Weapon Mastery across the editions

This is one of my posts on D&D and other systems. See here for other related posts.

I have fond memories of Weapon Mastery – it featured in the BECMI Master Player’s Guide back in the 80s, very detailed, with both increasing damage and additional features as you progressed in mastery with a particular weapon.

There are three pretenders to the throne of “next edition of D&D 5e”:

• Wizards of the Coast’s Unearthed Arcana rules updates under the OneD&D banner (which Wizards say isn’t meant to be called OneD&D, but it’s a useful handle),
• Level Up Advanced 5^th Edition,
• and Kobold Press’s Tales of the Valiant (formerly Project Black Flag).

All three introduce some form of Weapon Mastery, but the way they do it is rather different, and I have thoughts on all of them…

Stop Press: Tales of the Valiant Kickstarter

But before I get into that – Kobold Press’s Tales of the Valiant Kickstarter is now open, and was funded in 30 minutes! I signed up as soon as I saw the email, and it was already at 150%. When I started writing this blog post (6 hours later) it was at 350%, and at time of finishing it was past 800%. Get in now!

Interestingly, unlike OneD&D and Level Up, it only includes a Player’s Guide and the Monster Vault – no GM’s guide.

Weapon Mastery

As I said, each product includes some form of weapon mastery, although they call it different things and it works in different ways. But before I start, what do I mean by “weapon mastery” here? Time for a definition:

Weapon Mastery: additional combat options you can learn with a weapon

In particular, these are not available to everyone who can use the weapon, need to be learned, and are related to a weapon.

With that definition, what do the different products offer at present? (And note that OneD&D and Tales of the Valiant are still in playtest, so may change)

• OneD&D has explicit “Weapon Mastery” as a class feature for Barbarians and Fighters, plus a Weapon Mastery Feat
• Tales of the Valiant has “Weapon Master” as a Fighter “Discipline”
• Level Up A5E doesn’t so much have Weapon Mastery. Instead some weapons have an extra option if you are proficient with that weapon, and classes also gain access to Combat Maneuvers

Once I’ve gone through these, I will also compare them to the BECMI Weapon Mastery.

OneD&D Weapon Mastery

This is the closest of the three to what I think of as Weapon Mastery.

Barbarians and Fighters gain weapon mastery slots:

• Barbarians start with two weapon mastery slots at level 1, increasing to three at level 4 and four at level 10
• Fighters start with three weapon mastery slots at level 1, increasing to four at level 4 and five at level 10

There is also the Weapon Master Feat, available to anyone from level 4 (assuming they are proficient with a weapon).

So, what does mastery with a weapon bring? What masteries are there?

Each weapon has a standard mastery property, as follows.

• Cleave (requires a Heavy Melee weapon): an extra attack against another creature within 5’ of the first – Greataxe and Halberd
• Flex (requires a Versatile weapon): apply the Versatile damage even when using one-handed – Spear, Longsword, War Pick and Warhammer
• Graze: (requires a Heavy Melee Weapon) do your ability modifier of damage even if you miss – Glaive and Greatsword
• Nick (requires a Light weapon): make the extra attack of the light weapon as part of the Attack action instead of a Bonus Action – Dagger, Light Hammer, Sickle and Scimitar
• Push (requires a Heavy, Two-Handed or Versatile weapon): can push the creature up to 10’ away if it is no more than one size larger – Greatclub, Pike and Heavy Crossbow
• Sap (requires a weapon with no other properties): impose Disadvantage on the next attack roll on a hit (before the start of your next turn) – Mace, Flail and Morningstar
• Slow (any weapon): if you deal damage, the creature’s speed is reduced by 10’ until the start of your next turn – Club, Javelin, Light Crossbow, Sling, Whip, Longbow and Musket
• Topple (requires a Heavy or Versatile weapon, or one with the Reach property): on a hit, you can force the creature to make a DC 8+prof+attack ability mode CON save or be knocked Prone – Battleaxe, Lance and Trident
• Vex (requires an Ammunition, Finesse or Light weapon): if you hit and do damage, you have Advantage on your next attack roll before the end of your next turn – Handaxe, Dart, Shortbow, Rapier, Shortsword, Blowgun, Hand Crossbow and Pistol

Fighters gain the Weapon Expert ability at level 7, allowing them to swap the mastery property for a given weapon to another comparable property, and the Weapon Adept ability at level 13 allows two properties instead of one (though only one can be used on a given attack).

I do like the fact this is automatically granted to the martial classes, but is potentially available to anyone (through the Feat), and can be learned. In OneD&D the mastery feature is unlimited – you can use it every attack.

One feature that does feel strange to me (as currently proposed in OneD&D) is that you can change the weapon(s) you have mastery for on a long rest. I suppose it fits with the heroic fantasy feel they go for, where heroes can change the type of hero they are fairly easily, but I would find it more meaningful to be a long-term character choice.

The feedback on this playtest is open until 7^th June 2023.

Tales of the Valiant Weapon Mastery

Tales of the Valiant has two different sorts of combat mastery, neither of which is really specific to a weapon, and both of which are currently only available to Fighters (they have currently only playtested Fighter and Wizard).

At first level, Fighters get to choose a Martial Action from:

• Aim (ranged weapons): use your bonus action on one turn to specify a weapon and target; if you use that weapon to make a ranged attack on that target before the end of your turn, double your proficiency bonus
• Guard (wielding a shield): use your bonus action to select a creature; impose disadvantage on the first attack roll by that creature on you or an ally within 5’ before the start of your next turn
• Quick Strike (wielding two weapons): use your bonus action to attack with a light melee weapon and add your normal ability modifier to the damage – note this allows the second weapon attack to come first, before the normal Attack action
• Wind Up (requires a two-handed weapon or a versatile weapon wielded 2-handed): use your bonus action on one turn to specify a target; if you make a melee attack on that target before the end of your turn, double your proficiency bonus for the first attack roll

The playtest only goes up to level 5, so there’s no mention of gaining additional Martial Actions, but I suspect that will come at higher levels.

Fighters also have the Weapon Master as one of the Disciplines they can choose at 3^rd level.

A weapon master chooses three weapons to master. Once per turn, when using one of these weapons, you can reroll one of the weapon’s damage dice and use either result, and at 7^th level, you score a critical hit on a 19 or 20.

A weapon master also learns Stunts – three stunts at 3^rd level, plus an additional stunt at 7^th level. They can perform a number of stunts equal to their proficiency bonus + 1; this count is regained on a short or long rest. Each stunt must be performed with an appropriate weapon which the character has mastered. (In the early playtest, stunts had a stunt point cost, but all stunts listed were 1 point, and they have now dropped that in the latest version).

Stunts listed are:

• Arcing Strike (requires a two-handed slashing weapon): on a successful hit, also do an additional half damage to a different target you can see within 5’ of you
• Cheap Shot (requires a melee weapon): on a successful hit, you can also make an unarmed strike against the same target as part of the same Attack action
• Hobbling Strike (no requisite): on a successful hit, you can replace doing damage with reducing the target’s movement speed by half (this was in the initial packet 2 playtest but has now been removed)
• Make it Count (no requisite): make a single attack at +10, forgoing any multiattacks
• Parry (requires a melee weapon): when a creature you can see hits you with a weapon attack, you can use your reaction to reduce it by d10+PB (minimum 0 damage – this doesn’t heal)
• Redirect (no requisite): when you fail to hit you can use your reaction to re-roll against a different target (added since the initial packet 2 playtest)
• Riposte (requires a melee weapon which isn’t heavy): when a creature you can see misses with a weapon attack, you can use your reaction to counterattack
• Run Through (requires a piercing weapon): on a successful hit, also do an additional half damage to a different target you can see within 5’ of you
• Shifting Strike (requires a slashing weapon): on a successful hit, you can immediately move to a different unoccupied square within 5’ of the target; this does not count against your normal movement
• Sweep the Leg (requires a melee weapon): on a hit, you can force the target to make a STR save (DC 8+PB+STR or DEX) or be knocked prone (this was in the initial packet 2 playtest but has now been removed)

Similar but different. You have to specifically choose to be a Weapon Master – it’s not available to all Fighters – and the Stunts can only be used a limited number of times. On the other hand, you can use them with any (appropriate) weapon you have mastered.

This feels a bit more limited, and there is currently no Weapon Master Talent listed. I prefer the OneD&D approach of having every martial character having some level of weapon mastery, and having it available to everyone.

Level Up A5E Combat Manoeuvres

Rather than Weapon Mastery, Level Up A5E has Combat Manoeuvres. You can read the full description in the A5ESRD.

Weapons also have special properties, which can only be used if you are proficient. See the equipment section of the A5ESRD for more details.

There are a small set of basic manoeuvres available to all creatures. These are accompanied by basic melee damage of 1+STR – normally bludgeoning, but can be slashing or piercing if the GM approves. Each typically has a STR or DEX save against a manoeuvre DC – I’ll refer to this as an MDC save for short.

• Disarm: replaces an attack. Target must be holding an item, and makes an MDC save, dropping the item if they fail. They have advantage if larger or holding with two or more hands, and disadvantage if smaller.
• Grab on: you can’t grapple a creature two or more sizes larger; instead you can make an MDC savve against their manoeuvre DC to cling to or balance on their body, able to move as if difficult terrain and gaining advantage on attack rolls against it. They can use an action or attack to try to dislodge – you make an MDC save or fall prone next to them. If they roll, this saving throw is made with disadvantage.
• Grapple: (a creature no more than one size larger, and you must have a free hand) they make an MDC save or take basic damage and become grappled. Freeing is a corresponding saving throw against the grappling creature’s MDC
• Knockdown: they make an MDC save or take basic damage and get knocked prone
• Overrun: force your way past a hostile creature. Make a STR MDC save to force past, doing basic damage in passing. They can choose to let you past instead. You have advantage if one size larger or disadvantage if one size smaller; if two or more sizes smaller you can just do it. Leaving their space still triggers opportunity attacks
• Shove: if they fail their MDC save, you deal basic damage and move them 5’ + 5’ for every 5 points they failed their save by, in a direction of your choice. If pushed off a precipice they fall without further save.

There are also families of more advanced manoeuvres. Different classes learn differing numbers of manoeuvres, and different manoeuvres have different levels. Manoeuvres cost exertion points, and you get twice your PB of exertion points, replenishing on a short or long rest.

Different classes gain different amounts of manoeuvres, and have access to different traditions:

• Adepts (manual fighters, c.f. Monks in 5e) gain 2 manoeuvres at 2^nd level, and additional manoeuvres at 4^th level, 6^th level, 8^th level, 10^th level, 13^th level, 15^th level, 17^th level and 19^th level (finishing with 10); these can be up to level 2 from 4^th level, up to level 3 from 8^th level, up to level 4 from 13^th level, and up to level 5 from 17^th level. Adepts are proficient in two traditions chosen from the Mirror’s Glint, Rapid Current, Razor’s Edge and Unending Wheel traditions.
• Berserkers (c.f. Barbarians in 5e) gain 2 manoeuvres at 2^nd level, and additional manoeuvres at 3^rd level, 5^th level, 7^th level, 9^th level, 11^th level, 13^th level, 15^th level, 17^th level, and 19^th level (finishing with 11); these can be up to level 2 from 5^th level, up to level 3 from 9^th level, up to level 4 from 12^th level, and up to level 5 from 17^th level. Berserkers are proficient in two traditions chosen from the Adamant Mountain, Mirror’s Glint, Rapid Current, Tempered Iron and Tooth and Claw traditions.
• Clerics gain no manoeuvres.
• Druids gain no manoeuvres.
• Fighters gain 3 manoeuvres at 1^st level, and additional manoeuvres at 2^nd level, 4^th level, 5^th level, 6^th level, 8^th level, 9^th level, 10^th level, 12^th level, 13^th level, 14^th level, 16^th level, 17^th level, 18^th level, and 20^th level (finishing with 17); these can be up to level 2 from 4^th level, up to level 3 from 8^th level, up to level 4 from 12^th level, and up to level 5 from 16^th level. Fighters are initially proficient in two traditions of their choice, and gain additional traditions at 3^rd level depending on their specialisation.
• Heralds (c.f. Paladins in 5e) gain 2 manoeuvres at 2^nd level, and additional manoeuvres at 4^th level, 7^th level, 10^th level, 13^th level, 16^th level, 19^th level (finishing with 8); these can be up to level 2 from 7^th level, up to level 3 from 13^th level, and up to level 4 from 19^th level. Heralds are proficient in two traditions chosen from the Sanguine Knot, Spirited Steed and Tempered Iron traditions.
• Marshals gain 2 manoeuvres at 2^nd level, and additional manoeuvres at 3^rd level, 5^th level, 7^th level, 9^th level, 11^th level, 13^th level, 15^th level, 17^th level and 19^th level (finishing with 11); these can be up to level 2 from 6^th level, up to level 3 from 10^th level, up to level 4 from 15^th level, and up to level 5 from 18^th level. Marshals are proficient in two traditions chosen from Biting Zephyr, Mirror’s Glint, Mist and Shade, Rapid Current, Razor’s Edge, Sanguine Knot, Spirited Steed, and Unending Wheel.
• Rangers gain 2 manoeuvres at 2^nd level, and additional manoeuvres at 3^rd level, 5^th level, 7^th level, 9^th level, 11^th level, 13^th level, 15^th level, 17^th level and 19^th level (finishing with 11); these can be up to level 2 from 5^th level, up to level 3 from 9^th level, up to level 4 from 13^th level, and up to level 5 from 17^th level. Rangers are proficient in two traditions chosen from Biting Zephyr, Mirror’s Glint, Rapid Current, Razor’s Edge, Spirited Steed, and Unending Wheel.
• Rogues gain 2 manoeuvres at 2^nd level, and additional manoeuvres at 4^th level, 7^th level, 10^th level, 13^th level, 16^th level and 19^th level (finishing with 8); these can be up to level 2 from 7^th level, up to level 3 from 13^th level, and up to level 4 from 19^th level. Rogues are proficient in two traditions chosen from Biting Zephyr, Mist and Shade, and Rapid Current.
• Sorcerers gain no manoeuvres.
• Warlocks gain no manoeuvres.
• Wizards gain no manoeuvres.

Manoeuvres are organised into traditions, and there are so many of them I’ll not try to describe each one – you can get a sense from the names, or read the relevant section of the A5ESRD:

• Adamant Mountain manoeuvres are about Hardiness, Might and Power: Catch Your Breath (1^st, 2pts), Cleaving Swing (1^st, 2pts), Heavy Stance (1^st), Lean Into It (1^st, 2pts), Reactive Knockdown (2^nd), Shrug it Off (2^nd, 2pts), Warding Wield (2^nd), Battering Strike (3^rd), Crushing Blow (3^rd, 2pts), Unbreakable (3^rd, 3pts), Stand Tall Stance (4^th), Unstoppable (4^th, 3pts), Wild Swing (4^th), Unyielding (5^th, 3pts), World-shaking Strike (5^th, 3pts)
• Biting Zephyr manoeuvres are about ranged combat: Covering Fire (1^st), Doubleshot (1^st), Farshot Stance (1^st), Point Blank Shot (1^st), Countershot (2^nd), Quickdraw (2^nd, 2pts), Trickshot (2^nd), Blindshot (3^rd), Missile Volley (3^rd, 2pts), Ricochet (3^rd, 2pts), Dive for Cover (4^th, 2pts), Heartseeker (4^th, 2pts), Mundane Missile Stance (4^th, 2pts), Hear the Wind (5^th, 3pts), Horizon Shot (5^th, 3pts)
• Mirror’s Glint manoeuvres are about reacting to the enemy to gain the upper hand: Knockdown Assault (1^st), Leading Throw (1^st), Warning Strike (1^st), Wary Stance (1^st), Assisted Roll (2^nd), Off-Balancing Strikes (2^nd), Take Weapon (2^nd, 2pts), Flowing Form (3^rd, 2pts), Heightened Reflexes (3^rd, 1-3pts), Redirect (3^rd, 2pts), Discerning Strike (4^th, 2pts) ,Retributive Blow (4^th, 2pts), Strike the Cracks Stance (4^th, 2pts), Blinding Strikes (5^th, 3pts), Reflect Attack (5^th, 3pts)
• Mist and Shade manoeuvres misdirect the enemy into mistakes: Anticipate Spell (1^st), Deceptive Stance (1^st), Painful Pickpocket (1^st), Perplexing Flurry (1^st), Agile Feint (2^nd, 2pts), Force Hesitation (2^nd, 2pts), Mugging Hit (2^nd), Douse (3^rd), Feinting Strike (3^rd, 2pts), Pickpocket (3^rd), Blinding Blow Stance (4^th, 2pts), Spinning Parry (4^th, 2pts), Steal Momentum (4^th, 2pts), Armour Lock (5^th, 3pts), Pilfer Object (5^th, 3pts)
• Rapid Current manoeuvres are about striking fast and first: Charge (1^st), Eye Slash (1^st, 2pts), Speed Over Strength (1^st), Swift Stance (1^st), Parryin Counter (2^nd), Rapid Drink (2^nd, 2pts), Rolling Strike (2^nd), Disarming Counter (3^rd, 2pts), Rapid Strike (3^rd, 2pts), Whirlwind Strike (3^rd, 2pts), First Blood (4^th, 3pts), Flowing Steps Stance (4^th, 3pts), Whirlpool Strike (4^th, 3pts), Tidal Parry (5^th, 2pts), Tsunami Dash (5^th, 3pts)
• Razor’s Edge manoeuvres are about awareness, concentration and discipline: Dangerous Strikes (1^st), Exploit Footing (1^st, 2pts), Iron Will (1^st), Perceptive Stance (1^st), Practiced Roll (2^nd), Twist the Blade (2^nd, 2pts), Use the Pain (2^nd), Drive Back (3^rd, 2pts), Instinctive Counterattack (3^rd, 2pts), Mind Over Body (3^rd), Dashing Razor (4^th), Perfect Edge Stance (4^th, 2pts), Sharpened Awareness (4^th, 3pts), Death Blow (5^th, 3pts), Heightened Concentration (5^th, 3pts)
• Sanguine Knot manoeuvres are about working with allies: Doubleteam (1^st), Legion Stance (1^st), Shield Wall (1^st), Shoulder Check (1^st), Back To Back (2^nd), Double Tackle (2^nd, 3pts), Dual Grapple (2^nd, 2pts), Follow-Up Topple (3^rd, 2pts), Hurl Ally (3^rd, 3pts), Look At Me! (3^rd, 2pts), Bodyguard (4^th, 3pts), Brotherhood Stance (4^th, 3pts), Doubletime (4^th, 2pts), Rallying Cry (5^th, 3pts), United We Stand (5^th, 3pts)
• Spirited Steed manoeuvres are about horseback fighting: Cavalier Stance (1^st), Lancer Strike (1^st), Mounted Charge (1^st), Riding Leap (1^st), Rearing Menace (2^nd, 3pts), Spur Mount (2^nd), Trample (2^nd, 2pts), Launched Strike (3^rd, 2pts), Sacrifice Mount (3^rd, 2pts), Saddled Blows (3^rd, 3pts), Prodigious Leap (4^th, 3pts), Spirited Whistle (4^th, 2pts), Steely Steed Stance (5^th, 3pts), Reassuring Pat (5^th, 3pts), Wheeling Charge (5^th, 3pts)
• Tempered Iron manoeuvres are about confidence to succeed no matter the cost: Imposing Glare (1^st), Purge Magic (1^st), Striding Swings (1^st), Zealous Stance (1^st), Faith Within (2^nd), Gaze of Conviction (2^nd, 2pts), Stunning Assault (2^nd, 3pts), Break Spell (3^rd, 2pts), Defy Magic (3^rd, 2pts), Dispelling Assault (3^rd, 2pts), Devoted Assault (4^th, 3pts), Disrupting Charge (4^th, 2pts), Spell Shattering Strike (4^th, 2pts), Branding Steel (5^th, 3pts), Burning Embers of Faith (5^th, 3pts)
• Tooth and Claw manoeuvres are about the animalistic urge to survive: Bounding Strike (1^st), Raking Strikes (1^st, 2pts), Ride Enemy (1^st, 2pts), Springing Stance (1^st), Expert Tumble (2^nd, 2pts), Leaping Strike (2^nd), Primal Intercept (2^nd, 2pts), Gut Strike (3^rd, 3pts), Rake (3^rd), Wild Capering (3^rd), Blind Instinct (4^th, 3pts), Bloody Roar (4^th, 3pts), Mercurial Striking Stance (4^th), Furious Barrage (5^th, 3pts), Wounded Animal Gambit (5^th, 3pts)
• Unending Wheel manoeuvres are about patient mastery: Dangerous Signature (1^st), Throwing Stance (1^st), Victory Pose (1^st), Wounding Strike (1^st, 2pts), Deflect Strike (2^nd), Instant Strike (2^nd, 3pts), Preternatural Strikes (3^rd), Disarming Assault (3^rd), Expert Sidestep (3^rd, 2pts), Unsettling Injury (3^rd, 3pts), Any Weapon Stance (4^th), Mistaken Opportunity (4^th, 2pts), Wind Strike (4^th, 3pts), Heart of the Sword (5^th, 3pts), Perfect Assault (5^th, 3pts)

As you would expect from something billing itself as “Advanced 5^th Edition), this is very detailed, extensive, and convoluted, and different for every class. This makes a nice balance to the increase in power of spells for the spell-casting classes.

BECMI Master Set Weapon Mastery

The concept of Weapon Mastery is not new – it was in the BECMI Masters Boxed set (published 1985) and hence also the Rules Cyclopedia. In some ways it is similar to the OneD&D version, in others similar to the Level Up A5E. But it also has particular aspects which are not reflected here, in particular multiple levels of mastery with attack and damage improvements.

Mastery is divided into five levels: Basic, Skilled, Expert, Master and Grand Master. Characters start with Basic mastery of two weapons (or up to 4 for fighters), and can gain additional mastery at levels 3, 6, 9, 11, 15, 23, 30 and 36, with Fighters also gaining mastery at levels 19, 27 and 33.

Note BECMI went all the way up to level 36 (for humans); in general you can divide the level by two to get a roughly equivalent 5e level, so BECMI level 23 is roughly equivalent to 5e level 12.

• Unskilled: Characters/Creatures Unskilled with a weapon only does half damage, and missile weapons have a -1 to hit.
• Basic: Basic mastery gives the normal listed attack and damage for the weapon
• Skilled: Skilled mastery gives a +2 bonus to hit with that weapon
• Expert: Expert mastery gives a +4 bonus to hit with that weapon
• Master: Master level mastery gives a +6 bonus to hit the primary type of target, and +4 to the secondary*
• Grand Master: Grand Master level mastery gives a +8 bonus to hit the primary type of target, and +6 to the secondary*

* Each weapon has a primary and secondary type of target, either M for missile and monster (i.e. not hand-held) or H for hand-held (i.e. melee) weapon.

Pages 20-21 have detailed tables for each weapon, listing the damage at each level plus any special properties available at each level of mastery. Some weapons also give an improvement to armour class against a given number of opponents (typically increasing with mastery level). Some normally hand-held weapons can be thrown at higher levels of mastery.

Weapons can have special properties:

• Breaks: a shield weapon has a chance (1-5 on a d10) that the blade will break off if either the wielder or attacker rolls exactly the correct number to hit
• Charge: double damage if successfully striking the target after a charge of 20 yards or more
• Death: immediately reduced to 0hp (there were no death saving throws in those days…)
• Deflect: a successful save vs Death Ray deflects an attack; the weapon states how many such attacks can be deflected per round
• Delay: the target must save (typically vs paralysis) or lose initiative in the next round
• Disarm: on a successful hit, the target must roll their Dex score or less on 1d20 or lose the weapon; each additional level of mastery past Basic causes a +1 penalty to this roll
• Double Damage: the weapon inflicts double damage on a natural roll of the numbers indicated
• Entangle: the victim cannot attack, cast spells or move; save vs death ray to escape
• Hook: on a hit, the weapon does minimum damage and the victim must save vs paralysis or be knocked prone
• Ignite: if something flammable is hit, it has a 5% per point of damage chance of catching fire
• Knockout: the victim is rendered unconscious for 1d100 (!) rounds
• No Off-hand Penalty: no penalty from 2-weapon fighting
• Paralysis: the creature is paralysed for d6 turns (of 10 minutes); they are aware but cannot move, attack, talk or cast spells
• Poison: save vs poison or suffer Death, damage + paralysis, or just a %damage (depending on the hit dice of the victim – more hit dice implies lesser results)
• Second Attack: a second attack with the shield weapon (without penalty) alongside an attack with a one-handed weapon
• Set vs Charge: if hitting an enemy who charges 20 yards or more this round, the weapon inflicts double damage
• Skewer: the trident can be twisted so it is stuck for d4+4 rounds, doing d6 points of damage per round
• Slow: the victim can move and attack at half normal movement rates and can’t cast spells
• Strangle: on a natural roll of the numbers indicated, the victim must save vs death ray or become paralysed and will die in d6+2 rounds unless rescued. If they escape, they are still paralysed for 2d6 rounds
• Stun (requires a victim of the same size or smaller): the victim must make a save vs death ray or be stunned: moves 1/3 speed, cannot attack or cast spells, has a 2-point AC penalty and a 2-point saving throw penalty. Save vs death ray each round to try to recover

For example:

• A staff does d6 damage at Basic mastery, d6+2 at Skilled, d8+2 at Expert, d8+5 at Master and d8+7 at Grand Master. It gives an improvement of -1 to AC against two attackers at Skilled, -2AC/2 at Expert, -3AC/3 at Master and -4AC/4 at Grand Master (note: in BECMI, lower armour classes are better). It can deflect one attack at Skilled, two at Expert, three at Master and 4 at Grand Master
• A Normal Sword does d8 damage at Basic mastery, d12 at Skilled, 2d8 at Expert, 2d8+4 against Hand-Held attackers and 2d6+4 against missile/monster at Master, and 2d6+8 against Hand-Held attackers and 2d4+8 against missile/monster at Grand Master. It can be thrown up to 10’ from Expert and up to 15’ at Grand Master. It gives an improvement of -2 to AC against one attacker at Skilled, -2AC/2 at Expert, -3AC/3 at Master and -4AC/3 at Grand Master. It can deflect one attack at Skilled, two at Expert and Master and three at Grand Master, and Disarm from Skilled, with a penalty of 1 on the save at Expert, 2 at Master and 4 at Grand Master
• A longbow does d6 damage at Basic mastery, d8+1 at Skilled, d10+2 at Expert, 3d6 against Missile/Monster attackers and d10+4 against Hand-held attackers at Master, and 4d4+2 against Missile/Monster attackers and d10+6 against Hand-held attackers at Grand Master. Its short/medium/long ranges are 70/140/210 at Basic, 90/150/220 at Skilled, 110/170/230 at Expert, 130/180/240 at Master and 150/200/250 at Grand Master. It gives an improvement of -1 to AC against one attacker at Skilled, -2AC/1 at Expert, -2AC/2 at Master and Grand Master, and it can Delay small and medium attackers from Skilled.
• A dagger does d4 damage at Basic mastery, d6 at Skilled, 2d4 at Expert, 3d4 against Hand-held attackers and 2d4+2 against Missile/Monster attackers at Master, and 4d4 against Hand-held attackers and 3d4+1 against Missile/Monster attackers at Grand Master. Its short/medium/long ranges are 10/20/30 at Basic, 15/25/35 at Skilled, 20/30/45 at Expert, 25/35/50 at Master and 30/50/60 at Grand Master. It gives an improvement of -1 to AC against one attacker at Skilled, -2AC/2 at Expert and Master, and -3AC/3 at Grand Master, and it does double damage on a roll of 20 at Skilled, 19-20 at Expert, 18-20 at Master and 17-20 at Grand Master.

Training: Gaining a level of weapon mastery

Gaining a level is not automatic: the character needs to train with someone who has at least equal mastery with that weapon, and that training may not succeed. It also takes time and money.

• Gaining Basic mastery with a new weapon takes 1 week and costs 100gp/week
• Advancing from Basic to Skilled mastery with a weapon takes 2 weeks at 250gp/week
• Advancing from Skilled to Expert mastery with a weapon takes 4 weeks at 500gp/week
• Advancing from Expert to Master mastery with a weapon takes 8 weeks at 750gp/week
• Advancing from Master to Grand Master mastery with a weapon takes 12 weeks at 1000gp/week

The chance of success starts at 1% if the trainer has the same level of mastery as the student, and increases depending on the level of the trainer:

• Gaining Basic mastery with a new weapon has 60% chance if the trainer has Basic skill, 80% if Skilled, 95% if Expert, and 99% if Master or Grand Master. An Unskilled trainer cannot succeed.
• Advancing from Basic to Skilled mastery has 1% chance if the trainer has Basic skill, 50% if Skilled, 70% if Expert, 90% if Master and 95% if Grand Master
• Advancing from Skilled to Expert mastery has 1% chance if the trainer is Skilled, 40% if Expert, 60% if Master and 80% if Grand Master
• Advancing from Expert to Master mastery has 1% chance if the trainer is an Expert, 30% if Master and 50% if Grand Master
• Advancing from Master to Grand Master mastery has 1% chance if the trainer is a Master and 20% if Grand Master

If the training will fail, the student realises half-way through the training, and can either stop training and save the remaining time and money, or continue anyway, which increases the chance of success by 10% if they then train again with a different trainer.

It doesn’t say, but I would assume that a failure doesn’t use the weapon mastery slot – they can try again (with the same or a different weapon) as soon as they can afford the time/money until they succeed in gaining a new level, at which point they have to wait until the level opportunity before training for another level.

Thoughts and conclusions

I like some aspects of most of these, but none of them covers everything for me.

I like weapon mastery being something you can train and improve at, providing martial characters with improvements they can choose. It also makes sense that it is something available to all martial characters, although the speed of progression is fastest for fighters, and slower for other classes.

I feel Level Up A5E has the most appropriate spread of mastery levels across the classes – all the different martial classes gain some level of access, but it varies depending on how “martial” the class is. OneD&D only offers it to Fighters and Barbarians, which feels stingy, but does have it as a feat which allows any character to choose to gain some levels, which does feel appropriate. Having it as a Fighter speciality (as in Tales of the Valiant) just feels wrong in comparison to the others.

Having said that, in Level Up it isn’t associated with a particular weapon. I like the thought of a character choosing between specialising in a weapon (their signature weapon) and gaining additional benefits with that weapon at the expense of abilities with other weapons, or choosing to generalise and use multiple weapons without gaining the additional benefits, as in BECMI, but none of the 5e variants seem to have taken this multi-level approach.

I find the OneD&D option to change the weapon(s) mastered on a Long Rest odd – that takes it from being a character definition choice to a menu – and also feel it could do with more progression.

So I suppose I most like the BECMI approach with multiple levels which can be chosen…but I would like more recognition of the different martial classes (which, to be fair, don’t exist in the same way in BECMI) gaining levels at different speeds. Also, I can see the training rules could become a significant barrier.

So what would my ideal be?

• Multiple levels of mastery, as in BECMI
• Probably leave the basic proficiencies as per 5e; training is just to move beyond Basic (or gain a new weapon which that class is not normally proficient in)
• Different speeds of progression for different classes, as in Level Up, although I would probably allow some way for Clerics, Bards and Druids in particular to gain levels
• Maybe have Weapon Mastery as a Feat as per OneD&D
• Probably not require the BECMI training, or if I did introduce training, reduce the cost/chance of failure (though it does make sense to have more skilled trainers better at training)

What am I going to try in my campaign? To be honest, I was most inspired by reading the Level Up combat manoeuvres – for several of them I could see how they fitted with particular characters in the campaign. I would like to try some sort of levelled weapon mastery like BECMI, but it would require development, so is probably not going to happen… If I do, I’ll let you know here…