I used to be ride or die user of either a glaive/halberd or a greatsword. But I have to say my favorite was a homebrewed one (first and only one so far) called Lurues Comet. It is a Battle Ax Hammer hybrid with the a unicorn horn spike on the top.
Oddly, when I do a ranged character, I always use crossbows in some capacity...either concealed hand crossbows up their sleeves, or fully-sized heavy crossbows.
I just like their look.
Hand crossbow ... up their sleeves? Is this a thing, like some feat of Drow engineering? The hand crossbow as I understand it is a one handed crossbow, in the manual it weighs 3 lbs. At first I was thinking some sort of bicep holster, or perhaps more likely some sort of derringer spring holster that puts it in the characters hand at the game table when the chips are down, or some sort of bracer that fires the bolt over or under the wrist. Is that what you're talking about? I mean as written and their real world analogs they're not derringers, but I'm more curious how they work in your game world. I think I'd let the bracer idea fly, so to speak, but it'd be some pretty exotic engineering.
Wrist mounted crossbows are a fairly common idea in shows/movies. The bow can be folded back or the device can be spring operated. You could also have the bow be vertical to allow a shoulder rig.
The concept can be tweaked to suit your game session...in some cases, it can be a foldable or collapsible hand-crossbow that can be released from inside the sleeve into your hand like any other gripped weapon...though my concept IS essentially a spring-loaded wrist device which flicks bolts at enemies, simply using the hand crossbow damage die. Gotta keep the weight rule for rules sake...but the way I see it, so long as you satisfy the base mechanics, you can go nuts.
I used this concept with the "Crossbow Expert" feat...a roguish character stabs an enemy with a dagger...then launches their concealed sleeve-bolt at a nearby guard who believes himself out of range, with the feat's bonus-action...somewhere between the hidden blade from "Assassins Creed" and Daud from "Dishonored".
It's purely flavor at that point...though, one would have to roll "Sleight of Hand" or "Deception" checks to attempt to smuggle the hidden weapon into some places...and some DM's might want the character to have proficiency in "Tinker Tools" to create such a device in the first place.
"Tinker Tools" have been quite the fun proficiency at my table in the past...let's see...I think it was a cleric & a fighter that created a "holy hand grenade" with holy water, shrapnel, and some powder...they wanted that to work SO badly...
Thanks, I get it, but there's some stickler in my DM head that says hand crossbows are sort of like a full sized semi auto pistol and the up the sleeve techniques are basically "derringering" them so I'd probably rule for 1d4 damage die as opposed to a 1d6. I guess my game world's industrial base isn't steampunky enough to take the level of multiple layers of springs (the actual bolt throwing mechanism, the folding bow, the concealing works, etc) working in harmony as an engineering given. That said, I'm simultaneously finding myself ok with a dagger launcher or spike launcher, probably with half range. And I'm also countering myself but also encouraging the shorter range by considering hand eye coordination involved in shooting or bowcasting, where with these launchers you're sighting with your radius bone? I get it's a trope and I tend to be more swashbuckling than gritty when I run combat, but for some reason I'm at a impasse in accommodating the engineering.
If your tinkerer opted to use splintered wood instead of shrapnel, I would have allowed the Holy Hand Grenade, fiends, vampires and rabbits have vulnerability to it.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Random sidenote: it really gets my goat how D&D "longswords" are actually arming swords, etc.
I'm fair certain that arming swords were mostly one-handers, while the the D&D longsword is a mishmash of every long bladed edged weapon useable with one or two hands.
Yes, an Arming Sword was a one-handed backup weapon, the Longsword or Bastard Sword were in a group of swords known as “hand-and-a-half swords” that could be used either one or two handed. Historically, they would start one-handed and with a shield, and around the time that the shield finally got destroyed the swordarm would also be exhausted and then they would switch to using it two-handed.
That common pairing of swords was practically a European version of a Daishō until armor advanced to the point where heavier weapons that could punch through or crush plate armor became more common.
Eventually the arms race picked up until armor became useless and armies were all about pike formations protecting formations of soldiers using black powder weaponry.
Fair point, I guess it's more a bastard sword than an arming sword. Probably still smaller than a true longsword (nobody would swing that One-Handed), and 5e doesn't really have a definite arming sword.
That said, the real tragedy is the lack of what might be history's greatest blades: falchions!
Oddly, when I do a ranged character, I always use crossbows in some capacity...either concealed hand crossbows up their sleeves, or fully-sized heavy crossbows.
I just like their look.
Hand crossbow ... up their sleeves? Is this a thing, like some feat of Drow engineering? The hand crossbow as I understand it is a one handed crossbow, in the manual it weighs 3 lbs. At first I was thinking some sort of bicep holster, or perhaps more likely some sort of derringer spring holster that puts it in the characters hand at the game table when the chips are down, or some sort of bracer that fires the bolt over or under the wrist. Is that what you're talking about? I mean as written and their real world analogs they're not derringers, but I'm more curious how they work in your game world. I think I'd let the bracer idea fly, so to speak, but it'd be some pretty exotic engineering.
Wrist mounted crossbows are a fairly common idea in shows/movies. The bow can be folded back or the device can be spring operated. You could also have the bow be vertical to allow a shoulder rig.
The concept can be tweaked to suit your game session...in some cases, it can be a foldable or collapsible hand-crossbow that can be released from inside the sleeve into your hand like any other gripped weapon...though my concept IS essentially a spring-loaded wrist device which flicks bolts at enemies, simply using the hand crossbow damage die. Gotta keep the weight rule for rules sake...but the way I see it, so long as you satisfy the base mechanics, you can go nuts.
I used this concept with the "Crossbow Expert" feat...a roguish character stabs an enemy with a dagger...then launches their concealed sleeve-bolt at a nearby guard who believes himself out of range, with the feat's bonus-action...somewhere between the hidden blade from "Assassins Creed" and Daud from "Dishonored".
It's purely flavor at that point...though, one would have to roll "Sleight of Hand" or "Deception" checks to attempt to smuggle the hidden weapon into some places...and some DM's might want the character to have proficiency in "Tinker Tools" to create such a device in the first place.
"Tinker Tools" have been quite the fun proficiency at my table in the past...let's see...I think it was a cleric & a fighter that created a "holy hand grenade" with holy water, shrapnel, and some powder...they wanted that to work SO badly...
Thanks, I get it, but there's some stickler in my DM head that says hand crossbows are sort of like a full sized semi auto pistol and the up the sleeve techniques are basically "derringering" them so I'd probably rule for 1d4 damage die as opposed to a 1d6. I guess my game world's industrial base isn't steampunky enough to take the level of multiple layers of springs (the actual bolt throwing mechanism, the folding bow, the concealing works, etc) working in harmony as an engineering given. That said, I'm simultaneously finding myself ok with a dagger launcher or spike launcher, probably with half range. And I'm also countering myself but also encouraging the shorter range by considering hand eye coordination involved in shooting or bowcasting, where with these launchers you're sighting with your radius bone? I get it's a trope and I tend to be more swashbuckling than gritty when I run combat, but for some reason I'm at a impasse in accommodating the engineering.
If your tinkerer opted to use splintered wood instead of shrapnel, I would have allowed the Holy Hand Grenade, fiends, vampires and rabbits have vulnerability to it.
What about gunderpants for crossbows? (underwear mounted holster)
I have to go with either the Longsword or the Maul.
Maul for the whole "brute force" angle and the Longsword because it is the one weapon that seems the most heroic, and/or adventurous to me. I have spent an ASI on a homebrew feat to get Finesse with Longswords as well.
"But Primateus", you ask, "why didn't you just get a rapier then? It does the same damage." Yeah, but I really don't like the rapier, it's a "feelings" thing.
I do have a soft spot for the Dwarven Waraxe and the humble dagger.
I do have a soft spot for the Dwarven Waraxe and the humble dagger.
Finally!!!! A friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The shortsword is better than the dagger tho!!
Eh, it's okay. But when I visualize a stabby stabby character, I just can't see them with a short sword over a dagger. I know technically the short sword is better, but it just looks wrong in my mind. Unless I'm making a company of soldiers with tower shields fighting side by side.
Oddly, when I do a ranged character, I always use crossbows in some capacity...either concealed hand crossbows up their sleeves, or fully-sized heavy crossbows.
I just like their look.
Hand crossbow ... up their sleeves? Is this a thing, like some feat of Drow engineering? The hand crossbow as I understand it is a one handed crossbow, in the manual it weighs 3 lbs. At first I was thinking some sort of bicep holster, or perhaps more likely some sort of derringer spring holster that puts it in the characters hand at the game table when the chips are down, or some sort of bracer that fires the bolt over or under the wrist. Is that what you're talking about? I mean as written and their real world analogs they're not derringers, but I'm more curious how they work in your game world. I think I'd let the bracer idea fly, so to speak, but it'd be some pretty exotic engineering.
Wrist mounted crossbows are a fairly common idea in shows/movies. The bow can be folded back or the device can be spring operated. You could also have the bow be vertical to allow a shoulder rig.
The concept can be tweaked to suit your game session...in some cases, it can be a foldable or collapsible hand-crossbow that can be released from inside the sleeve into your hand like any other gripped weapon...though my concept IS essentially a spring-loaded wrist device which flicks bolts at enemies, simply using the hand crossbow damage die. Gotta keep the weight rule for rules sake...but the way I see it, so long as you satisfy the base mechanics, you can go nuts.
I used this concept with the "Crossbow Expert" feat...a roguish character stabs an enemy with a dagger...then launches their concealed sleeve-bolt at a nearby guard who believes himself out of range, with the feat's bonus-action...somewhere between the hidden blade from "Assassins Creed" and Daud from "Dishonored".
It's purely flavor at that point...though, one would have to roll "Sleight of Hand" or "Deception" checks to attempt to smuggle the hidden weapon into some places...and some DM's might want the character to have proficiency in "Tinker Tools" to create such a device in the first place.
"Tinker Tools" have been quite the fun proficiency at my table in the past...let's see...I think it was a cleric & a fighter that created a "holy hand grenade" with holy water, shrapnel, and some powder...they wanted that to work SO badly...
Thanks, I get it, but there's some stickler in my DM head that says hand crossbows are sort of like a full sized semi auto pistol and the up the sleeve techniques are basically "derringering" them so I'd probably rule for 1d4 damage die as opposed to a 1d6. I guess my game world's industrial base isn't steampunky enough to take the level of multiple layers of springs (the actual bolt throwing mechanism, the folding bow, the concealing works, etc) working in harmony as an engineering given. That said, I'm simultaneously finding myself ok with a dagger launcher or spike launcher, probably with half range. And I'm also countering myself but also encouraging the shorter range by considering hand eye coordination involved in shooting or bowcasting, where with these launchers you're sighting with your radius bone? I get it's a trope and I tend to be more swashbuckling than gritty when I run combat, but for some reason I'm at a impasse in accommodating the engineering.
If your tinkerer opted to use splintered wood instead of shrapnel, I would have allowed the Holy Hand Grenade, fiends, vampires and rabbits have vulnerability to it.
What about gunderpants for crossbows? (underwear mounted holster)
Hand crossbow ... up their sleeves? Is this a thing, like some feat of Drow engineering? The hand crossbow as I understand it is a one handed crossbow, in the manual it weighs 3 lbs. At first I was thinking some sort of bicep holster, or perhaps more likely some sort of derringer spring holster that puts it in the characters hand at the game table when the chips are down, or some sort of bracer that fires the bolt over or under the wrist. Is that what you're talking about? I mean as written and their real world analogs they're not derringers, but I'm more curious how they work in your game world. I think I'd let the bracer idea fly, so to speak, but it'd be some pre
Thanks, I get it, but there's some stickler in my DM head that says hand crossbows are sort of like a full sized semi auto pistol and the up the sleeve techniques are basically "derringering" them so I'd probably rule for 1d4 damage die as opposed to a 1d6. I guess my game world's industrial base isn't steampunky enough to take the level of multiple layers of springs (the actual bolt throwing mechanism, the folding bow, the concealing works, etc) working in harmony as an engineering given. That said, I'm simultaneously finding myself ok with a dagger launcher or spike launcher, probably with half range. And I'm also countering myself but also encouraging the shorter range by considering hand eye coordination involved in shooting or bowcasting, where with these launchers you're sighting with your radius bone? I get it's a trope and I tend to be more swashbuckling than gritty when I run combat, but for some reason I'm at a impasse in accommodating the engineering.
If your tinkerer opted to use splintered wood instead of shrapnel, I would have allowed the Holy Hand Grenade, fiends, vampires and rabbits have vulnerability to it.
What about gunderpants for crossbows? (underwear mounted holster)
I think the actual real life brand you're referring to is called Thunderwear.
Well, prior to your proposed innovation, this crossbow or wrist shooters required a sophisticated technological understanding of springs and tinkerer know how in the world to get right. By trying to obscure the issue by putting it deep in ones pants, you're now adding a Tailor to the Tinkerer's impact on the soldier or spy's survival. Not saying I'd spite another game for doing it, but for my.game I just feel it's a bad fit. For crossbows. Holy hand grenades holstered in a one's delicates? Knock yourself out, so to speak.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
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I used to be ride or die user of either a glaive/halberd or a greatsword. But I have to say my favorite was a homebrewed one (first and only one so far) called Lurues Comet. It is a Battle Ax Hammer hybrid with the a unicorn horn spike on the top.
Thanks, I get it, but there's some stickler in my DM head that says hand crossbows are sort of like a full sized semi auto pistol and the up the sleeve techniques are basically "derringering" them so I'd probably rule for 1d4 damage die as opposed to a 1d6. I guess my game world's industrial base isn't steampunky enough to take the level of multiple layers of springs (the actual bolt throwing mechanism, the folding bow, the concealing works, etc) working in harmony as an engineering given. That said, I'm simultaneously finding myself ok with a dagger launcher or spike launcher, probably with half range. And I'm also countering myself but also encouraging the shorter range by considering hand eye coordination involved in shooting or bowcasting, where with these launchers you're sighting with your radius bone? I get it's a trope and I tend to be more swashbuckling than gritty when I run combat, but for some reason I'm at a impasse in accommodating the engineering.
If your tinkerer opted to use splintered wood instead of shrapnel, I would have allowed the Holy Hand Grenade, fiends, vampires and rabbits have vulnerability to it.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Fair point, I guess it's more a bastard sword than an arming sword. Probably still smaller than a true longsword (nobody would swing that One-Handed), and 5e doesn't really have a definite arming sword.
That said, the real tragedy is the lack of what might be history's greatest blades: falchions!
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
What about gunderpants for crossbows? (underwear mounted holster)
Enjoy my magic items, spells, monsters, my race, and a few feats. And GIVE ME FEEDBACK... or else.
Like what I say?
⬐ Just press this little guy right here.
I have to go with either the Longsword or the Maul.
Maul for the whole "brute force" angle and the Longsword because it is the one weapon that seems the most heroic, and/or adventurous to me. I have spent an ASI on a homebrew feat to get Finesse with Longswords as well.
"But Primateus", you ask, "why didn't you just get a rapier then? It does the same damage." Yeah, but I really don't like the rapier, it's a "feelings" thing.
I do have a soft spot for the Dwarven Waraxe and the humble dagger.
Finally!!!! A friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The shortsword is better than the dagger tho!!
Enjoy my magic items, spells, monsters, my race, and a few feats. And GIVE ME FEEDBACK... or else.
Like what I say?
⬐ Just press this little guy right here.
Eh, it's okay. But when I visualize a stabby stabby character, I just can't see them with a short sword over a dagger. I know technically the short sword is better, but it just looks wrong in my mind. Unless I'm making a company of soldiers with tower shields fighting side by side.
:(. No fweuind. whahhhhhhhh
Enjoy my magic items, spells, monsters, my race, and a few feats. And GIVE ME FEEDBACK... or else.
Like what I say?
⬐ Just press this little guy right here.
I think the actual real life brand you're referring to is called Thunderwear.
Well, prior to your proposed innovation, this crossbow or wrist shooters required a sophisticated technological understanding of springs and tinkerer know how in the world to get right. By trying to obscure the issue by putting it deep in ones pants, you're now adding a Tailor to the Tinkerer's impact on the soldier or spy's survival. Not saying I'd spite another game for doing it, but for my.game I just feel it's a bad fit. For crossbows. Holy hand grenades holstered in a one's delicates? Knock yourself out, so to speak.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.