D&D 5E Weapon Expansion System Introduction This is a system intended for players to create and upgrade their own weapons and personalize them throughout a campaign. This is intended to replace the base +1, +2, +3 system. Instead the properties of a weapon are now based on the material that the weapon is made out of with rarer materials giving a higher hit chance and weapons made of makeshift materials will be more difficult to hit with in turn. This is meant to give players a sense of progression with their weapons as they explore and become stronger. How it Works This system is built on two main concepts. First that the material a weapon is made from determines its base stats. Secondly that a player may make trade offs to increase certain factors of their weaponry. Each blade style that the player chooses has some form of benefit and detriment to it, along with an edge hone to farther modify the blade. Another core concept is that no one choice is truly superior, in order to empower the player's chosen style. Enchantments Enchantment implementation is left up to the players and GMs decision. Personally I like enchantments to effect the weapon unique ways. Rather than a weapon simply deal magical damage, it will deal a specific type of damage now and its visual characteristics change along with it (ex. a weapon that deals ice damage will have is blade turn crystalline and emit a chill around it, or a blade the deals psychic damage becomes ethereal and passes through a target not physically harming them but making their mind believe they are being gravely wounded.) Enchantments in this system should not simply stack damage but create truly unique items. The amount of enchantments a weapon can hold is up to the players and the GM as well. Whether you want a weapon to only ever be able to have a single enchantment no matter what or to have weapons made of rarer materials be able to have more than one enchantment though this can become incredibly powerful. Implementation into Your World There are several ways to have the components of this system implemented into your world. The easiest is to have different smiths be able to craft different blades and have access to different materials. The smiths of a capital city for example would have access to much higher quality materials than the smith of a remote village. You can pick out some of the more powerful and unique items and have schematics and blueprints placed in explorable areas throughout your world. Perhaps an ancient civilization had mastered Damascus smithing and you recover that knowledge to take to a smith for them to learn. Maybe there is a single legendary smith in the world who has not been seen in so long that they are thought to be a myth that knows the secrets of smithing. I personally like to have smiths of different skill levels knowing different blade styles and how to work with different materials based on their geographic location in the world. With the more unique and rare materials in the tier 4 a 5 categories requiring the knowledge to be found taken to a smith of adequate skill level and the players investing resources for the smith the learn the method and provide it to them (at a discount if they help provide materials for the smith to learn). Ultimately though it is up to the Players and GM to figure out the way that they want to implement this system in their own worlds. 1
Building Your Weapons Guidelines Each weapon is this system is made up of three components; the material, the blade style, and the edge hone. When building a weapon select one item from each category. The only exceptions to this rule are specifically stated within the tables you choose from. From there you simply pay for the item you have chosen based on the pieces you have chosen and the weapon is yours! Pricing Pricing is based on the weapons type selected, the price of the raw material, and how much the individual smith charges for their time and skills. Weights The following are how much of each raw material it takes to craft the selected type of weapon. Dagger - 2 lbs Shortsword - 3.5 lbs Longsword - 5 lbs Greatsword - 8 lbs Material Prices Material prices can vary depending on different areas based on the GM's discretion The following should be not be viewed as absolute but as more of a guideline. Wood, Stone, and Bone - Scavenged Bronze - 4sp/lb Iron - 1sp/lb Silver - 5gp/lb Electrum - 25gp/lb Cold Iron - 4sp/lb Steel - 4gp/lb Gold - 50gp/lb Platinum - 500gp/lb Tamahagane - 100gp/lb Titanium - 80gp/lb Damascus - Based on the 2 materials chosen Mithril - 2500gp/lb Adamantite - 5000gp/lb Elysium Metal - 10000gp/lb 2
Materials (Choose One) Type Tier Hit Chance/ Damage Modifier Unique Trait Bone 0 0/-3 Does not require a smith Wood 0 -3/0 Does not require a smith Stone 0 -5/1 Does not require a smith Bronze 1 0/0 Iron 1 0/0 Silver 1 -3/-3 Healing spells heal an additional 3HP (compounds on higher level casts) Electrum 1 -3/-3 Attack spells deal an additional 2 damage (compounds on higher level casts) Cold Iron 2 1\0 Basic Steel 2 0/1 Gold 2 -2/-2 Healing spells heal for an additional 5HP (compounds on higher level casts), buffs last for 1 extra turn Platinum 2 -2/-2 Attack spells deal an additional 4 damage (compounds on higher level casts), debuffs applied require one more success to recover from Tamahagane Steel 3 2/0 Titanium 3 0/2 Damascus 3 N/A Combines 2 materials together and gets the benefits of 50% of the selected materials individual attributes Mithril 4 3/3 Attacks are naturally magical without enchantment Adamantite 4 5/5 Attacks are naturally magical without enchantment Elysium Metal 4 1/1 All spells you cast gain 2 of the used die (plus 1 for every higher level cast), debuffs you apply take 2 more successful saves to recover from, buffs you apply last an additional 2 turns. 3
Blades (Choose One) Name Style Dagger / Shortsword / Longsword / Greatsword Unique Trait Arming Blade Strength / Slashing x / 2d4-2 / x / x +1 AC but -2 damage when used with a shield Bastard Blade Strength / Slashing x / x / x / 1d12 Can be used as a longsword with a -4 to hit chance Butterfly Blade Finesse / Slashing 2 / x / x / x Light, +5 to hit chance Cinquedea Blade Strength / Slashing 1d4 / x / x / x Light, +1 AC, -2 to hit chance Claymore Blade Strength / Slashing x / x / x / 3d6-2 Always swung at disadvantage, the target must make a Constitution saving throw equal to or greater than the damage taken or be knocked prone Cutlass Blade Strength/Slashing x/1d4/x/x If the user beats the targets AC by 5 or more they are able to make a second attack at advantage with the hand guard to stun the target, the target must make a DC11 dexterity saving throw or be stunned Dacian Falx Blade Strength/Slashing x/x/x/1d10 Ignores the AC of the targets Shield Dao Blade Finesse/Slashing x/2d4-3/x/x Versatile, On a successful initial hit add 1d4 to all follow up attack rolls made on the same turn Dha Blade Finesse/Slashing x/1d6/x/x Allows the user to use a bonus action to make an initial quick strike that does 1 point of damage and grants advantage on the attack roll. However, if the initial attack misses the user forgoes the rest of their turn. Executioner's Blade Strength/Slashing x/x/x/1d4 If a target is killed with this weapon all allies in a 60ft radius gain a 1d8 inspiration die for that encounter Falcata Blade Strength/Slashing x/1d6/1d8/x Versatile Falchion Blade Strength/Slashing x/1d8/x/x Versatile, -3 to attack rolls, for every 5 points the user beats the targets AC by add 1d4 to the damage roll Grosse Messer Blade Strength/Slashing x/x/2d8+2/x Every attack the wielder is hit with is a critical Kalij Blade Strength/Slashing x/1d6/1d8/x Deal 1.5 times the damage from horseback, but half damage on foot Kaskara Blade Strength/Slashing x/x/1d8/x This blade can have 2 different edge hones Katzbalger Blade Finesse/Slashing x/1d6/x/x The wielder gains +3AC against Slashing attacks but -2AC against Piercing and Bludgeoning Hook Blade Finesse/Slashing x/1d6/x/x The attacker can choose to deal half damage and force and enemy that they could grapple 10ft to the left or right. If dual wielded the user can link the swords together to give themselves a 10ft range at disadvantage Jian Blade Finesse/Slashing x/1d6/1d8/2d6 -3 to hit, Critical range is increased by 1 (this stacks with other critical modifiers) Khanda Blade Strength/Slashing x/x/1d8/x The wielder can choose to take a -3 to their AC in order to make a counter attack with the pommel spike that deals 1d6 piercing damage whether they are hit by the incoming attack or not. Kora Blade x/1d6/1d8/x Strength/Slashing The wielder can choose to take a -12 to their attack roll to add an extra 1d8+4 to their damage roll Katana Blade Finesse/Slashing x/x/1d6/x On a natural attack roll of 15 or greater the attacker gets a second attack for free Kreigmesser Blade Strength/Slashing x/x/x/2d10+4 the wielder takes double damage from attacks made against them Leaf Blade Strength/Slashing 1d4/1d6/1d8/2d6 Kodachi Blade Finesse/Slashing x/1d4/x/x On a natural attack roll of 15 or greater the attacker gets a second attack for free Makhaira Blade Strength/Slashing x/1d6/x/x +5 to hit when striking from horseback, -2 to hit on foot 4
Blades (Continued) Name Style Dagger / Shortsword / Longsword / Greatsword Unique Trait Naginata Blade Strength/Slashing x/x/x/1d8 10ft reach, On a natural attack roll of 15 or greater the attacker gets a second attack for free. Pira Blade Strength/Slashing x/x/2d4+2/x Heavy, -2AC, +1 to the attack roll Spatha Blade Strength x/1d6/1d8/x Chooses between dealing piercing or slashing damage Nimcha Blade Finesse/Slashing x/x/1d6/x The edge on this blade is 25% more effective Pata Blade Finesse/Slashing x/1d6/1d8/x Light, +2AC, Cannot use items while wielded Seax Blade Finesse/Slashing 1d4/1d6/x/x On a critical hit the attacker rolls a d20, on an 11 or higher the critical modifier is tripled instead of doubled, on a 10 or less the attack does no critical damage Shamshir Blade Finesse/Slashing x/1d6/1d8/x When used from horseback if the wielder charges the target in a straight line for 20ft or more add 1d6 to the attack roll and the target must make a DC14 dexterity or strength saving throw or be knocked prone. deals half damage on foot. Tsurugi Blade Finesse/Slashing x/x/2d4-1/x Tulwar Blade Strength/Slashing x/1d10/1d12/x On a natural roll of 10 or lower regardless if the attack lands or not the wielder takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage Flamberge Blade Strength/Slashing x/x/x/2d6 The wielder may choose to sacrifice their entire next turn to deal 5d6 instead of 2d6, This must be chosen before the attack roll. If the roll is a natural 5 or lower they have -2AC until the end of the recovery turn Ram Dao Blade Strength/Slashing x/x/x/12 -10 to hit Anelace Blade Finesse/Piercing 1d6/x/x/x Cannot make attacks of opportunity Epee Blade Finesse/Piercing x/1d6/1d8/x Critical range against medium armor or creatures considered moderately armored is increased by 3, but attacks at disadvantage and cannot land a critical on anything else Estoc Blade Finesse/Piercing x/1d6/1d8/x Critical range against Heavy armor or creatures considered Heavily armored is increased by 3, but attacks at disadvantage and cannot land a critical on anything else Gladius Blade Strength/Piercing x/1d6/x/x Rapier Blade Finesse/Piercing x/1d6/1d8/x Critical range against light armor or creatures considered lightly armored is increased by 3, but attacks at disadvantage and cannot land a critical on anything else Straight Blade Strength/Piercing 1d4/1d6/1d8/2d6 Wakizashi Blade Finesse/Piercing 1d4-1/x/x/x On a natural attack roll of 15 or greater the attacker gets a second attack for free Xiphos Blade Strength/Piercing x/1d8/x/x -3 to hit 5
Edge Styles (Choose One) Name Effect Flat Grind No Effect Hollow Grind Increases critical hit range by 1 and deals 1d4+2 additional damage against light or unarmored targets, but suffers a -5 to hit and a 10% chance to become damaged against medium and heavily armored targets. Damaged blades lose the benefit and become -7 to hit against medium and heavy armored targets. Blades can be repaired by a blacksmith or a party member with blacksmithing knowledge and materials Double Bevel Grind Increases hit chance by 5 and can reroll critical fails but the weapon deals half damage Serrated Edge -2 to the damage roll, however if the attack beats the targets AC by 5 it causes the target to bleed Dealing 2 points of necrotic damage for the next 2 turns. The damage mulitiplies by 2 for every extra 5 points the hit exceeds the targets AC in a single strike (ex. 2,4,8). The length extends by 1 turn for every additional strike that causes the effect, the damage over time does not increase after the initial strike until the effect ends and is reapplied. Notes I am putting this out as the first part for a larger project that I am doing which I why only bladed weapons are included. I am planning on expanding in all areas and adding more (ores, edge styles, utility styled items that add to things outside of combat, all the weapon classes as well as some unique weapons) If you have any Ideas that you would like to see included send them to me at [email protected] or message me on Reddit u/SomeGuyWhoRollsDice Please send me your feedback as I am always looking to improve my work. Feel free to share the weapons you create with this toolset with me, I would love to see what wonderful and wacky combinations you create. Have Fun!
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