WEAPON PROFICIENCY, SKILL, AND SPECIALIZATION I've adapted weapon proficiency and mastery partially to the skill system, instead of having them be completely based on feats. The adaptations are rather different than what we've been using based on 1st Edition rules. Here's a summary of how this works: - Skills are used by all characters for weapon proficiency and for extra skill in particular weapons. - Specialization is enhanced with the standard Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats, or optionally with the new Weapon Group Focus and Weapon Set Focus feats. These two effects are cumulative, so a weapon specialist will almost always have high skill in at least one weapon of his specialty. HOW WEAPON SKILLS DIFFER FROM OTHER SKILLS There are three main differences between the weapon skills presented here and the usual PHB skills. First, you'll rarely have a reason to roll against a weapon skill. Second, the number of ranks of the skill that are "in class" is determined by your base attack bonus, not directly by your class levels. The number of ranks "in class" is base_attack+3. Third, there is no ability score whose bonus is added to your weapon skill in most cases. There may be exceptions, such as a skill roll to keep your weapon in good condition (add Int bonus, +2 for 5 ranks of any same-material craft skill), or a skill roll to do a flashy maneuver in the air with your weapon (add Dex bonus, +2 for 5 ranks of Perform skill). The benefits of weapon skills are explained below, in several of the following sections. WEAPON PROFICIENCIES The weapon feats some classes start with (e.g. "Martial Weapons") serve to make that category of weapons "in class" for the character. Feats are never needed for proficiency in any weapon, nor do feats give proficiency in any weapon. By PHB rules, a character without proficiency in a weapon suffers a -4 attack penalty. House rule: the nonproficient character's effective *base* attack is reduced by the penalty amount, possibly lowering his attack rate, ability to use Power Attack, qualification for certain feats, etc. That penalty amount is dependent on the weapon type. Read on for specifics. To be fully proficient, you must have enough ranks in the appropriate skill. TYPE RANKS simple 3 martial 4 exotic 5 For example, proficiency in a longsword is indicated by a minimum of 4 ranks in the skill "Weapon(longsword)". Note that Fighters would spend only 3 skill points to learn the longsword, because they start with the Weapon Ease feat (reduced cost for ranks in weapon skills). Even with this reduction in cost, a Fighter (or other character with Weapon Ease) wanting proficiency in an exotic weapon still has to either wait until 2nd level or pay the cost of exceeding his limit of ranks per skill. For every 1 skill point by which a character lacks proficiency, the base-attack penalty is -1. So, someone with no skill in morningstar, would have a base-attack penalty of -3 (regardless of whether he had the Simple Weapons feat). Weapon Ease would reduce the penalty by 1. The penalty would be double for someone without the Simple Weapons feat. Someone partially proficient with a weapon will have a lower penalty than someone altogether unskilled with that weapon. Executive summary: Typical proficiency costs, assuming no additional feats: CLASS LEVEL SK PTS WEAPON TYPE =========================================== Cleric 0 3 simple Cleric 1 5 martial Cleric 2 4 martial Cleric 2 6 exotic Cleric 3 5 exotic ---------------------------------- Fighter 0 2 simple Fighter 1 3 martial Fighter 2 4 exotic ---------------------------------- Rogue 0 3 simple Rogue 1 5 martial in-class Rogue 2 4 martial in-class Rogue 1 8 martial not-in-class Rogue 2 10 exotic ---------------------------------- Wizard 0 6 simple Wizard 1 8 martial Wizard 2 10 exotic ---------------------------------- SK PTS: The skill point cost to get 3 ranks in a simple weapon, 4 ranks in a martial weapon, or 5 ranks in an exotic weapon. (Each of which is reduced by 1 for the Fighter class, which has Weapon Ease.) The numbers that are double 3, 4 or 5 reflect that the corresponding weapon skill is out of class. LEVEL: The level of a character to attain the proficiency at the listed cost. WEAPON TYPE: Rogue is the only one of the most basic classes that has (with house rules) an odd set of weapons in-class. Specifically, the ones that the PHB describes a Rogue starting with proficiency in are in-class, even though some of them are martial weapons. A Rogue with the Martial Weapons feat gets full access to all martial weapons, as for any other class. WEAPON GROUP PROFICIENCIES Weapon group skills allow a character to have familiarity with a range of weapons, without specifically developing skill with every weapon in that range. For example, a character could get ranks in the skill "Weapons(small blades)". The limit on skill in a weapon group is just like any other skill: level+3. The effect of a weapon being cross-class is taken into account with the individual weapon skill. (Many weapon groups, at least in theory, contain weapons of each simple, martial and exotic weapon types.) When you buy ranks in a "Weapons" skill, you get "free skill points" applied to all individual weapon skills that correspond to that type. Divide a narrow group skill by 2, and a broad group skill by 3. These "free skill points" add to the character's weapon skill, but does not raise the skill limit. You might think of it as raising the zero-point for that skill. Example: A 3rd-level Rogue gets the skill Weapons(blades)" at the limit for his level: 6 ranks. That gives him 2 skill points worth of skill in all "blade" weapons (e.g. dagger or sword). Dagger is in-class for him (thanks to the Simple Weapons feat), and requires 3 ranks to be fully proficient. So he adds one more skill point into the "Weapon(dagger)" skill, giving him full proficiency with that. With any other simple-weapon blade he suffers a -1 non-proficiency penalty to his base attack (since he has 2 of the 3 ranks needed for full proficiency). Longsword, a martial blade, would be out of class, so his "free skill points" would buy him only one rank of that skill. Since a martial weapon requires 4 ranks for full proficiency, he would have a -3 non-proficiency penalty on his base attack. Maybe he'd like to remedy this by becoming more proficient with the long sword. Since martial weapon skills are cross-class for this Rogue, he would pay 2 skill points for the first rank increase (bringing him to 2 ranks). He is unlikely to want to pay the price of full proficiency in longsword unless that is his primary weapon, but if he does, it would end up costing 6 skill points in Weapon(longsword). Weapon skills can be "promoted" as long as no final skill number for a weapon decreases in the process. For example, a character with 4 ranks in Weapon(shortsword) who wants to become more well-rounded has a skill point available. He chooses to put it, and one of the points that went into Weapon(shortsword) into Weapon(small blades), instead. (He went from 4 ranks of Weapon(shortsword) to 3 of Weapon(shortsword) and 2 of Weapons(short blades).) His level of skill with the shortsword remains constant, but he has gained +1 effective rank in all other (in-class) small blades. He could later add another skill point, and promote the 2 in Weapons(short blades) to a total of 3 points in the broad group Weapons(blades), still keeping his shortsword skill constant, but now giving the +1 for the group proficiency to all bladed weapons, not just the short ones. FURTHER STUDY Becoming more skilled with a weapon entails, as you might expect, further raising one's skill rating in the weapon. There is a bonus for skill ranks beyond those needed for full proficiency: RANKS ATTACK prof +0 prof+4 +1 prof+8 +2 prof+12 +3 That's 4 more ranks for +1, another 4 for +2, another 4 for +3, etc. Note that to get +3 with a weapon, a Fighter would have to be 12th level for a simple weapon, 13th for martial, and 14th for exotic, due to skill limits. Increasing the skill 4 ranks always gives +1 attack, so pushing 4 ranks beyond the skill cap (spending 10 months) would always give +1 to attack, though depending on level it might take fewer ranks. Also, the skill bonus to hit is NOT a bonus to *base* attack, but just to attack rolls. It does NOT result in the character getting extra attacks sooner. But there is a way to further master a weapon that WILL increase the base attack beyond the norm: focus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- OTHER WEAPON SPECIALIZATION New feat: Weapon Group Focus. Identical to Weapon Focus with 4 exceptions (besides the name): - It applies to a weapon group rather than an individual weapon. - It is not useful to take multiple times. - You sacrifice +1 of base attack bonus outside the group to get the benefit of the additional +1 focus modifier to base attack with weapons inside the group. The Weapon Focus feat gives the same type of bonus, so Weapon Focus and Weapon Group Focus overlap (do not stack). - Upon advancing a level in any class, the character can opt to either take that new level's base attack bonus (or fraction thereof) for all weapons, or can trade it in for an additional advantage with the specialty group. There are two restrictions on this trade: * Your base attack bonus outside your specialty cannot drop below the base attack bonus a Wizard would have at your character level. * Your base attack bonus (either in or out of group) can never decrease when compared to your previous level. TRADING VALUES Giving up a +1 base attack bonus outside a broad weapon group gives a +1/2 focus modifier to base attack bonus to weapons inside the group. Giving up a +1 base attack bonus outside a narrow weapon group gives a +2/3 base attack bonus inside the weapon group. The fractions accumulate, but don't matter until they (with your regular base attack) add up to whole numbers. Prerequisites: Base attack +1 more than a Wizard of the same character level, proficiency with 2 weapons in a narrow group or 3 weapons in a broad group. Special: Having the Weapon Group Focus feat allows you to use with the entire weapon group those other feats that would normally be restricted to a single weapon. The first use of such a feat applies to a single weapon in the group, e.g. "Weapon Specialization (greatsword)". A second use of the feat applies to a narrow group, e.g. "Weapon Specialization (large swords)". If your specialty is in a broad group, then a third use of the feat applies to that broad group, e.g. "Weapon Specialization (blades)". (The uses of the feat for an individual weapon and for a group do not add, as they give a bonus of the same type.) Weapon Group Focus serves as the prerequisite "Weapon Focus", and if the modifier to base attack bonus in the group is +2 or more (i.e. you have traded in enough to get a second +1 on BAB for the group), it serves as the prerequisite "Greater Weapon Focus". New feat: Weapon Set Focus. Similar to Weapon Group Focus, but the "group" can be 4 arbitrary weapons, at least 1 of which the character must be proficient with and must be chosen when the feat is taken. Every bonus (including the initial +1 base attack) is applied to ONLY ONE weapon in the set of 4, but still requires that the character give up 1 base attack bonus with any weapon not in that set. The trade-in value is as with a narrow weapon group (+2/3 base attack or +4/3 damage bonus with one weapon in the set per +1 base attack sacrificed with all weapons outside that set). Feats that normally apply to a single weapon cannot be used with the weapon set (i.e. that aspect of Weapon Group Focus does not apply to Weapon Set Focus). A "Weaponmaster" by old Fivtoria rules is anyone who has taken the Weapon Group Focus feat. A "Weaponmajor" is anyone who has taken the Weapon Set Focus feat. EXAMPLE 1 A 5th level Fighter has taken "Weapon Group Focus (blades)". Blades is a broad group. A 5th-level Wizard would have a base attack bonus of +2, while a 5th-level Fighter gets +5. This gives our Fighter +3 of base attack bonus that she can trade in toward her specialty, all 3 of which she does trade in. She got one of them at each levels 1, 3 and 5. (Those are the levels when a Wizard's base attack bonus doesn't increase, but a Fighter's does). She traded in the first +1 of base attack at first level, along with acquiring the Weapon Group Focus feat, to give her a +1 base attack with all weapons in the blades group. At 1/2 trade-in value for later trades, she ended up at 3rd level being able to add only a +1 to damage with blades. Instead, she chose to save up so that at 5th level she would be able to add another +1 base attack bonus with blades. If she were to wait until 5th level, then trade in both +1 base attack bonuses with non-blades for a +1 with blades, her base attack bonus with non-blades would drop from +3 to +2. So to save up for the eventual bonus with blades she needs to not take the third base attack bonus with non-blades at 4th level. In other words, she trades in her 4th-level and 5th-level non-blades base attack bonuses each for +1/2 base attack bonus with blades. This trade is done when she reaches 4th level and when she reaches 5th level. So with blades, she has +7 base attack at 5th level, but no damage bonus. But she wants to be as effective as possible with her current favorite weapon, the great sword. So she takes the Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization feats, which are specific to a weapon, giving her a net +7 base attack (still) and +2 damage with the great sword. You really don't want to get into a fight with this character, but if you do, either move into her space (close combat) or stay at range. She's still pretty good in close combat (+7 base attack and no damage bonus with a dagger), but she is helpless in ranged combat (base attack +2, no damage bonus, and she is probably not even proficient with a ranged weapon). EXAMPLE 2 A 5th-level Fighter has taken Weapon Set Focus. He chooses dagger and scimitar, but leaves the other two weapons unspecified. At first level he takes the Weapon Set Focus feat, giving up +1 base attack bonus for an additional +1 base attack with scimitar (and no adjustment either way with dagger). Upon reaching 3rd level, he adds +1 damage for the dagger, and he chooses to add composite shortbow to the set. He is now +4(+0) (base attack(damage) bonuses) with scimitar, +3(+1) with dagger, +3(+0) with composite shortbow, and +1(+0) with any other weapon. Upon reaching 5th level, he adds +1 damage to scimitar, giving him totals of +6/+1(+1) with scimitar, +5(+1) with dagger, +5(+0) with composite shortbow, and +2(+0) with any other weapon. He still hasn't chosen the 4th and final weapon for his focus set, but he can do so upon any level increase (or perhaps at any time with 1 month of training, but "upon level increase" is simpler). Another twist: he spends his 4th level and 6th level feats on Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization for the composite shortbow. At 6th level, this gives him: scimitar +7/+2 +1 damage dagger +6/+1 +1 damage comp shortbow +7/+2 +2 damage Of course, he spent 2 extra feats on the bow.