with swinging a really big stick, when simply swinging a big stick provides nearly as much bang for a mere fraction of the buck. I can think of exactly one build (TWF+Power Attack) where Oversized TWF might be useful, and even then it'll fall behind a normal two-hander + Power Attack. I can think of ZERO builds where using Wield Oversized Weapon would be even close to useful.
#3
The_Hooded_Boy
Sep 13, 2012 14:45:00
Why you'd want to do this, I don't know. Spending an EPIC feat on this (and one which requires Monkey Grip, no less!) and switching from a Medium short sword to a Large short sword in your off-hand only increases your damage output by 3.5; presumably if you've invested in all the prerequisite feats you have another source of bonus damage (Sneak Attack, Shadow Blade, Insightful Strike, etc.), which (except in the case of Power Attack) doesn't care about the size of your weapons. And even Power Attack only needs Oversized TWF to work on your off-hand weapon - and even then the attack roll penalties put TWFing behind just using a regular ol' two-hander, which doesn't require the extra feat.

One of the biggest traps in D&D is this fixation with swinging a really big stick, when simply swinging a big stick provides nearly as much bang for a mere fraction of the buck. I can think of exactly one build (TWF+Power Attack) where Oversized TWF might be useful, and even then it'll fall behind a normal two-hander + Power Attack. I can think of ZERO builds where using Wield Oversized Weapon would be even close to useful.

Well the answer to this is not a mechanics thing but a roleplay thing. I was messing with some big sword ideas and figured out a build that while it wouldn't be extremely powerful, it would still be fun to play and still be able to function. The build I was thinking about was a master thower who throws two large sized bastard swords around the field. It isn't uber powerful, but if I wanted it to be then I would just play a druid, wizard, or warblade.
#4
Tempest_Stormwind
Sep 13, 2012 14:56:59
Well the answer to this is not a mechanics thing but a roleplay thing.

Full stop. You do know those aren't mutually exclusive, right? In fact, if you're playing a character whose level is high enough to consider Wield Oversized Weapon, you should realize just how powerful that actually is, and characters don't get to be that powerful without being very good at what they do.
I was messing with some big sword ideas and figured out a build that while it wouldn't be extremely powerful, it would still be fun to play and still be able to function. The build I was thinking about was a master thower who throws two large sized bastard swords around the field. It isn't uber powerful, but if I wanted it to be then I would just play a druid, wizard, or warblade.

I'm shocked you'd consider the warblade on par with the druid or wizard. The casters can reshape reality with a blink. The warblade just moves and hits things. The Tier System explains this clearly: the casters are both Tier One, while the warblade is Tier Three (smack in the middle of it).

That said, oddly enough, the class you'd probably want to consider for this is NOT Master Thrower, but rather, ironically, Warblade: Bloodstorm Blade can take that concept and actually make it work. You won't be punished for taking a few levels of Master Thrower if you want - ToB multiclassing is very lax in that regard - so don't feel shoehorned here. But Bloodstorm Blade will be the key to turning this concept from "quaint little trick" into "successful adventurer". It'll be pricey feat-wise, but servicable with fighter levels and equipment (hint: only take TWF - the extra attacks from higher-level feats are too inaccurate to be worth the feats, and you can get Improved TWF from the MIC's Gloves of the Balanced Hands if you really want it. You can also bypass the giant traps of Monkey Grip / Wield Oversized Weapon by simply using Sun Blades. Voila - you get all that you'd want out of TWFing without spending too many feats on it, letting you pick up the requirements for throwing without too many Fighter levels.)
#5
Slagger_the_Chuul
Sep 13, 2012 21:20:12 You can take Wield Oversized Weapon if you really want to, just keep in mind that you're taking it because having a really big sword is cool, not because it's more mechanically effective than the alternatives.

Just note here, Hooded, that if you're asking for an answer on the optimization section of the boards, you're going to get answers favouring the most optimal result unless you specifically state limits or definite requirements.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 The_Hooded_Boy Sep 13, 2012 12:56:18	Hey, I was just wondering if the Wield Oversized Weapon feat allows me to weild a large sized weapon in my off-hand (as long as I have the Oversized Two-Weapon Fighting feat). I know Monkey Grip doesn't count it for off-hand weapons but this feat doesn't say anything about it.
#2 Tempest_Stormwind Sep 13, 2012 13:47:56	Hey, I was just wondering if the Wield Oversized Weapon feat allows me to weild a large sized weapon in my off-hand (as long as I have the Oversized Two-Weapon Fighting feat). I know Monkey Grip doesn't count it for off-hand weapons but this feat doesn't say anything about it. If you're Medium, it does in fact do this - a Large one-handed weapon (used as a two-handed weapon by Medium creatures) becomes usable as a one-handed weapon by a Medium creature, regardless of which hand you're in, and Oversized TWF lets you use a one-handed weapon in your off-hand with penalties as if it were light. Furthermore, you actually treat the Large weapon as Medium as well, so it doesn't actually give you the extra -2 for using a weapon of the wrong size. Why you'd want to do this, I don't know. Spending an EPIC feat on this (and one which requires Monkey Grip, no less!) and switching from a Medium short sword to a Large short sword in your off-hand only increases your damage output by 3.5; presumably if you've invested in all the prerequisite feats you have another source of bonus damage (Sneak Attack, Shadow Blade, Insightful Strike, etc.), which (except in the case of Power Attack) doesn't care about the size of your weapons. And even Power Attack only needs Oversized TWF to work on your off-hand weapon - and even then the attack roll penalties put TWFing behind just using a regular ol' two-hander, which doesn't require the extra feat. One of the biggest traps in D&D is this fixation with swinging a really big stick, when simply swinging a big stick provides nearly as much bang for a mere fraction of the buck. I can think of exactly one build (TWF+Power Attack) where Oversized TWF might be useful, and even then it'll fall behind a normal two-hander + Power Attack. I can think of ZERO builds where using Wield Oversized Weapon would be even close to useful.
#3 The_Hooded_Boy Sep 13, 2012 14:45:00	Why you'd want to do this, I don't know. Spending an EPIC feat on this (and one which requires Monkey Grip, no less!) and switching from a Medium short sword to a Large short sword in your off-hand only increases your damage output by 3.5; presumably if you've invested in all the prerequisite feats you have another source of bonus damage (Sneak Attack, Shadow Blade, Insightful Strike, etc.), which (except in the case of Power Attack) doesn't care about the size of your weapons. And even Power Attack only needs Oversized TWF to work on your off-hand weapon - and even then the attack roll penalties put TWFing behind just using a regular ol' two-hander, which doesn't require the extra feat. One of the biggest traps in D&D is this fixation with swinging a really big stick, when simply swinging a big stick provides nearly as much bang for a mere fraction of the buck. I can think of exactly one build (TWF+Power Attack) where Oversized TWF might be useful, and even then it'll fall behind a normal two-hander + Power Attack. I can think of ZERO builds where using Wield Oversized Weapon would be even close to useful. Well the answer to this is not a mechanics thing but a roleplay thing. I was messing with some big sword ideas and figured out a build that while it wouldn't be extremely powerful, it would still be fun to play and still be able to function. The build I was thinking about was a master thower who throws two large sized bastard swords around the field. It isn't uber powerful, but if I wanted it to be then I would just play a druid, wizard, or warblade.
#4 Tempest_Stormwind Sep 13, 2012 14:56:59	Well the answer to this is not a mechanics thing but a roleplay thing. Full stop. You do know those aren't mutually exclusive, right? In fact, if you're playing a character whose level is high enough to consider Wield Oversized Weapon, you should realize just how powerful that actually is, and characters don't get to be that powerful without being very good at what they do. I was messing with some big sword ideas and figured out a build that while it wouldn't be extremely powerful, it would still be fun to play and still be able to function. The build I was thinking about was a master thower who throws two large sized bastard swords around the field. It isn't uber powerful, but if I wanted it to be then I would just play a druid, wizard, or warblade. I'm shocked you'd consider the warblade on par with the druid or wizard. The casters can reshape reality with a blink. The warblade just moves and hits things. The Tier System explains this clearly: the casters are both Tier One, while the warblade is Tier Three (smack in the middle of it). That said, oddly enough, the class you'd probably want to consider for this is NOT Master Thrower, but rather, ironically, Warblade: Bloodstorm Blade can take that concept and actually make it work. You won't be punished for taking a few levels of Master Thrower if you want - ToB multiclassing is very lax in that regard - so don't feel shoehorned here. But Bloodstorm Blade will be the key to turning this concept from "quaint little trick" into "successful adventurer". It'll be pricey feat-wise, but servicable with fighter levels and equipment (hint: only take TWF - the extra attacks from higher-level feats are too inaccurate to be worth the feats, and you can get Improved TWF from the MIC's Gloves of the Balanced Hands if you really want it. You can also bypass the giant traps of Monkey Grip / Wield Oversized Weapon by simply using Sun Blades. Voila - you get all that you'd want out of TWFing without spending too many feats on it, letting you pick up the requirements for throwing without too many Fighter levels.)
#5 Slagger_the_Chuul Sep 13, 2012 21:20:12	You can take Wield Oversized Weapon if you really want to, just keep in mind that you're taking it because having a really big sword is cool, not because it's more mechanically effective than the alternatives. Just note here, Hooded, that if you're asking for an answer on the optimization section of the boards, you're going to get answers favouring the most optimal result unless you specifically state limits or definite requirements.