Hi, new to D&D beyond and had a specific question.
I have been tinkering for awhile now, and have solved most issues but this one. Building a low-magic setting that has pretty much no magic items, all my players are on board and are building martial type characters. I wanted to add a layer to the game where if you trained with a certain weapon then you would get an added half proficiency bonus to hit with a specific weapon class such as longsword, greataxe, etc (therefore the highest would be a +3 at level 17 and it would give them mechanics for being specialized in something).
I have tried making a magic item that would do this, and even tried feats, but could not find an option that would effect a specific weapon, only options to effect all simple or all melee etc.
I know this can be done manually by customizing the weapon on the character sheet, but I am trying to sell my group on using Beyond, and having that automatically effect their character sheet would be really cool and useful.
Anyone know of a way to do this, or if its even possible?
Half-proficiency would normally be best done with feats, however, there is not currently a way to add bonus feats to characters (beyond their normal Ability Skill Increase level-ups). I also don't think we have an actual option to simulate half-proficiency on top of a normal proficiency. Full proficiency typically overrides half-proficiency.
Right now I think manually customizing the weapon is the best option for this. Do you have a master tier subscription? If so, you could homebrew a longsword magic item with a bonus to melee attacks. You could pass that off as non-magical to your players, and give that to them when they earn the 'half-proficiency'.
Alternatively you could just pass the existing +1/+2/+3 versions of weapons as 'masterwork' versions, rather than magical, and leave their actual weapon skill down to the standard class/level progression. You'd achieve the same bonuses, and could introduce them at the same point campaign-wise as you would have given them the extra bonus for weapon skills. It might also add some loot-excitement to a world with next to no magic items, rather than have their weapons remain the same throughout. Just an idea!
If you like the non-magical weapons idea, I read a great article on them a year or so back. I don't 100% agree with his interpretation in a normal D&D 5e game with magic items, but it might be perfect for you, or at least worth considering: How to Make Masterwork Items in 5e
Thank you, VillainTheory, so much for the advice! I may just use that masterwork idea as it greatly simplifies these mechanics. Thanks for the article as well!
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Hi, new to D&D beyond and had a specific question.
I have been tinkering for awhile now, and have solved most issues but this one. Building a low-magic setting that has pretty much no magic items, all my players are on board and are building martial type characters. I wanted to add a layer to the game where if you trained with a certain weapon then you would get an added half proficiency bonus to hit with a specific weapon class such as longsword, greataxe, etc (therefore the highest would be a +3 at level 17 and it would give them mechanics for being specialized in something).
I have tried making a magic item that would do this, and even tried feats, but could not find an option that would effect a specific weapon, only options to effect all simple or all melee etc.
I know this can be done manually by customizing the weapon on the character sheet, but I am trying to sell my group on using Beyond, and having that automatically effect their character sheet would be really cool and useful.
Anyone know of a way to do this, or if its even possible?
Hey CalebDM, welcome to the D&D Beyond forums!
Half-proficiency would normally be best done with feats, however, there is not currently a way to add bonus feats to characters (beyond their normal Ability Skill Increase level-ups). I also don't think we have an actual option to simulate half-proficiency on top of a normal proficiency. Full proficiency typically overrides half-proficiency.
Right now I think manually customizing the weapon is the best option for this. Do you have a master tier subscription? If so, you could homebrew a longsword magic item with a bonus to melee attacks. You could pass that off as non-magical to your players, and give that to them when they earn the 'half-proficiency'.
Alternatively you could just pass the existing +1/+2/+3 versions of weapons as 'masterwork' versions, rather than magical, and leave their actual weapon skill down to the standard class/level progression. You'd achieve the same bonuses, and could introduce them at the same point campaign-wise as you would have given them the extra bonus for weapon skills. It might also add some loot-excitement to a world with next to no magic items, rather than have their weapons remain the same throughout. Just an idea!
If you like the non-magical weapons idea, I read a great article on them a year or so back. I don't 100% agree with his interpretation in a normal D&D 5e game with magic items, but it might be perfect for you, or at least worth considering: How to Make Masterwork Items in 5e
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Thank you, VillainTheory, so much for the advice! I may just use that masterwork idea as it greatly simplifies these mechanics. Thanks for the article as well!