Author Topic: Weapon Handbook Discussion  (Read 24618 times)

Offline linklord231

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #20 on: July 19, 2013, 10:53:25 AM »
I meant, why have a set that only includes one element.
I'm not arguing, I'm explaining why I'm right.

Offline Captnq

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #21 on: July 19, 2013, 03:19:59 PM »
I meant, why have a set that only includes one element.

Because I don't have a better way to break it up. I thought about (Misc), but I'm not sure. I don't like having something that has only one item, but what If I want to add items later? Also, it has to do with how it shall interact with the WSAs tables. And the Material Tables. And the Crafting tables. Yes it shall be sprawling.

Please, I welcome suggestions. Got a better idea, throw it out there.

I am thinking of breaking up the Simple Thrown Ammunition into Simple Thrown Ammunition (Touch attack) and (Ranged Attack). It would make the WSA Tables flow smoother.

I'm thinking the tables need their own file. Hey, wanna check out the Blurb?

Quote from: Random Weapon Matrix
Did you ever ACTUALLY read the table in the DMG for random weapons? Did you know that the table has two weapons on it that only existed in 3.0? Another case of copy-and-paste-itis. Well, I aim to fix that.

There are over 400 different types of weapons and ammunition available in my Big List of Violence. Such a big list needs random tables. Using an arcane mathematical process where I evaluate which edition the weapon comes from, as well as the description of how common the item is, and if it’s simple/martial/exotic, I determine an initial value against a rarity index.

Then I just eyeball the crap out of that mother.

I don’t like that sort of thing, but I feel that the following tables are as close to what we can hope for. So you know, There are about 425 weapon/ammo items, over 500 weapon special abilities they can have in multiple combinations, over 40 different materials that the items can be made out of, and a half dozen special means of crafting said items.

While not every combination is possible, I estimate that there are approximately SIX MILLION possible combinations that make sense, if not actually useful. Want a crossbow that increases your caster level and adds WSAs to your Ray Spells? You can roll that. Want a reach weapon that can poison your foe and eat his brain AT THE SAME TIME? You can roll that. Want to throw a pebble that weighs 50 pounds, dissolves your enemies with acid, and shoots through their chest to kill the guy behind them? You can roll that. Want a Giant club that surrounds you with sickening fog, razor sharp sand, explodes twice every time you hit someone, AND HEALS YOU IN THE PROCESS? You can roll that.

If that doesn’t keep your players interested in looting, I don’t know what will.

Remember, it’s a whole lot more fun as the DM when you get to look sympathetic, throw your hands up in the air and say, “Hey, sorry about that, but that’s what I rolled on the random table.” Before unleashing pain upon your players. And don’t worry about making them mad, they’ll be so busy drooling in anticipation of looting the bodies of your NPCs and using that Throwing, Teleporting, Screaming, Thundering, Psychokinetic, Forceful, Balanced +1 Scissor Sword, they’ll totally forgive you if you kill a couple of them.
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Offline Demelain

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #22 on: July 19, 2013, 08:35:40 PM »
(click to show/hide)

I know what they're trying to say, but the way that this ability reads allows you to make a strong case for it granting an extra attack once per turn on your turn.
Of note is the activation line (free: command) and the first line of the mechanical text "This weapon grants you one extra attack in a round." I interpret that as: say the command word, gain one bonus attack this turn.
On a side note, is the weapon usable for its intended purpose (bonus AoO) to begin with? Free (Command) is not an immediate action.

Offline Captnq

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #23 on: July 19, 2013, 11:18:47 PM »
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I know what they're trying to say, but the way that this ability reads allows you to make a strong case for it granting an extra attack once per turn on your turn.
Of note is the activation line (free: command) and the first line of the mechanical text "This weapon grants you one extra attack in a round." I interpret that as: say the command word, gain one bonus attack this turn.
On a side note, is the weapon usable for its intended purpose (bonus AoO) to begin with? Free (Command) is not an immediate action.

Ya know, when you are reviewing 400+ of these things, you miss little details like that. You are correct, the RAW of how this is written, it cannot do what it's supposed to do. At first I thought I copied it wrong, but I got it right. Free Action is not an immediate action, and it says specifically it isn't an AoO, so how does it ever work? However, as a free command you get an extra action, which makes it AWESOME and blows Speed out of the water. I shall have to write up an RAI and RAW on this one.
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Offline Demelain

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #24 on: July 20, 2013, 03:10:53 PM »
Is the Manople a valid target for Shield Sheathe and Shield Gauntlet (both RoS)?

Offline Captnq

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #25 on: July 20, 2013, 07:05:12 PM »
Is the Manople a valid target for Shield Sheathe and Shield Gauntlet (both RoS)?

As far as I can tell, anything that grants you a shield bonus is considered a shield. Considering that Heavy, Light shields can be used as weapons, and enchanted as such, then I must assume that anything that's used as a shield, including the Gnome shielding cloak, qualifies for all shields.
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Offline Captnq

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #26 on: July 22, 2013, 08:49:00 PM »
Question:

Do you want to have a list of every Special Material that can be used for every weapon, or would you prefer to just have a list of Special Materials that you you would compare against.

Also

Would you want a master chart of all weapons in a spreadsheet broken down by Weapon type? All in one big continuous list? Or would you want the master spread sheet to have every possible combination of material so you could compare them as well?
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Offline Captnq

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #27 on: July 22, 2013, 08:58:40 PM »
I'm working on the WSA random tables, but I have too many. 109 +1 WSAs. Any suggestions on breaking up the +1 WSAs?
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Offline linklord231

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #28 on: July 22, 2013, 09:46:56 PM »
I'm working on the WSA random tables, but I have too many. 109 +1 WSAs. Any suggestions on breaking up the +1 WSAs?

Well, not all of them apply to every weapon, right?  Shave off the ones that can only be applied to certain weapons and see how many that leaves.  Unless you already did that, in which case I say split them up by book.  3.0, Core + Completes + Races Of, Environmental, Setting Specific, Alignment Specific, and so on. 

Or you could split them into multiple tables alphabetically, and the first roll is just "which section of the alphabet am I rolling on."
I'm not arguing, I'm explaining why I'm right.

Offline Captnq

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #29 on: July 22, 2013, 11:10:30 PM »
I'm working on the WSA random tables, but I have too many. 109 +1 WSAs. Any suggestions on breaking up the +1 WSAs?
Well, not all of them apply to every weapon, right?  Shave off the ones that can only be applied to certain weapons and see how many that leaves.  Unless you already did that, in which case I say split them up by book.  3.0, Core + Completes + Races Of, Environmental, Setting Specific, Alignment Specific, and so on. 

Or you could split them into multiple tables alphabetically, and the first roll is just "which section of the alphabet am I rolling on."

There are 119 +1 WSAs. 109 apply to melee weapons only. Of those there are only 9 that are limited to a specific weapon. If there were 10, this would be easier. I hate having to have two tables, but I guess that's just what I'm going to have to do.
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Offline Gazzien

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #30 on: July 23, 2013, 12:51:20 AM »
I'm working on the WSA random tables, but I have too many. 109 +1 WSAs. Any suggestions on breaking up the +1 WSAs?
Well, not all of them apply to every weapon, right?  Shave off the ones that can only be applied to certain weapons and see how many that leaves.  Unless you already did that, in which case I say split them up by book.  3.0, Core + Completes + Races Of, Environmental, Setting Specific, Alignment Specific, and so on. 

Or you could split them into multiple tables alphabetically, and the first roll is just "which section of the alphabet am I rolling on."

There are 119 +1 WSAs. 109 apply to melee weapons only. Of those there are only 9 that are limited to a specific weapon. If there were 10, this would be easier. I hate having to have two tables, but I guess that's just what I'm going to have to do.
109 melee - 9 specific = 100? d%?

Offline Captnq

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #31 on: July 23, 2013, 07:36:53 AM »
109 melee - 9 specific = 100? d%?

Yes, at 108, I could have
1-99 +1 WSA
00 - Select a WSA that is weapon specific. (Give list)

But at 109, I need
1-100 +1 WSA

I don't want to use two tables, but it doesn't look like I have much choice. It has poor symmetry. I loath asymmetry
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Offline Captnq

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #32 on: July 23, 2013, 02:26:11 PM »
Question:

Would you prefer the master weapon charts to be in the PDF with the information,
OR
Would you prefer that the master weapon charts were in an Excel Spreadsheet?

In the PDF, the information is basically locked in and safe.
In a spreadsheet, you cal play with the data, sort by things, Blah Blah Blah, BUT you might accidentally delete or destroy valuable data.

I suppose I could just include a text only file with semicolons to break up the data so you can make it into a spreadsheet on your own.

Thoughts?
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Offline Arz

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #33 on: July 23, 2013, 04:32:25 PM »
Not a specific answer to your question but...

The length of the pdf makes searching it difficult at present. There are no subdivisions and your ranking is color coded, so searching for "blue" isn't really an option. Cross-links in the pdf might be another method to make it more user friendly.

Offline Demelain

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #34 on: July 23, 2013, 04:52:33 PM »
109 melee - 9 specific = 100? d%?

Yes, at 108, I could have
1-99 +1 WSA
00 - Select a WSA that is weapon specific. (Give list)

But at 109, I need
1-100 +1 WSA

I don't want to use two tables, but it doesn't look like I have much choice. It has poor symmetry. I loath asymmetry

Are there any similar abilities which can be "collapsed" into one entry? As an example (and I know this one isn't applicable to this exact situation [not melee specific]): Instead of four entries for Fire/Frost/Shock/Acid weapon, a single entry for "Energy Damage" which redirects you to a small sub table?

Offline Captnq

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #35 on: July 23, 2013, 06:55:21 PM »
109 melee - 9 specific = 100? d%?

Yes, at 108, I could have
1-99 +1 WSA
00 - Select a WSA that is weapon specific. (Give list)

But at 109, I need
1-100 +1 WSA

I don't want to use two tables, but it doesn't look like I have much choice. It has poor symmetry. I loath asymmetry

Are there any similar abilities which can be "collapsed" into one entry? As an example (and I know this one isn't applicable to this exact situation [not melee specific]): Instead of four entries for Fire/Frost/Shock/Acid weapon, a single entry for "Energy Damage" which redirects you to a small sub table?

You know, I thought about that. Because it would be weird to get a +1 WSA about fire then a +1 about cold... That would bring it down under 99.
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Offline Captnq

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #36 on: July 23, 2013, 06:57:55 PM »
Not a specific answer to your question but...

The length of the pdf makes searching it difficult at present. There are no subdivisions and your ranking is color coded, so searching for "blue" isn't really an option. Cross-links in the pdf might be another method to make it more user friendly.

I have someone who's willing to bookmark it. Honestly, I'm not that good at it. But I need to get to a "final" edition before they are willing to do it. Trust me, I'd love to figure out an easy way to hypertext the whole thing.
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Offline Arz

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #37 on: July 26, 2013, 02:27:59 PM »
So spikards, is that extra damage or a second (unrolled) attack? The text is somewhat misleading. I've been going on the latter.

So I thought, lets pimp one out and see if it needs more bling.

Dwarvencraft Splitting Quickloading Dwarven Mauler War Spikard (+1) loaded w/tumbling bolts, bayonet, spike shooter, crossbow sight, wand chamber, and receiving Greater Mighty Wallop = 8d6+10d6+2+10d6+2 (*4 v giants/goblinoids) (73.139) Not legit but humorous.


Offline zook1shoe

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #38 on: July 26, 2013, 05:38:58 PM »
@ Mouth Darts.... i don't see anything limiting the # of darts one can keep in their mouth

Gythka has a repeat sentence
« Last Edit: July 26, 2013, 05:46:35 PM by zook1shoe »
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Offline Demelain

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Re: Weapon Handbook Discussion
« Reply #39 on: July 28, 2013, 06:35:27 AM »
I question your purple rating of the [Frightful] enhancement. Sure, it works on every single attack, but the save DC 16 and a target is immune after it successfully saves. I think you can do better for a +3 bonus.
Your thoughts?