It's fairly obvious that there is a huge difference in the attack potential of an unskilled novice and a trained swordsman. The level of skill with which a character fights is divided into six general categories: nonproficiency, familiarity, proficiency, expertise, specialization, and mastery.
Skills & Powers uses character points to acquire each level of mastery, but this system is also compatible with AD&D weapon proficiencies. Nonproficiency and familiarity have no cost in proficiency slots, normal proficiency costs one slot, expertise and specialization cost two slots, and mastery costs three or more slots.
Nonproficiency[]
If a character has never had any training or practice with a weapon, he is nonproficient. He can only guess at the proper way to hold the weapon or attack his opponent. Anything fancier than a simple hack, slash, or bash is beyond his abilities—the character cannot attempt any attack options such as disarming, blocking, or sapping.
In addition to his inability to make special attacks, the character also suffers an attack roll penalty based on his character class. Warriors tend to figure out weapons of any kind relatively quickly and have a small penalty for attacking with weapons they're not familiar with. Other characters don't have the warrior's affinity for weapons and are more severely penalized. These penalties are:
| Class | Nonprof. | Familiarity |
|---|---|---|
| Warrior | –2 | –1 |
| Wizard | –5 | –3 |
| Priest | –3 | –2 |
| Rogue | –3 | –2 |
| Psionicist | –4 | –2 |
| Nonclassed | ||
| NPCs | –4 | –2 |
Any weapon wielded by a nonproficient character is considered one initiative phase slower than it really is, and missile weapons have their rate of fire halved. An untrained character wielding a long sword has an initiative phase of slow, not average, and an unskilled character wielding a long bow would only fire once per round instead of twice.
Familiarity[]
All characters are automatically familiar with any weapon that is related to a weapon they are proficient in. Weapons are considered to be related if they are part of the same tight group. For example, a character who is proficient in the use of the light crossbow is automatically familiar with all other types of crossbow because they're part of the same tight weapon group.
Familiarity is not as good as proficiency, but it beats not knowing anything about a weapon at all. Characters only suffer one-half the normal nonproficiency penalty when attacking with weapons they are familiar with. They may attempt any normal attack maneuvers possible (the familiarity penalty still applies, of course), and suffer no initiative or rate of fire penalties.
Familiarity does not allow the user to make use of any special weapon attack modes that require proficiency in the weapon.
Proficiency[]
This is the basic level of competence most characters achieve with their weapons training. Proficiency allows the character to use a weapon with no penalties and employ all attack options and special weapon properties to their fullest extent.
As noted previously, warriors can spend two proficiency slots to become proficient in a tight weapon group, or three slots to become proficient in a broad group. Otherwise, characters have to spend one slot per weapon they wish to be proficient with.
Expertise[]
Weapon expertise is a form of specialization that is available to nonfighters. Regular weapon specialization (described below) is only available to single-classed fighters, but weapon expertise can be learned by paladins, rangers, and multi-classed fighters. There's no reason a single-classed fighter couldn't learn expertise instead of specialization, but expertise is just as expensive as specialization and isn't as good.
Weapon expertise allows a character to gain extra attacks as if he or she were a weapon specialist. At 1st level, an expert with the long sword gets to attack three times per two rounds. Weapon expertise also allows the use of any unusual weapon properties reserved for specialist use. Weapon expertise does not grant the character extra attack or damage bonuses, as weapon specialization does.
Note that Skills & Powers allows a character to “customize” his class and receive abilities he normally could not attain. Under these rules, paladins, rangers, and multi-classed fighters can specialize at the cost of sacrificing other abilities or advantages. Similarly, priests and rogues may be able to gain weapon expertise. If you aren't using the Skills & Powers book, we recommend that you limit specialization and mastery to single-class fighters only, and limit expertise to paladins, rangers, and multi-class fighters.
Specialization[]
By spending an extra proficiency slot on a weapon, a single-class fighter character can become a specialist. A fighter may only specialize in one weapon at a time. If she wishes to change her specialization to a different weapon, she must spend two extra proficiency slots to become a specialist in the new weapon, and loses all benefits of specializing in the previous one (although she is still proficient with it and always will be). Any more changes cost three slots each, so it's a good idea to pick one weapon and stick with it.
The exact benefits of weapon specialization vary with the particular weapon involved. Generally, the types of benefits fall into one of five categories: melee weapons, missile weapons, bows, crossbows, and firearms.
Melee Weapons[]
Specializing in a melee weapon provides a character with two main benefits: first of all, he gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls and a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon; secondly, he gains an extra attack once per two rounds. A 1st-level fighter normally attacks once per round, but a 1st-level long sword specialist attacks three times per two rounds.
Missile Weapons[]
This category includes slings and thrown weapons. Generally, specialists gain an increased rate of fire with these weapons and a +1 bonus to attack rolls. If a character specializes in a weapon that can be used either for melee or as a missile weapon (spears, daggers, hand axes, etc.), he gains the melee benefit described above when using the weapon for hand-to-hand combat and the increased rate of fire for using the weapon for ranged attacks.
Refer to the table below for the exact number of attacks available to the specialist for the various types of missile weapons.
Bows[]
Characters who specialize in the bow gain a +1 bonus to hit at any range (normal range penalties still apply, of course), an increased rate of fire, and a new range category: point-blank. Point-blank is any shot of 30 feet or less. At point-blank range, the character gains a +2 to damage. In addition, bow specialists can automatically fire first as a very fast action if they have their target covered. This supercedes the specialization rules found in the Player's Handbook.
Crossbows[]
Specialists with crossbows gain a +1 bonus to hit at any range, an increased rate of fire, and a point-blank range category, just like archers. For crossbows, point-blank range extends out to 60 feet. Crossbow specialists have a +2 bonus to damage rolls against any target at point-blank range. In addition, they share the archer's quick-shot benefit when covering an enemy.
Firearms[]
Firearms specialists are often referred to as marksmen or sharpshooters. Specializing in a firearm provides a character with three benefits: first of all, he has a better rate of fire than a nonspecialist; second, he gains a +1 bonus to hit at any range; and last, there is a 50% chance that any misfire he rolls while attacking with the firearm is simply a miss instead.
| Level of Specialist | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | 1–6 | 7–12 | 13+ |
| Melee Weapons | 3/2 | 2/1 | 5/2 |
| Blowgun | 2/1 | 5/2 | 3/1 |
| Bolas | 1/1 | 3/2 | 2/1 |
| Bows | 2/1 | 3/1 | 4/1 |
| Hand Crossbow | 1/1 | 3/2 | 2/1 |
| Light Crossbow | 1/1 | 3/2 | 2/1 |
| Heavy Crossbow | 1/2 | 1/1 | 3/2 |
| Stonebow | 1/1 | 3/2 | 2/1 |
| Repeating Crossbow | 2/1 | 5/2 | 3/1 |
| Thrown Dagger/Knife | 3/1 | 4/1 | 5/1 |
| Thrown Dart | 4/1 | 5/1 | 6/1 |
| Firearms | |||
| Arquebus | 1/3 | 1/2 | 1/1 |
| Matchlocks | 1/2 | 1/1 | 3/2 |
| Snaplocks | 1/1 | 3/2 | 2/1 |
| Wheelock Belt Pistol | 1/1 | 3/2 | 2/1 |
| Wheelock Horse Pistol | 1/2 | 1/1 | 3/2 |
| Javelin | 3/2 | 2/1 | 5/2 |
| Sling | 3/2 | 2/1 | 5/2 |
| Staff Sling | 1/1 | 3/2 | 2/1 |
| Shuriken | 3/1 | 4/1 | 5/1 |
| Other Thrown Weapons | 1/1 | 3/2 | 2/1 |
Weapon Mastery[]
There are swordsmen, and then there are swordsmen. A warrior who devotes his life to the study of martial combat and the characteristics of a single type of weapon can become a weapon master—a fighter whose precision, quickness, and skill are virtually unequaled anywhere.
Weapon masters are rare characters. Only single-classed fighters can ever achieve weapon mastery, and even then they do so with time, study, and sacrifice. To achieve mastery in a weapon, a character must first specialize in the use of that weapon. Then, at any time after he reaches 5th level, he can spend another proficiency slot to become a weapon master. He can continue to devote proficiency slots to the study of his chosen weapon, but can't progress faster than the rate at which he gains new weapon proficiency slots. So, a character who becomes a master at 5th level couldn't acquire his second slot of mastery until 6th level, his third until 9th level, and so on.
Generally, only weapons that require some skill to handle or that have a history of cultural identification are chosen by weapon masters. Swords of any kind are the most common weapons mastered, followed by bows and then axes or spears. Polearms, crossbows, and firearms are the subject of weapon mastery only in rare cases. The DM can decide that a weapon isn't appropriate for mastery at his discretion, but he should do so before a character chooses to specialize in it.
Effects of Mastery[]
If a fighter spends another proficiency slot on a melee weapon he already specializes in, his attack and damage bonuses increase to +3 and +3, respectively. For bows and crossbows, his point-blank bonuses increase to +3/+3 as with melee weapons, and he gains an additional +1 to hit at all other range categories, for a total of +2. (Remember, this bonus doesn't take range modifiers into account, so the archer has a total of +2 at short, +0 at medium, and –3 at long range, if the penalties are factored in.)
A marksman who chooses to master a firearm gains an additional +1 bonus to hit, cumulative with the effects of specialization for a total bonus of +2 to hit. As with bows and crossbows, this is still reduced by range penalties. In addition, the marksman ignores heavy armor at all ranges as if he were firing at a short-range target. See Firearms in Chapter Seven for more information.
High Mastery[]
By spending a second slot on mastery, a character can become a high master. By this time, the character has spent four slots on a single weapon and is at least 6th level. High masters increase the speed factor of their chosen weapon by one category; for example, a slow weapon in the hands of a high master is automatically considered to be of average speed. High masters also score critical hits on rolls of 16 or higher rather than 18 (if the optional critical hit system is used) that hit their opponent by a margin of 5 or more.
High masters who specialize in bows, crossbows, slings, or firearms gain a new range category: extreme range. For all weapons, extreme range is 1/3 farther than long range. For example, if a weapon has a normal maximum range of 18 squares, in the hands of a master it can shoot 24 (1/3x18=6, 18+6=24) squares. Extreme range shots have a –10 penalty to hit before adjustments are made for the effects of mastery.
Grand Mastery[]
High masters who spend one more slot on learning their weapon of choice can become grand masters. Grand masters are capable of feats of swordplay that border on the fantastic. Grand masters gain one additional attack per round above and beyond a specialist's rate of attacks for their level, so a 12th-level melee weapon grand master would attack 3 times per round with his weapon of choice.
Grand masters also increase the amount of damage and the chance of a knockdown when they employ their chosen weapon. The weapon's base damage die and knockdown die are increased to the next greater die size against all opponents. A long sword thus inflicts 1d10/1d20 points of damage in the hands of a grand master, and its knockdown die is increased to a d10. If the weapon causes multiple dice of damage, all of them are increased. Thus, a two-handed sword in the hands of a grand master inflicts 3d8 points of damage on large targets. Needless to say, grand masters are extremely dangerous opponents.
Special DM Note[]
Weapon mastery is hard to come by, and even harder to perfect. It's not too rare for a character to become a master, but the quest to become a high master or grand master could take years. Unlike the previous levels of specialization, which can simply be selected as an advancement choice, high mastery and grand mastery should require a great deal of time and personal sacrifice on the part of the character. It's not unreasonable to require the candidate to locate someone who can teach her and spend several months of campaign time in training—possibly “sitting out” an adventure or two while she hones her skills.
While the higher levels of weapon mastery are a great goal for a character to set her eyes on, they can unbalance a game very quickly. Exercise tight control over the acquisition of weapon mastery in your campaign, and make certain that the players realize just how rare and special their weapon master characters really are.