In a game I'm playing, I have a Swashbuckler rogue, and my DM gave me the okay on using two-weapon fighting with a rapier and a dagger instead of two shortswords. 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. Most DMs won't let you hide if you just shot an arrow at a guy in a well lit room and then tried to hide behind a barrel. Shortbow. This does not come up regularly during battle, but some monsters are immune or resistant to piercing damage, while some to slashing damage. So, like all good things in life, the answer is: Depends. Usually, the distance between you and your enemies is not something that should be troubled about since you can walk with your running speed to them. Welcome to the Black Citadel. Your strategy of stab and bounce is sound. Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful, Address: 2064 Little Summit, Goldieton, MS 97651-0862, Hobby: Rafting, Cabaret, Candle making, Jigsaw puzzles, Inline skating, Magic, Graffiti. Copyright 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc. Can you dual-wield a rapier and a shortsword? Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. It is possible to learn how to fight with a rapier and use those skills in real-life situations, but you would need to train with experienced teachers. dnd 5e rapier vs shortsword. However, with this feat, you can wield a shortsword in one hand and hand crossbow in the other, thus giving you a ranged, off-hand option that is numerically better than a dagger. An entirely thrust-focused weapon with (usually) no cutting edge. If it is a yes, then the item would need attunement. DnD Beyond: An Update on the Open Game License (OGL). Light maces, battle aspergillums, sickles, and hanbos can be almost as effective, and a little more flavorful/different. Lost can literally show up anywhere, anytime, for any reason. In what order do you wear your WW2 medals. Solely for aesthetic reasons, I decided it would be cool if they were both black. Use the short sword and keep even more D6s. Answer: That depends on what you want to do. Copyright 2023 Explore DnD | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme. If you use your ability modifier for that roll, then you have used up your action for the round.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'sportsmanist_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_0',118,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sportsmanist_com-medrectangle-3-0'); However, if you use a bonus action to do so, then you have doubled your attack speed and can make another attack before the end of your next turn. Finesse. Otherwise, there's no reason as a fighter you'd want to have a Furthermore, a rapier is 1d8 and a shortsword is 1d6. D&D - Proficiency Bonus and Other Rolls, C# Code Coverage Tools: Your Guide to Choosing - NDepend, Human anatomy and physiology - Secondary Sciences - home - MOAM.INFO, Diversity in Higher Education: Statistics, Gaps, and Resources, How to set up and use Music Assistant for Home Assistant. Also, going up the Crane Style tree, Crane Wing works "when you have at least one hand free and are either fighting defensively or using the total defense action" which is always handy. It's 1d8+DEX ranged 80'. Avoiding alpha gaming when not alpha gaming gets PCs into trouble. By that logic, the rapier would be a better choice. Rapiers are one-handed weapons, so you can grip a shield on your other hand to give you that extra +2 boost for your AC. Each of these functions requires a separate hand to operate effectively. Thus, you can use two-weapon fighting with two shortswords, something the rapier cannot achieve. The rapier in DnD represents precisely the one handed swords used during the height of heavy armor. However, there is a way to dual-wield rapiers without the need for the light property, and that is through the Dual Wielder feat found in the Players Handbook, page 165. To make the rapier different they gave it more damage but dropped the light. Use a Shortsword, Primordials: A Guide to DnD 5es Oldest, Most Powerful Elementals, Flumphs: DnD 5es Weirdest Creature? Or just go for +hit and max sneak attack damage. Longbow: why Elf Rogue is so common. The folks here at the Citadel just happened to have this handy chart for the best spells of up to 3rd level that take either a bonus action to cast or use a melee weapon as their focus. Positioning is absolutely important for a swashbuckler in order to get your sneak attack more often. The two shortswords are there for people that want to take Two-Weapon Fighting as their fighting style and use two light weapons. 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. Most weapons, in general, use the Strength modifier to add to your attack roll and your damage bonus. Stat Block / Encounters, Ammunition (range 30/120), light, loading. Since it is a martial weapon, you would need to have proficiency in wielding such weapons to use them properly and effectively. Are you asking about the off hand or the main hand or both? Also, your stealth is not guaranteed to succeed. So why the short sword as the go-to over the rapier? If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it. The key is to attack twice, which you can't do with two rapiers unless you choose the Dual Wielder talent. it's frankly very ridiculouseffort, but it is RAW and RAI. With your free object interaction, you can then draw another one to be "fully equipped" again. Daggers and darts are much easier to conceal on someone's person than shortswords, rapiers and bows. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. In terms of damage, you have an equal number of opportunities to activate Sneak Attack (two), and the Rapier + Dagger deals an average of 1d8 + 1d4 = 4.5 + 2.5 = 7.0 while the Shortsword + Shortsword deals an average of 1d6 + 1d6 = 3.5 + 3.5 = 7.0 Choosing a weapon is like picking candies from a candy store; there are so many to choose from, yet you cannot have them all. In addition, you gain +1 AC. Home Gear Review Shortswords vs Rapiers in DnD 5e: Which is Best? This makes a rapier/short sword or short sword/short sword about the only two realistic options depending on what you want. 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. The easy answer is, of course, Two-Weapon Fighting, which allows you to make an attack as a bonus action with a light weapon so long as you are already wielding another light weapon. 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. "ERROR: column "a" does not exist" when referencing column alias. Option 1: Two-Weapon Fighting, Where the Short Sword Shines Hey, Bro, I heard you like to sword, so I got you a sword so you can sword while you sword. The easy answer is, of course, Two-Weapon Fighting, which allows you to make an attack as a bonus Beyond that, I think players often look at items as a collection of numbers, but really a rogue's damage comes from sneak attack. Personally, I really like short sword/dagger rogues. This greatly benefits buff character class builds such as barbarians. Daggers can be thrown if you have a faster enemy trying to kite you, or easily concealed on your person to assassinate somebody at a no weapons allowed dinner party. Standard. A place to discuss the latest version of Dungeons and Dragons, the fifth edition, known during the playtest as D&D Next. You dont add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative. A place to discuss the latest version of Dungeons and Dragons, the fifth edition, known during the playtest as D&D Next. You can only two-weapon if the two weapons are mild, and the rapier is not a Light weapon at 2 lbs. However, many crossbows have secondary functions, such as a firing pin or trigger mechanism, that must be used in conjunction with the main body of the weapon. Drawing a second weapon as part of an attack? The rapier deals higher damage (1d8 piercing damage) compared to the shortsword (1d6 piercing damage). Let those other players die of clich poisoning; you will play for flavor and mechanical efficiency! However, if you only have your action (or only 1 attack / turn for some other reason), then the rapier/dagger combo has the advantage that you can choose to use the rapier for this single attack, increasing your average damage when you hit by 1. A place to discuss the latest version of Dungeons and Dragons, the fifth edition, known during the playtest as D&D Next. That is probably why they recommended short swords because you can take weapon focus and hit more often when you dual wield them. This opinion is supported by historical evidence showing that rapiers were not commonly found on the battlefield until later in medieval times. Do you want to smile and haberdash your way through a pile of witless enemies? Think of it like this. Then rapier. Also finding a magical hand crossbow in a module is almost impossible unless the module has Drow. The rapier deals higher damage (1d8 piercing damage) compared to the shortsword (1d6 piercing damage). Dr. Joanna Hargrave was an artificer of great renown in a dangerous world. They both weigh 2 pounds (if your table cares about that kind of thing), and they are both finesse weapons, so you will use your DEX instead of STR for your attacks and damage. So if you hit with an unarmed strike or melee weapon attack and then go into your standard action mode by saying something like "I enter my action mode" or "I take my next action", you can then swap out your original-hand weapon for your second weapon without losing your original attack roll. In case youve got a 50% chance of hitting something, your average weapon damage with a 5e rapier is 2.25, and your average sneak attack damage at level 3 is 3.5. Thats it. Short Swords: Great choiceif you plan on two-weapon fighting. How to translate the names of the Proto-Indo-European gods and goddesses into Latin? In Dungeons & Dragons, adamantine is a rare metal that crops up in various forms throughout the history of the game and its various worlds. However, you can take the Dual Wielder feat found on page 165 so that you can dual-wield rapiers. Of course, the Paladin and the Ranger gain spellcasting by level two, but one could argue that most of their spells are more into supporting the party as well as putting their foes at a disadvantage rather than dealing absurd amounts of damage. So if you plan on doing a single attack a turn then it's perfect. We can see that these deals the same amount of damage on average, even accounting for Sneak Attack. Finally, D&D is not very realistic. hmm okay thanks everyone! There are a few cases, but these were often intended for the program in some way and have no real practical use. You also get the added benefit of having another chance of rolling critical damage. Using TWF gives you two chances to get your sneak attack in. If you try hard, the normal damage per turn is 13.1 with two rapiers. Rapier ; Scimitar ; Shortsword ; Whip ; Heavy. Lets break down all the bits and pieces of this debate so that you can make the best decision. However, compared to the shortsword and the scimitar, the rapier does not have the light property. It does, however, allow you to use one-handed weapons that are not light in your off hand. Edit: Ah, right. Simplist way to define this. shutdown() not working . To invent:Great alternative because it's 1d8+DEX and finesse. Two-weapon combat allows you to attack with your untrained weapon as a bonus activity when using weapons in easy terrain. The short answer is all rogues are half-orc assassins wielding rapier and stabbing you with surprise. Perhaps you've been disarmed and the first finesse weapon you got your hands on was a dagger. However, you should be aware that doing so reduces the damage you can do with your crossbow by one step. For a rogue, hitting is more important than anything because your damage is mostly from sneak attacks. Site Maintenance- Friday, January 20, 2023 02:00 UTC (Thursday Jan 19 9PM Is rapier considered a light melee weapon. 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