Thank you for your thoughts on the rapier and parrying dagger combo. Yes, I know that you can take the duel wielder feat and use the two together. I played the game when we had to look up THAC0. I know the mechanics of it. I just don't understand why you wouldn't make the weapon rapier AND parrying dagger, mandating that any rapier user be able to use both. But, that is just me and my fixation or pet peeve or obsession or whatever you want to call it. I don't understand why anyone would call a sword a rapier and not mandate the parrying dagger. They go together like lenses and glasses frames. In my mind, at least, you don't have one without the other.
Except they don't? Certainly not exclusively. The Rapier is a class in modern day fencing and does not use a parrying dagger. The rapier also was never a battlefield weapon, D&D logically shouldn't include it at all because fighting a monster with rapier (with/without parry dagger) is ludicrous historically. The rapier was and still is a dueling / sport weapon. Also, parrying daggers were not use offensively for the most part, hence the name "parrying dagger" so being unable to two-weapon fight with them makes sense, the only thing that is missing is that by default holding a second weapon should probably give you a +1 AC bonus but in D&D you need a feat for that.
They had a few other uses as well, but at the end of the day you could probably think of that style of weapon (not something specifically named a rapier, but also smallswords and the like) as the equivalent of a pistol.
Your modern soldier does not tend to be issued a pistol as it is a far less effective combat weapon than a rifle. This doesn't mean they are totally absent on the battlefield since there are some uses for a pistol (e.g., denoting an officer, as a personal backup weapon, for troops who cannot practically carry a rifle for some reason such as the other equipment they are carrying, etc.). Similarly, you would see such swords on the battlefield, but not as the primary weapon of the troops.
Of course, that's all historical and real world. Very, very few games try to adhere that tightly to absolute realism, especially with all the magic rules and the highly abstracted combat rules, settling in to something more cinematic (with the level of 'unreality' ranging from movies such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves to the Sword and the Sorcerer or Krull).
Going back to the origin of the rapier ( and rapier+dagger) it comes into prominence soon after full plate armor and is a result of that development. Longswords are relatively ineffective vs plate while a slightly longer, thinner, pointier blade can find the gaps and articulation points slipping between the plates to do damage. As guns rendered plate less and less effective while the need for personal civilian protection remained the rapier ( or a near cousin of it like the small sword) became the typical sword and fencing developed. It kept a sharpened blade which allowed slashing attacks and cutting of straps for remaining armor types (breastplates). The use of a dagger etc. with it was one school of combat and may have been dominant in some regions but the use of second weapon is not something easily developed so I seriously doubt it was the primary fighting style. Another clue to this is modern fencing, Sabre is the true descendant of the rapier with both point and edge. If rapier and dagger were the majority style saber would probably be saber and dagger not saber alone. If what your after is to use both the rapier and dagger as weapons your best bet is the two weapon fighting style and dual wielding. If your interest is more in the dagger aiding defense then you may be better off with the defensive fighting style and dual wielding.
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Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
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They had a few other uses as well, but at the end of the day you could probably think of that style of weapon (not something specifically named a rapier, but also smallswords and the like) as the equivalent of a pistol.
Your modern soldier does not tend to be issued a pistol as it is a far less effective combat weapon than a rifle. This doesn't mean they are totally absent on the battlefield since there are some uses for a pistol (e.g., denoting an officer, as a personal backup weapon, for troops who cannot practically carry a rifle for some reason such as the other equipment they are carrying, etc.). Similarly, you would see such swords on the battlefield, but not as the primary weapon of the troops.
Of course, that's all historical and real world. Very, very few games try to adhere that tightly to absolute realism, especially with all the magic rules and the highly abstracted combat rules, settling in to something more cinematic (with the level of 'unreality' ranging from movies such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves to the Sword and the Sorcerer or Krull).
Going back to the origin of the rapier ( and rapier+dagger) it comes into prominence soon after full plate armor and is a result of that development. Longswords are relatively ineffective vs plate while a slightly longer, thinner, pointier blade can find the gaps and articulation points slipping between the plates to do damage. As guns rendered plate less and less effective while the need for personal civilian protection remained the rapier ( or a near cousin of it like the small sword) became the typical sword and fencing developed. It kept a sharpened blade which allowed slashing attacks and cutting of straps for remaining armor types (breastplates). The use of a dagger etc. with it was one school of combat and may have been dominant in some regions but the use of second weapon is not something easily developed so I seriously doubt it was the primary fighting style. Another clue to this is modern fencing, Sabre is the true descendant of the rapier with both point and edge. If rapier and dagger were the majority style saber would probably be saber and dagger not saber alone.
If what your after is to use both the rapier and dagger as weapons your best bet is the two weapon fighting style and dual wielding. If your interest is more in the dagger aiding defense then you may be better off with the defensive fighting style and dual wielding.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.