Different Fighting Styles for Different Classes
Weapon Fighting Styles known by class are known at begin of play and cannot be improved upon, nor can a class learn a fighting style that he doesn’t have access to by spending Weapon Prof Slots.
Fighters
Single-Weapon Style
Two-Hander Style
Weapon & Shield Style
Two-Weapon Style
Cleric
Single-Weapon style
Two-Hander style
Weapon & Shield style
Rogue
Single-Weapon style
Two-Hander style
Two-Weapon style
Mage
Single-Weapon style
Two-Hander style
Single-Weapon Style is just that, a character using a weapon such as a sword or a club, without the benefits of a shield.
Two-Hander Style refers to weapons which require two hands to make the weapon functional. A bow, a spear, etc.
Weapon & Shield Style requires a single handed weapon, and a shield. Note that at the start of play, only Fighters and Clerics can use shields.
Two-Weapon Style allows a character to fight with 2 different weapons, but the weapon in the characters off hand must be smaller then the weapon in the good hand.
Of course, we can’t stop a rouge from using a shield, however he will be considered non-proficient and except the attack penalties, as if he wasn’t proficient in his weapon of choice.
A single class warrior can specialize in these fighting styles, and additionally, all other classes, except Mage, can choose to SPECIALIZE in any fighting style that they have natural access too. This is a big change, as normally no other class with the exception of single classed fighters can specialize in anything! Of course that there are limitations to this. A class who is not normally able to specialize (all classes except Fighter), are only allowed to spend one slot on specialization. The second limitation is that a new, first level fighter is only allowed to spend 1 slot on fighting style specialization, but may spend additional slots as he earns them by advancing.
I could have sworn that I already did a post on fighting style specialization, but for some reason, it isn’t in my archive. Let me go through it again to make sure that I’m not crazy, and if I am and I never wrote it, then I’ll follow up on this article with the effects.
(NOTE Added August 13th, 2009) I looked all over the blog, isn't it terrible that not even I know what is here anymore?, and I didn't find what I thought that I wrote. I write lots of posts, but not all of them make it to the publishing-block. In the near future I'll make sure to write this article up. Sorry for the unprofessional nature of this post, I write without access to the Internet on a laptop and my files on it are incomplete . . . not to mention that I have the memory of an 'etch-a-sketch'. Again, my appologies.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
|
Labels:
combat,
NPC's,
pc classes,
Proficiencies
|
- campaign ideas
- NPC's
- combat
- Miscellany
- encounters
- rants
- Ripper's Gaming Sessions
- monsters
- money and equipment
- Reviews
- pc classes
- magic
- Proficiencies
- Treasure
- Time and Movement
- Sunday Supplemental
- experience
- campaign add-ins
- Alignment
- races
- Mechanic Series
- vision and light
- Ability Scores
- wizard spells
- Supplemental
- priest spells

My Blog List
-
3 bold adventurers, 3 dead adventurers - I was feeling some anxiety this morning (the plague being in the land gets to me sometimes) so I decided to distract myself with a couple old Tunnels & T...19 hours ago
-
Innovation in RPG-Land Part 3: Good rules are hard to write (or so the song goes) - *I'll just pretend 2020 didn't happen, if that's alright with you ... I've done lots of posts over the years about how design emerges from scratch to fin...3 days ago
-
Ballet is as OSR as F*ck: More on the Appendix N of Appendix N - For familial reasons, I sometimes have to watch and pretend to be interested in ballet. Well, I say *pretend* to be interested; as time goes on, I have i...4 days ago
-
Updating the 35-Year-Old GM’s Ten Commandments for Today - Back in 1987, Dragon magazine issue 122 published “The GM’s Ten Commandments: Ten dos and don’ts for game masters everywhere,” a list of tips that author R...5 days ago
-
Most Anticipated Geek Movies of 2021 – Episode 236 – 1-18-2021 - Shane Plays Geek Talk Episode #236 – 1/18/2020Most Anticipated Geek Movies of 2021 Highlights: It’s the fifth annual team-up with Arkansas talk radio leg...5 days ago
-
Obscure Mythical Monsters - I don't often indulge in creating new monsters, but over the years I've put together a few here and there. Some of these I briefly published elsewhere, bu...5 days ago
-
Yet another TTRPG Project (Why do I do this to myself?) - Greetings, and as the title alludes to, yes “Yet another TTRPG Project”. Initially I had planned this project to be simply another setting supplement for A...6 days ago
-
Still Here! Still Carrying On, Too! - Well, the ship of state is still afloat. I slipped up, and haven't posted for a while; I have gotten a message from Google that if I don't use my Google a...4 weeks ago
-
Ind of the Year - The Colors of Magic - On December 1st, there will be a nice bundle of small, indie itch RPGs from around the world called the *Ind of the Year Bundle 2020* that includes *The Co...1 month ago
-
Quantum D&D - A funny thing happened to D&D in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s: it got popular. It went from a game everyone learned from someone whose knowledge of the...2 months ago
-
Be The DM, 1 - OK, I've run plenty of games and I've talked with and read the thoughts of many other DM's. One thing is certain; No two DM's are the same. I have seen ...2 months ago
-
The Crowning of King Harold - Here is a spooky story that comes from my latest novel, Lions Red and Gold, available now in digital and dead tree only on Amazon. I post it here in ho...2 months ago
-
Blackmoor Week Day 1 September 24th, 2020 - Today is the first day of Blackmoor Week 2020 which runs from Sept. 24-30 followed immediately by Dave Arneson Game Day on October 1st. This is a time t...3 months ago
-
Still Alive - It's been a crazy year since the last post. I got married last Halloween. Yay! My diabetes kicked my ass. Boo! I've been in physical decline since bef...5 months ago
-
Dungeon, exploration and the title: "Dungeons & Dragons" - This is the second post in a two-part series of posts on the title of Dungeons & Dragons as a means to empower hobbyists to start their own medieval fan...5 months ago
-
MIDLANDS CHARACTER GENERATION - Character development (of Player via imagined formative experiences) in my dog in DMing. Placyer character development is a huge part of my sandbox. I use ...6 months ago
-
Sometimes, the best move is not to play... - I had to do something really hard this weekend, I had to cancel my monthly tabletop Zoom AD&D game, as well as my bi-weekly online AD&D game. I'm taking a...7 months ago
-
Forbidden Lands - la modernità della Vecchia Scuola - Salve ragazzi, è veramente un sacco di tempo che manco da questi luoghi, ma come diceva qualcuno “non tutto quel ch’è oro brilla, né gli erranti son perdu...7 months ago
-
The Mauve Plague, Gravy Urns, and Batlace Frills: News from the Hill Cantons - And now the News... In a statement beamed from the Oracular Society today *Morafans the Rickmaster*, the Psychosocial Health Minister of the Overking, ha...10 months ago
-
Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign: Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, ... - Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign: Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, ...: LINK to Description and Ordering: https://www.tlbgames.com/colle...1 year ago
-
Blackmoor Week 2019 (9/24/19) - Blackmoor Week and Dave Arneson Game Day running from September 24th through October 1st. This year 2019 is the 45th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons and ...1 year ago
-
Dave Arneson Blackmoor Week and Game Day 2019 - Blackmoor Week begins today Sept 24, 2019. What are you doing this week to celebrate Dave Arneson's Birthday and his foundational game setting Blackmoor ak...1 year ago
-
Blackmoor Week Day I 2019 - *Blackmoor Week* kicks off today and concludes on October 1st with *Dave Arneson Game Day*. [image: Dave Arneson’s Blackmoor - B-Ware - Sphärenmeisters Spi...1 year ago
-
Character Concepts: Planescape pt 3 - Part 1 Part 2 Continuing my series on oddball Planescape Faction Personalities... Harmonium Sidby the Stick (LG/halfling/fighter) - Sidby's a good enough b...1 year ago
-
D&D Sling Damage vs. Large Targets - In many early editions of D&D, weapons were assigned two damage values: one for small/medium targets (i.e. man-sized) and one for large targets (giants and...1 year ago
-
Announcing the Contest Winner! (Plus Some Interesting US Coin Facts) - The third semi-annual Save Versus All Wands contest - What is the Value of this Coin Hoard - is over. $1,000 was the winning guess, only a bit below the ...2 years ago

Contact me at Ripx187@gmail.com
Blog Archive
-
►
2018
(5)
- ► October 2018 (1)
- ► September 2018 (1)
- ► April 2018 (1)
- ► February 2018 (1)
- ► January 2018 (1)
-
►
2017
(39)
- ► November 2017 (1)
- ► September 2017 (3)
- ► August 2017 (2)
- ► April 2017 (6)
- ► March 2017 (5)
- ► February 2017 (5)
- ► January 2017 (4)
-
►
2016
(58)
- ► December 2016 (4)
- ► November 2016 (6)
- ► October 2016 (5)
- ► September 2016 (4)
- ► August 2016 (4)
- ► April 2016 (4)
- ► March 2016 (4)
- ► February 2016 (4)
- ► January 2016 (7)
-
►
2015
(24)
- ► December 2015 (6)
- ► November 2015 (7)
- ► October 2015 (7)
- ► September 2015 (4)
-
►
2010
(14)
- ► March 2010 (5)
- ► February 2010 (5)
- ► January 2010 (4)
-
▼
2009
(123)
- ► December 2009 (3)
- ► November 2009 (4)
- ► October 2009 (6)
- ► September 2009 (4)
-
▼
August 2009
(13)
- Chapter I: The Goblin
- New Project to begin soon
- Reversing as Story Element
- Medusa Cactus
- Low Level Adventures & Monster Treasure
- Exploring Specialized Fighting Styles
- Plants, Dangerous: Fear Weed
- Societies and Factions in the D&D World
- Different Fighting Styles for Different Classes
- Thief Skills for the Masses
- More 2e Love
- RPG Blog Carnival: Conventions, Ren Fairs, Carniva...
- Books as Treasure
- ► April 2009 (15)
- ► March 2009 (14)
- ► February 2009 (5)
- ► January 2009 (10)
-
►
2008
(73)
- ► December 2008 (3)
- ► November 2008 (4)
- ► October 2008 (5)
- ► September 2008 (4)
- ► August 2008 (4)
- ► April 2008 (18)
- ► March 2008 (5)

2 comments:
I kinda go with the notion that a fighting style gives a bonus, and no fighting style is standard, hence, fighting style is only open to warriors. Historically speaking, things like 2-handed weapon fighting style and Castilian fencing style (rapier in one hand and a stiletto or a main gauche in the other) have been advanced fighting styles open to aristocracy and landed gentry who dedicated theit lives to fencing and dueling, same with the Samurai only being allowedto practice with the long sword in the feudal japanse society. In Medieval Europe 2 handed sword fighting style in what is now Germany, was the very first European fencing school (around 1400's, i.e. very end of the middle ages), again open to knights by their birthright. So, I don't see anything beyond weapon and shield style and single weapon style being open to non-warriors. A thief, maybe, at higher leverls when s/he had enough wealth and could flaunt it by hanging out with the local princeling's retinue.
I used to think that way too, but I think that this decision is based on pulp fantasy. If you look at the Conan movie (There is only one) the three main good guys were all specilized in their weapons, even the thief. I have no problem with a 1 time bonus which can be added to any character if he choses to do it.
If you think about it, they are giving up a weapon proficiency, which is precious during early play, so, I feel that this balances it out.
Post a Comment