Which Weapon do YOU use?

Re: 5.0.1 Mods and Fixes Thread

Unfortunately, the Arms & Equipment Guide, a 3.0 book, is superseded by the more recent 3.5 book Stormwrack. According to Stormwrack, the stats for the cutlass are as follows:
Cutlass - cost 15 gp - Dmg (S) 1d4, (M) 1d6, critical 19-20 x2. Weight 3 lb., type slashing. Light martial weapon (so it can be finessed). +2 circumstance bonus to checks to resist being disarmed.

 

thats all well and good except that the game doesn't actually recognise cutlass as a weapon type, which means that it will have to get a double up with another wepon type

 

[EDIT ] on a side note, what class are the pirates. cos if they're all rogues then they arn't proficent with scimitars. if they're a class with MWP then fine.

 

Good catch! I think most of the pirates are fighters, but there might be some rogues. Then again, the game doesn't seem to apply non-proficiency penalties to NPCs anyway.

 

Re: 5.0.1 Mods and Fixes Thread

Out of the six pirates listed in the protos, four of them are fighters, and two are rangers, so they're okay as far as proficiencies go.

Looks like I was closer with my original idea, would anyone object to me switching cutlasses to shordswords?

 

Please answer the following.

Why not keep the Cutlass as Weapon Type: "Rapier" and change just its Weapon Attack Type to "D20DT_PIERCING_AND_SLASHING", instead of "D20DT_PIERCING" [if you want to change, meaning improve, it as the Cutlass is a better weapon than a Rapier]?

Why change it to be a type of shortsword when a Cutlass is closer in type and is closer to being used like a Rapier [and is very different from a shortsword, especially in fighting technique]?

[EDIT]
The reason I ask is because the Cutlass is not a shortsword and is not similar to a shortsword where both the Cutlass and the Shortsword are very different weapons and have different uses in combat and swordfighting.

 

well the old style cutlass, which is based on the falchion, has no point for piercing. its nothing like a raiper and is designed for hacking.

here is what the pirate cutlass looks like

 

Here is more information aboout the Cutlass from wikipedia. cutlass
* "A cutlass is a short thick cutting sword, or a gross sabre, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and often with a solid basket-shaped guard."

In contrast, here is shortsword information from wikipedia. shortsword
* "Shortsword is a compound word neologism used for referring to a sword shorter than the “standard†ones but yet longer than a dagger. In normal use it refers to relatively short, straight-bladed swords or large, broad daggers. Examples include the katzbalger, gladius, xiphos, baselard, cinquedea, and the U.S. Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword."

There is a vast difference between a cutlass and shortsword. A cutlass is much closer in type and in use to a rapier than a shortsword.
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In general, everywhere you look, you will find these swords are considered similar or related by their intended use in fighting style.
-> rapier, saber, épée, scimitar, and cutlass
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In D&D terms, the only difference between a cutlass and a shortsword is that the cutlass does slashing damage and the shortsword does piercing damage; the cutlass weighs an extra pound and costs 5 gp more; and the cutlass has a bonus against disarms.

D&D is not the game to nit-pick over the "reality" of combat situations. Heavy armor makes it harder for someone to hit you? Halberds don't have reach? The cutlass is not even high on the list of things that are absurd under the system.

What exactly does this "weapon type" designation affect? Proficiencies? If so, then I'd say go with rapier, because that means the cutlass is usable by rogues. If it has some effect on the base stats, then the shortsword is closer to the cutlass in D&D stat terms.

EDIT: I forgot, I think rogues are proficient in shortsword as well. Yep, they are. So it really doesn't matter unless you're talking about people with Weapon Focus or whatnot, so long as you can just give it whatever stats are appropriate.

EDIT EDIT: Cleaned up some messy writing. Argh.

 

@krunch: I'm just trying to make the cutlass as rules-compliant as I can, not trying to improve it or make it better than a rapier, and making it do both piercing and slashing damage would be breaking those rules. Personally, I disagree that it's more like a rapier, from the pictures and descriptions of others(and my memories of pirate movies), but on the whole, after I give the cutlass the stats Jesse Heinig posted above I can't see what real difference it would make in-game.

 

Just to check, will this also have an effect on two-weapon fighting with the weapon? D&D treats the rapier as a non-light melee weapon, so you take extra penalties for off-hand fighting with it. The cutlass is classed as a light weapon so it does not grant the extra penalty for being in the off hand.

 

If you give the stats referred to by Jesse, namely these stats.

And, you keep it as a weapon type Rapier--not change it to shortsword--I would applaud you for applying Jesse's suggestions.

 

There is no Cutlass weapon type.

 

Indeed, and so it has to be a rapier or a shortsword. Without looking at the factual, historical basis of the cutlass, which has similarities to scimitars and to single-edged fencing blades, but JUST looking at the game mechanics, the cutlass is closer to the shortsword: It's a light weapon, it has a 19-20 threat range. (The damage is the same for both rapier and shortsword, so that doesn't really matter.) In this case, the light weapon classification is important: The rapier can be finessed in D&D because it is a special exception to the rules. The shortsword can be finessed by its definition as a light weapon, which also extends to making it impossible to Power Attack with it. Two-weapon fighting also has hardcoded rules based around whether a weapon is light or not.

If you can tell the engine to consider the cutlass a light weapon and still class it as a rapier, then great, that's cool. If you can't, and you just want game-mechanical versimilitude, then in pure stats it's closer to the shortsword.

 

Actually, Jesse your question about the game engine treating the rapier as a medium but finessable weapon was right on the money. I just tested this after creating two cutlasses (one == shortsword, and the other == rapier). Both a regular rapier and the cutlass using the rapier proficiency correctly lack the bonus for using a light weapon in your off-hand, while a shortsword and the cutlass-as-shortsword gain said bonus. Thanks for bringing that up!

@krunch: Yea, those are the stats I'm going to give it and I know there is no cutlass weapon type, that's why this is an issue.