Make Your Weapons Fun.
As I recently discussed, martials aren't in a great place. Previously I talked about my more heavy-handed solution to making everyone feel like a badass sword wizard, but here's a much more lightweight approach; make their weapons more interesting. Now, I don't just mean handing out cool magic weapons with lots of attached spells and supernatural abilities -- though you should absolutely do so -- I mean take the boring, mundane shit that your average level 1 fighter is swinging vaguely in the direction of some goblins and make it more interesting to use.
The Normal Shit
Let me give an example. Consider the dagger, probably the most standard, boring weapon known to every adventurer. Keep one in your boot, tucked in a loose sleeve, cut some rope with it, stab the drunk who was getting a little too hands-on with the bard, everyone knows how to use the damn things. They're convenient, concealable, and pointy. And oh so dreadfully boring in combat. Roll 1d20 + Strength or Dex + Proficiency vs. AC, 1d4 + Strength or Dex on a hit.
So let's elevate the lowly dagger a bit. It's short, and concealable. So maybe since it's short, it's much easier to stab things with it when you're a bit too close for comfort, perhaps when you're grappling a target or being grappled by it, so you get advantage on attacks with it then. And because it's relatively easy to conceal (trust me, your rogue has like a dozen of these things hidden on their person) maybe you also have advantage on checks you make to hide them away on yourself for when you need to stab someone at a fancy dinner party and the standard cutlery won't quite do the trick.
Now, that's fine and dandy and can be applied to pretty much all of the basic weapons in the same way; you just think about what kind of properties that type of weapon ought to have, and then gamify them out into discrete situational benefits that give you an incentive to use alternative tactics and positioning. Halberds are long and probably suck to try and use while grappled, but maybe they can hit two targets next to each other by swinging it in a 10 foot cone, flails are hard to predict and block, so maybe they always deal small chip damage, even when you miss with an attack, stuff like that.
The Weird Shit
Now let's get weird. In my current setting of Elysara, there's a race of highly advanced magitech simians who frankly probably should have already conquered the rest of the post-apocalyptic world that they inhabit. But they're a bunch of genetically engineered and magitech augmented supersoldiers on a divine mission preparing for the next apocalypse, so they're too busy for that world domination schtick. Anyways, not terribly important, we'll get to it later.
But what is important is their weapons. They're operating with magitech, lots of laserblades, Gauss rifles, flamethrowers, things like that. And the most important characteristic is that they all have some weird mechanical gimmick going on with them that lets you do fun and interesting things with them. Here's a few examples:
Al-Sayf
Martial weapon, melee weapon
50 gp, 6 lb. 2d4 + 2 slashing - heavy, special, two-handed
An al-sayf is a greatsword of Canvian design built to strike with highly reliable momentum and deliver consistent, powerful blows.
Special.
When your attack is a critical hit with an al-sayf, you don't roll any additional weapon damage dice. However, when you hit with an al-sayf and roll the same number on both of the weapon's damage dice, you can immediately roll another d4 and add it to the weapon's damage dice. You can continue rolling extra damage dice until you roll a number that does not match the previous rolls.
Dhirat
Futuristic, martial weapon, melee weapon
50 gp, 3 lb. 1d6 + 1 force - reach, special, versatile (1d8 + 1)
A dhirat is a polearm of Canvian design, consisting of a metal handle and spike that emits a blade of arcane force from its end. Precise control over this blade's extension allows for attacks to be made even in tight quarters without the difficulty expected of normal polearms, and its light weight allows easy use of the weapon in one hand.
Special.
Whenever you take the Attack action with a dhirat, you can forgo one of your attacks to release a surge of arcane force from the dhirat in a line 15 feet long and 5 feet wide in a direction you choose. Each creature in the line takes 1d8 + 1 force damage.
Ket-Sirat
Firearm, futuristic, martial weapon, ranged weapon
700 gp, 18 lb. 3d4 piercing - ammunition (150/450 ft.), reload (4 shots), special, two-handed
A ket-sirat is a firearm of Canvian design which uses potent enchantments to accelerate inert slugs of metal to incredibly high speeds.
Special.
Whenever you take the Attack action with a ket-sirat, you can forgo one of your attacks to make a piercing shot with the gun in a line 150 feet long and 5 feet wide in a direction you choose. Each creature in the line must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus + the ability modifier of the score you use to attack with this weapon) or takes 2d4 piercing damage.
Additionally, being prone does not impose disadvantage on your attack rolls with a ket-sirat.
Mej-Sirat
Firearm, futuristic, martial weapon, ranged weapon
700 gp, 15 lb. 1d4 + 1 piercing - ammunition (100/300 ft.), reload (6 shots), special, two-handed
A
mej-sirat is a firearm of Canvian design which uses powerful
enchantments to fire superheated rounds and to spray waves of fire as
the situation demands.
Special.
Whenever you hit a
target with an attack using a mej-sirat, the target and each creature
within 5 feet of it take 2d4 fire damage as the round explodes in a
burst of flames. The burst of fire ignites flammable objects in the area
that aren't being worn or carried.
Whenever you take the Attack
action with a mej-sirat, you can forgo one of your attacks to release a
wave of fire from the gun in a 30-foot cone. Each creature in that area
must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw (DC 8 + your proficiency bonus +
the ability modifier of the score you use to attack with this weapon)
or take 2d4 fire damage.
Additionally, you don't add your ability modifier to the damage of attacks with a mej-sirat.
Rahat
Martial weapon, melee weapon
25 gp, 3 lb. 1d4 + 1 piercing - finesse, parry (1), riposte, special
A rahat is a long thrusting sword of Canvian design, built to strike with incredible accuracy and to be exquisitely well balanced.
Special.
Whenever you make a weapon attack using a rahat, you roll 2d10 instead of a d20 and add your attack modifier as normal. Your attack scores a critical hit if you roll the maximum possible value of both dice. If you have advantage or disadvantage, you instead roll 3d10 and use the two highest or lowest rolls, respectively.
Parry.
When you are wielding a weapon with the parry property and a creature you can see hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to increase your AC by the number in parentheses until the start of your next turn, including against the triggering attack. If you have the Defensive Duelist feat, you can also add your proficiency bonus.
Riposte.
This weapon is designed to turn defense into offense. When you use the parry property of your weapon and cause a creature to miss, you can make one weapon attack against the triggering creature as part of the same reaction.
Conclusions.
The point is, small AoEs, weird dice mechanics, defensive tools, and situational (dis)advantages are fun ways to mix up normal combat for your martials. Your casters get to have a whole bunch of cantrips that do damage in slightly different ways with slightly different ideal circumstances for their use, so let your martials do it too by carrying around a couple weapons as sidearms. Or a whole golf bag, if they're really into it.
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