Wield Improvised Weapons Without a Penalty (Feat)
posted Saturday, January 27th 2007 by
Game Design • Third Edition
Someone on a message board was asking about a feat to let characters wield improvised weapons. Here you go.
Always Armed
You have a talent for using nearby objects as deadly weapons.
Prerequisites: Base attack +1, stunning fist OR proficiency with all simple and martial weapons.
Benefit: You can wield improvised weapons without suffering the usual -4 penalty to attacks. Effectively, you are considered proficient with improvised weapons. Furthermore, as a move action you can pick up an improvised weapon from any square into which you can make a melee attack, and you never provoke an attack of opportunity for drawing or picking up a weapon.
It’s balanced since improvised weapons are at best on a par with simple weapons or martial bludgeoning weapons. Why would anyone pay a feat to wield substandard weapons at a penalty? It needs extras to be mechanically worth really paying a feat for, rather than as a class extra.
One exception: I’ve been told that some splatbook or other has ruled that tables can be wielded as improvised two-handed 3d6 weapons. The idea of someone swinging around a magical shatterproof table on a full attack is so preposterous that I’m going to assume you don’t allow 3d6 two-handed weapons at no penalty.
Comments
Wil
November 29th, 2007
One of my friends tells of a game he’s playing now in which his character (can’t remember which class) wields a table (exotic weapon proficiency (table)). I believe they treat it as a two-handed greatclub (1d10+1.5xStr mod).
Jonathan Drain
November 29th, 2007
An amusing choice, but not a particularly viable feat. A feat should grant a mechanical advantage, so an exotic weapon should grant some special benefit that can’t be had from any martial weapon. This fellow’s table is only as good as a mediocre martial weapon and weaker than a greatsword, so you’re paying a feat to be at a disadvantage.
Stripes
November 30th, 2007
Not true, there is a mechanical advantage. We can rename the feat and make it more obvious:
“Always armed in a tavern”
“Anytime the player has empty hands at a tavern he can equip himself with a great club. This club can not be detected by others until he arms himself with it. Sometimes they will not detect it for a little while after. Also works a few other places. Places with tables.”
See, minor mechanical advantage!
Jonathan Drain
November 30th, 2007
Ah, in that case we have a feat that’s sort of like exotic weapon proficiency, except that it only works less than 10% of the time.
Wil
December 1st, 2007
I agree that it’s not exactly useful (unless there are some details that I’m forgetting), but it is pretty hilarious (not that *I* would allow it if I were DMing…. – it’s not *that* funny).
Jonathan Drain
December 1st, 2007
Now, a funny feat would be Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Gnome.
(The gnome, naturally, wears spiked full plate.)
Wil
December 2nd, 2007
Funny you should mention….there’s a running joke in our group about our gnome training to become a weapon (a *vorpal* gnome, no less) for our fighter to use; and since our fighter is notoriously known for natural 1s (and carrying spare greatswords), there’s always the (alas, never-to-be) image of attacking with the gnome, critical fumbling, dropping the gnome,…. and pulling out another one. Ah….
Bob
May 5th, 2008
Hey I know I’m a bit late to be commenting but I know a thing or two about improvised weaponry. In my D&D campaigns I have seen tables swung at a deifically controlled statue of Lolth (they even tried to convince me to let them cast shillelagh on it), exploding cats thrown at dwarves (errr… long story), animal companions flung at floating psionic necromancers, and halflings catapulted at a drunk gang leader. Even without a way to compensate for the -4 these weapons provided a lot of errr… flavor. I’ll definitely be using this idea of making improvised weapons penalties go away in future camapigns. Possibly at the end of each fight the weapon breaks :-D. After all- no one builds a table or carves a beer mug thinking it might one day be swung at somebody’s head with lethal force.
my bread
May 21st, 2008
the holy fork of spagleangachunck commands you to stick a squid in your pants
Random Person
January 12th, 2009
was definitely looking for this type of feat considering a particular vampire PC in my campaign likes to throw his minions at the enemy. This usually doesn’t bode well for the minion but has served its uses against hunters and whatnot. (Ex. he is being held at bay by a mirror or holy symbol, minion is thrown from outside the 5 foot range and commanded to seize the item or distract the target long enough for him to get away). Originally this was given to him as exotic weapon (minion).
Marshall
February 18th, 2009
Question, “Always Armed”, what book is this from? My DM will let me use any variant, feat, skill trick or dirty trick I can think up in my devious little mind – with one exception. It -must- be in an actual D&D book somewhere. Unearthed Arcana: counts, dragon magazines – do not. So I’d like to know which book “Always Armed” can be found in. Thanks much if anyone can find it.
Jonathan Drain
February 18th, 2009
Marshall: It’s my own invention. You may convince your DM to allow it, or else you might find a similar feat in a martial splatbook.