hi guys Im playing a level 3 rogue and Im using rapiers at the moment but I want to go into the assassin tree and notoriously ya know rogues have daggers or shortswords of such but they just seem to do less damage that a rapier so Im not too sure why would you have anything but that? Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook by Wizards of the Coast. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. At least, that's my experience. Tee-ran comes from a kobold tribe hired by a large city to dig and manage their sewer system. You could say it's a rapier (shorter), but it has the mechanics of a short sword. It also increases your raw damage per hit. In Fifth Edition they have a penchant for bridging the gap between squishy spell casters like Wizards and melee heavy-hitters like Barbarians.This is reflected in the Pact of the Chain boon, which can be selected at third level. Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, their respective logos, and all Wizards titles and characters are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries. The longbows literally fall from the sky in shimmering modules. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. If your level increases to 4, two short swords is doing 13.7, one rapier is doing 9.1, two rapiers with the feat is doing 14.9, and the revenant blade rogue is doing 17.7. Imagine an enemy has 7-8 health left, (ignoring modifiers etc), you could kill them only if you were using the Rapier, allowing you to damage two separate enemies, whereas with two Shortswords, you could only ever damage one. However, the Scimitar is known as gentle, at 3 pounds. Both weapons deal out the same damage dice, can be finessed, are one-handed, and the rogue is proficient with both. You also get to double down when picking a Weapon Focus. We can see that these deals the same amount of damage on average, even accounting for Sneak Attack. But if so, then you can. Answer: Yes, you can. How many players on offense are allowed to be in motion at the snap of the ball in flag football? It is primarily a weapon used for thrusting and stabbing people, hence the piercing damage. Swords, sabers, and rapiers are all kinds of blades. Hard. You dont add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative. Lose out on crit range, but that isn't the worst when you are relying on sneak attack. How can I make this character with Two-Weapon Fighting and the Dual Wielder feat? Well, there's always aesthetics, flavor, and roleplaying, if you're not a number-crunching wanker. Additionally the Rapier + Dagger combo costs 27gp while the Shortswords cost 20gp, this could be good or bad depending on whether you want to buy or sell the weapons (such as once you get magic versions), but the difference is very slight. Hedging your bets for any damage instead of going for max damage. Answer: That depends on what you want to do. If your Rogue has something like a 6 in Intelligence and an 18 in Dexterity, you can role play him as trying to do Sleight of Hand checks to hide his rapier when he tries to sneak his weapon into places where it isn't allowed. Rumor: Hasbros plans for DnD/DnD beyond. Occasionally he would make trips to the surface to spy on any of the martial arts schools in the city, even braving ridicule and violence if he tried to join, but he never stopped trying, and he never stopped training. How many times did Henry Cooper fight Muhammad Ali? The total damage, accounting for critical hits, ability modifiers and everything else, is 7.8 average damage per round for the rapier, and 12 average damage per round for the two short swords. If you do have the feat, the average damage per round is 13.1 with two rapiers. That's where the real damage increase comes in at this level. Properties. Role-playing Games Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for gamemasters and players of tabletop, paper-and-pencil role-playing games. Somewhat unrelated to your question, I recommend going Rogue with Knifemaster trait and dual wielding two daggers/kukris. You can throw a dagger one round, throw a grenade the next round, hide, or perform any number of game-changing maneuvers as bonus actions. This does not change which weapons you have access to. Thanks for clearing that up, guys! There are a thousand different ways to build them with nearly limitless inspirational characters from around the globe to emulate. Why not the rapier? Sorry, I didn't actually answer the OPs question. The rapier in DnD represents precisely the one handed swords used during the height of heavy armor. It is 1d8 instead of 1d6, and since you wont be expecting to wield a second weapon, you wont need to worry about the rapier not having the light descriptor. The damage on the die won't matter much over time. But both rapiers and shortswords are, IIRC, piercing, not slashing, weapons. @RyanC.Thompson tha actual damage on a hit is greater than 1 due to critical hits. A melee weapon is used to attack a target within 5 feet of you, while a ranged weapon is used to attack a target from afar. You don't add your ability modifier to the damage of this additional attack unless that modifier is disadvantageous. How can I keep up with the rest of my party as a dual-wielding finesse fighter? Rapiers are martial weapons, but they are mundane items within the D&D world. This greatly benefits buff character class builds such as barbarians. As the sneak attack's damage increases, the importance of hitting it will quickly outweigh the static damage. A place to discuss the latest version of Dungeons and Dragons, the fifth edition, known during the playtest as D&D Next. The actual damage, which takes into account critical hits, ability modifiers and everything else, is an average of 7.8 damage per turn for your rapier and an average of 12 damage per turn for the two short swords. If thats all you need, then you are done here. How to Make BETTER MUNDANE WEAPONS for 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons, 5. As an NPC, Lost is a survivor who follows the tricksters spirit faithfully. The damage of critical hits is equal only if you crit using the Rapier as much as you crit using the Dagger. In combat dual wielding lets you take two attacks which gives an extra shot at hitting a target with sneak attack if first attack misses and dual wielding with shortsword and dagger gives you the option of throwing a weapon if you cant reach. Here are some examples of classes that can dual wield daggers: bard, fighter, monk, paladin. Why not crit range two handed weapon instead? Choosing a weapon is like picking candies from a candy store; there are so many to choose from, yet you cannot have them all. If you want to use BOTH weapons in one turn, you must use your action to do so. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, For info, news, resources, and anything else about the Pathfinder TTRPG! it's frankly very ridiculouseffort, but it is RAW and RAI. If you can only pick one however I would Finesse. The blade of the rapier is usually between 15 and 16 inches long, and it may be single- or double-edged. There aren't many instances where they have wielded two very long guns. Stat Block / Encounters, Ammunition (range 30/120), light, loading. I don't know if my step-son hates me, is scared of me, or likes me? For the same damage that penalty isnt worth it. Hes well-versed in a variety of gameplay options and topics for DND and as a DM, no matter what DND-related subject youre struggling with, Arthurs got an answer for you. Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Honestly its all about playstyle. Therefore, using the dagger on the other side from time to time is effective. For the rogue who grabbed a shortsword because it can stay out of the way and who is sometimes too close to throw a dagger, the thief subclass is for you. I have a rapier, two short swords, and several daggers on my rogue, in addition to a longbow (high elf). The assassin detonated a bomb that would have killed both Dr. Hargrave and her daughter, and Gladius could only cover one. How can citizens assist at an aircraft crash site? The secret lies in attacking twice which you cannot do with two rapiers unless you take the Dual Wielder feat. A wizard could dual wield scimitars because of their Mage Hand spell. It's one hit per round and you must miss. 4 Answers Sorted by: 36 Attacks with ranged weapons usually use your DEX modifier. Current builds that I've seen are: Single-weapon rapier users that use Cunning Action a lot, dual-wielding short swords users, or Shortbow users that take advantage of targets engaged with other allies. It requires you to be an elf and so you'd need to be level 4. It's 1 attack a turn and if you miss you do 0 damage. Is every feature of the universe logically necessary? Should you choose the heavy 1d12 slashing damage-dealing greataxe? See that? Lastly, another option for two-weapon fighters is the Crossbow Expert feat. Positioning is absolutely important for a swashbuckler in order to get your sneak attack more often. Grab a rapier, and channel your best Errol Flynn voice. These numbers are fairly linear across different levels and target ACs. They will most likely be using a weapon with a larger damage output, and this debate is moot. Hedge your bets against damage rather than max damage. If both attacks hit you deal more damage on average then a rapier. Thus, you can use these accessories in one-handed mode while fighting with another hand holding the main body of the crossbow. But the longsword does not have the finesse property, so you can only add your strength modifier. Read more to find out if it is the right weapon for you. In addition, you gain +1 AC. They can be used by the skilled fighters out there, but they come from your everyday blacksmiths. You can use a bonus action to attack with another light melee weapon in your other hand. The numerous historical titles for "rapier" relate to a slim cut-and-thrust sword with limited slashing and slicing Weapons with the finesse property use either your STR or your DEX modifier -- your choice. Furthermore, a rapier is 1d8 and a shortsword is 1d6. You can add bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage to your repertoire as well as a ranged attack for any fools who try to run away. Due to a shoulder injury though being right-handed, I can throw well (but not anything else) left-handed. When you perform an attack for a rogue, it doesn't matter much compared to the damage one does. I've always been a huge fan of the rogue using a dagger as a primary weapon so I'll let my PCs use a "dagger" but it's the same stats as a short sword or rapier depending if they are DW or not. To make the rapier different they gave it more damage but dropped the light. The only exception is the Ranger class, whose melee weapon choices are either two shortswords, or two simple melee weapons. Source: 5th Edition SRD; Attributes. Two-weapon fighting is overrated. As a rogue, you can sneak attack once each turn. A light weapon is small and easy to handle, making it ideal for use when fighting with two weapons. At this point, your sneak attack is averaging the same as a hit with both of your weapons. You could say it's a rapier (shorter), but it has the mechanics of a short sword. They try to attack an opponent with a 15 AC using the rapier, and they roll an 11 on their attack roll. This may not sound much; after all, at level one, you only have a +2. An entirely thrust-focused weapon with (usually) no cutting edge. Consider: Wand of Magic Missile or any wand, really. It'll make for some fun roleplaying opportunities to have a Rogue that thinks he can Sleight of Hand hide his rapier (not everything is about min-maxing). The Elf 5E race is one of the iconic, core DnD races to be found in 5Es fantasy worlds. dnd 5e rapier vs shortsword. Then yes, the rapier is good because of its higher damage (1d8 piercing damage) compared to the other martial melee weapons with the finesse property, namely the shortsword (1d6 piercing damage), the scimitar (1d6 slashing damage), and the whip (1d4 slashing). At third level you are granted the ability to manipulate your foe across the battlefield and leave them open for punishing shortsword attacks especially if you have rogue levels and take advantage of sneak attack after leaving them prone. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Since both TWF attacks have the same to-hit chance (if you're attacking the same enemy), the average roll is the same regardless of whether you roll $$ 2d6 \rightarrow 2 * 3.5 = 7 $$ or $$ 1d8+1d4 \rightarrow 4.5 + 2.5 = 7 $$. As an NPC, Gladius can serve as a hired bodyguard, a companion to an artificer, or a key information holder of History. So in order for you to attack with two rapiers, you'd need the feat. The rapier is also better if you plan to bring with you a shield. At level 5 with no magic Items against 16 AC target, your dexterity modifier at +4: Long Bow attack with Elvin Advantage = 18.4 Average Damage per round, Long Bow attack without Elvin Advantage = 12.2 Average Damage per round, 2 Short Swords normal attack = 17.8 Average Damage per round. However the restriction of being required to also wield a dagger is there so let's compare a few things. Gladius came to sentience one late night when a rival finally made an attempt on Dr. Hargraves life. If done, they would get an attack roll of 15 making the attack a success. Attacking with two weapons greatly increases your damage potential. I'm still not sure if he's intentionally roleplaying his character to be stupid, or if he himself doesn't understand what +6 Sleight of Hand means. Or just go for +hit and max sneak attack damage. Are you asking about the off hand or the main hand or both? 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