Great Weapon Master

Post/Author/DateTimePost
#1

Lobo316

Apr 12, 2015 19:00:48

Is Great Weapon Master supposed to require the use of a "heavy" weapon? 

 

The Opening Text states:

You’ve learned to put the weight of a w eapon to your advantage, letting its momentum empower your strikes.

 

Simple and basic enough, but then it states two benefits:


1. On your turn, when you score a critical hit with a melee weapon or reduce a creature to 0 hit points with one, you can make one melee weapon attack as a bonus action.

 

2. Before you make a melee attack with a heavy weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a - 5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack’s damage.

 

So my question is, how do you read that?  Is the name and opening text suppose to imply you are required to be using a heavy weapon?  Or perhaps a versitle weapon, two handed?

 

Taken "as is" it would appear the two benefits are mutuallly exclusive.  That is, you can benefit from option 1 when using ANY weapon, but option 2 is only available when wielding a "heavy weapon".

 

However, when I read it, it sounds to me like the desingers may have intened this feat to require use of a heavy weapon, based on the text and name of the feat, that seems to make sense.  After all, I could not see using this feat with a dagger or rapier but what about a versitle weapon when used with two hands?

 

How do you folks read this?

#2

jaelis

Apr 12, 2015 20:12:25

Lobo316 wrote:
#3

Lobo316

Apr 12, 2015 19:20:21

Lobo316 wrote:
#4

Coredump00

Apr 12, 2015 22:09:05

The two abilites are *not* mutually exclusive.  They will both work with a heavy weapon..... but the first one works with any weapon.

 

Some of the Crossbow Expert feat works with non-crossbows, etc.

 

 

#5

CFK

Apr 12, 2015 23:20:15

Lobo316 wrote:
#6

cowleymen

Apr 13, 2015 0:40:16

I can also roll either way. I can understand why though. If you happen to get stranded or have very little weapon options, you can still get some benefit out of your feat, which is about as a large investment you can get besides class levels in 5e.

(Reply to #5)

Lucas_Blackstone

CFK wrote:
#8

Stormborn20

Apr 13, 2015 9:02:49

Here's how I see it.  The feat is all about learning to make use of whatever weight the weapon has.  This technique enhances your capabilities with any melee weapon (1st part), but it is especially potent when you have a heavier weapon to work with (2nd part).

#9

mellored

Apr 13, 2015 9:32:45

That is, you can benefit from option 1 when using ANY weapon, but option 2 is only available when wielding a "heavy weapon".