Weapon Specialization

Leomund's Tiny Hut
Specialization and game balance
by Lenard Lakofka

Unearthed Arcana finalizes many rule
changes and additions that have appeared
in DRAGON® Magazine over the last few
years. Among those changes are weapon
specialization for the fighter and ranger and
weapons of choice (involving essentially the
same principles) for the cavalier and pala-
din. To get the maximum benefit from these
new systems, the DM must understand the
mathematics underlying the new rules and
what the systems do to play balance.

Let?s look at an example of what will
happen in an ?average melee? ? one in
which all luck (die rolling) is removed and
average figures are used for ?to hit?
chance, damage, and hit points. Using
average figures, we can compare two oppo-
nents and determine the probable winner if
the melee proceeds at an average rate.
Hit points for each character are calcu-
lated as one-half of the sum of the maxi-
mum and minimum rolls, plus any
constitution bonus that might apply. Our
first character is Hero, a 4th-level fighter
with a constitution of 16. At 1st level he has
6 ?base? hit points (see UA p. 74, fixing
minimum hit points for beginning player
characters) plus 2 for constitution, or a total
of 8. For levels 2 through 4, he gains 5.5
?base? hit points per level (½ x [ 1 + 10]
x 3), or 16.5 hp, plus 6 more for constitu-
tion, for a grand total of 30.5 hp.

Average character number two is War-
rior, a 2nd-level fighter also with a 16 con-
stitution, which means he has 15.5 hit
points (6 + 2 + 5.5 + 2).

Average damage is calculated in the same
fashion as hit points ? one-half of the sum
of the highest and lowest possible results,
plus any relevant bonuses. Let?s give each
combatant a non-magical long sword, which
does 1-8 points of damage against a M-sized
opponent, or average damage of 4.5 (½ x
[1 + 8]).

Dealing with averages in terms of ?to
hit? probabilities is a somewhat different
matter. In this example, we?ll equip both
fighters with chain mail and shield (AC 4).
To determine ?to hit? numbers, I will in-
dulge a personal preference and employ the
?special note? below the attack matrix for
fighters (DMG, p. 74). This means that
Hero needs a 13 to hit AC 4, and Warrior
needs a 15. In percentage terms, then, Hero
has a 40% chance to do damage on any
single hit attempt, and Warrior has a 30%
chance.

This leads us to the calculation of average
damage per round that each character will
inflict. The figure for Hero is 4.5 (average
damage) x 40%, or 1.8 points. The figure
for Warrior is 4.5 x 30%, or 1.35 points.

Now the ?average melee? can begin.
When the fighters start swinging at each
other, Warrior will take 1.8 points of dam-
age per round, so his 15.5 hit points will last
for 9 rounds. Hero will take 1.35 points of
damage per round, and losing hit points at
that rate he will easily outlast his lower-level
opponent. After 9 full rounds of combat, he
will still have 18.35 hit points left.

Okay, so that was no big surprise, Now,
here?s the point:

Let?s run the same melee again, but this
time let?s say that Warrior has specialized in
the long sword, so that he is + 1 to hit and
+ 2 to damage and gets two attacks every
other round. Now he hits 35% of the time
(on 14 instead of 15), does 6.5 points of
average damage (4.5 + 2), and strikes 1.5
times per round instead of once per round.
All of those changes raise his average dam-
age per round to 3.4125 (1.5 × 6.5 ×
35%).

Now our Hero has a big problem. If he
loses hit points at the rate of 3.4125 per
round, he won?t last through round 9 either
?and Warrior will win the combat if he
strikes first in round 9 and reduces Hero to
zero hit points before Hero does it to him.
With the ?simple? addition of the advan-
tage of weapon specialization, the lowly
Warrior has become a much more potent
lighting force. All other things being equal,
he will usually beat a 3rd-level Swordsman,
he is an even match against a 4th-level Hero
(as we?ve just demonstrated) ? and with a
bit of luck in a normally rolled melee, he
might even be able to outlast a 5th-level
Swashbuckler.

Does this mean that weapon specializa-
tion is somehow ?bad,? because it throws
off the balance of the game? No ? but it
does mean that a lighter, ranger, cavalier, or
paladin using weapon specialization or a
weapon of choice is a much greater threat
than before. Members of all other classes,
and all monsters, have become much more
vulnerable to these specialists. The advan-
tage (or disadvantage, depending on your
perspective) is even more pronounced when
higher-level fighters and cavaliers are in-
volved, and double or even triple specializa-
tion is brought into play. The ?average

For the DM, more thought and a bit
more work is required to incorporate spe-
cialization into a campaign and keep every-
thing else in line with it. Experience-point
awards, for instance: Someone who defeats
a specialist in combat (assuming the oppo-
nent was using an appropriate weapon)
deserves a greater reward; I suggest you
award one "exceptional ability" addition
(DMG, p. 85) for a single specialization and
two for a double specialization, and there
might be cases where an even higher award
might be warranted.

Encounters designed to test the mettle of
a weapon specialist will need to be beefed
up. Where 10 orcs might have been suitable
before as opposition for a PC party includ-
ing one or two lighters, now you might
want to consider using 12 or 14 orcs if those
fighters are specialists; instead of 4 bug-
bears, make it 4 or 5 ogres. The overall
effect of these adjustments will be to give
the party as a whole more experience points
than the PCs would have gained by beating
a smaller or weaker enemy force.

There are many ways to toughen up the
opposition in an encounter, of course, but I
would not recommend automatically in-
creasing the magic held and employed by
the opposition as a balance against weapon
specialization. This may make encounters
more of an even match once again, but in
the long run your campaign will suffer more
than it benefits if you introduce an overa-
bundance of magic.

How does a lighter get weapon specializa-
tion? It must be learned from a teacher or
tutor, as with any other sort of skill. This
gives you, as DM, a way to control when
and how quickly a fighter, cavalier, etc.
obtains the skill. Even if a teacher/tutor is
readily available for training a character
before 1st level or between levels, that
teacher might not be qualified to teach
specialization in a certain weapon. A
teacher who is not specialized in a weapon
certainly cannot convey that knowledge.

Weapon specialization for melee weap-
ons, as-described on p. 18 of Unearthed
Arcana, may be too abrupt a change for
your campaign. You might want to consider
watering it down as follows: The + 1 to hit
applies in all cases, as per the rules. A 1st-
level specialist (fighter or ranger) gets no
bonus to damage, at 2nd and 3rd levels the
damage bonus is + 1, and at 4th level and
higher it is + 2.

Instead of a flat figure for attacks per
round, try this system: At 1st level there is a
10% chance, rolled at the start of each
round, that the character will get 2 attacks
in that round. This chance goes up 10% per
level until at 10th level the character has a
100% chance per round of being able to
attack twice. The cycle begins to repeat
itself at 11th level, when the character al-
ways gets 2 attacks per round and has a
10% chance for 3 attacks. This system
"tops out" at 15th level, when the character
has a 50% chance for 3 attacks in any given
round. This is essentially the same effect as
giving the character 5 attacks every 2
rounds, but in this system there is an ele-
ment of uncertainty that keeps things inter-
esting. The fighter may get 3 attacks in each
of several successive rounds, or if the dice
go against him he may only get 2 attacks in
each of those rounds. Over the long haul,
however, things will even out.

As a final adjustment, you might want to
tone down double specialization so that it
only gives + 2 bonuses to hit and damage
and reserve the + 3 bonuses for those most
unusual individuals who succeed in obtain-
ing triple specialization. Whatever you
decide to do, be sure that your decisions
contribute to maintaining the balance of
your campaign.

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