# Weapon Actions from Larian's Baldur's Gate 3 ## What is this? To those of you who don't know, the cRPG Baldur's Gate 3 implemented a feature called Weapon Actions. These functionally are what a lot of players wanted for the Weapon Mastery system, and many have praised the BG3 system as quite a bit of fun and would like to see it as homebrew at their tables. Part of the challenge with porting features from a video game is making sure the chosen feature isn't cumbersome at the table. For the Weapon Actions, some of them apply conditions that can slow down combat quite a bit. I will still be keeping some of the conditions, but I will be altering them to fit better with existing mechanics. Also, unlike BG3 there will generally be no Saving Throw to resist these effects. This is to not slow combat down further with extra rolls. Finally, I am making a simple change to the system that should make it feel more flexible. ## The Core Rules Weapon Actions are special Actions tied to a weapon you are wielding. Every weapon has at least 1 weapon Action, and in order to use the Weapon Action you must have the appropriate weapon Proficiency. Some Actions take a Bonus Action, while others replace an attack you make. A weapon Action must be made with the weapon tied to it and cannot be made as part of casting a spell or another Weapon Action. Additionally, the Attack being replaced must have been made as part of taking an Action or Bonus Action on your part. For instance, you cannot take a Weapon Action as a Reaction, even if your Battle Master fighter friend lets you make an attack as a Reaction. At the same time, if you are engaged in Two weapon fighting with a Sickle and a Dagger, only your dagger can use the Piercing Strike Action. Unlike BG3, you may use Weapon Actions of either of the weapons you are wielding while engaged in Two Weapon Fighting. Weapons all have **Wear**, and each Weapon Action consumes **Wear** from the equipped weapon. **Wear** is discussed more in the **Weapon Wear** section below. ## Weapon Wear Generally speaking, each Weapon Action consumes 1 **Wear** from the equipped weapon and you cannot perform a Weapon Action if the weapon's wear is at 0. Each weapon also has a maximum amount of wear equal to the number of Weapon Actions it has access to. For instance, the Greatsword has 3 Weapon Actions, Pommel Strike, Lacerate, and Cleave. Greatswords have 3 Wear. Wear is recovered by performing **simple maintenance** on a weapon over a Short or Long Rest. You can perform this maintenance on a number of weapons equal to your Proficiency Bonus each Rest. \columnbreak Additionally, the Mending Spell can restore Wear to a weapon, though each weapon can only be restored this way once per Long Rest. ## Conditions This section will cover Conditions that the various Weapon Actions can inflict. This is at the start of the document so that when the Conditions come up in ***Bold and Italics*** in the descriptions of the Weapon Actions you'll know what they do. ### Off Balance - The next attack against this creature is made with advantage. ### Weakened - The creature has disadvantage on their next attack roll. ### Dazed - The affected creature may only take an Action, a Bonus Action, or use their movement. They cannot take Reactions. ### Bleeding - The creature suffers 1 additional die of Slashing damage until it regains any amount of Hit points or suffers Slashing damage. ### Gaping Wound - The creature suffers 1 additional die of Piercing damage until it regains any amount of hit points or suffers Piercing damage. ### Concussed - The creature suffers 1 additional die of Bludgeoning damage until it regains any amount of hit points or suffers Bludgeoning damage. > ##### Missing Conditions > If you're familiar with BG3, you'll notice that a number of the conditions that Weapon Actions can apply are missing. This is because they are already replicated in other effects. For instance, Hamstring shot applies Hamstrung, which is very similar to Ray of Frost's slowing effect. In an effort to reduce the number of unique effects to be tracked, Hamstring Shot now simply applies the same slow as Ray of Frost. Other similar effects were consolidated. \pagebreak ## The Weapon Actions This section will be organized alphabetically and split between Melee and Ranged, with each action showing up as follows: #### Action Name *Weapons that this action appears on* ___ - **Action Cost:** Self explanitory I think - **Damage:** Damage dealt by the weapon Action - **Condition** The Condition applied, if it does so - **Duration:** Duration of any Conditions applied. - **Special:** Special Range, area, or other considerations go here. ___ Here is described the effect of the Action in plain text. ### Melee Actions So without further ado, let's get into them! #### Backbreaker *Warhammers and Mauls* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 attack - **Damage:** 1d4 + Strength Modifier Bludgeoning - **Condition** Prone - **Duration:** N/A ___ You put extra force behind your strike to knock your enemy Prone. #### Brace (Melee) *Glaives and Pikes* ___ - **Action Cost:** Special* - **Damage:** N/A - **Condition** N/A - **Duration:** End of Turn - **Special:** You must spend 20 feet of Movement as a Free action on your turn to use this Action ___ For the rest of your turn, roll Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage twice and use the highest result. #### Cleave *Battleaxes, Greataxes, Halberds, and Greatswords* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 attack - **Damage:** Normal Weapon Damage / 2 - **Condition** N/A - **Duration:** N/A - **Special:** This attack has a Range of a 5 foot cone. ___ Swing your weapon in a large arc to attack enemies clustered around you. They each take half the damage your weapon usually deals. Make an attack against each enemy within a 5 foot cone. (For clarity, this is a single 5 foot square adjacent to you, and the 2 squares adjacent to both it and you). Bonus damage effects are not halved, but each creature targeted in the cone is considered a separate attack. \columnbreak #### Concussive Smash *Clubs, Flails, Light Hammers, Maces, Morningstars, Warhammers, Greatclubs, and Mauls* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Attack - **Damage:** Normal Weapon Damage - **Condition:** ***Dazed*** - **Duration:** End of your next turn ___ Hit an enemy with all your might to deal damage and ***Daze*** them. #### Crippling Strike *War picks, Morningstars and Battleaxes* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Attack - **Damage:** 1d4 + Strength Modifier Slashing - **Condition** Special - **Duration:** Start of your next turn - **Special:** Creature's Movement speed is reduced to 0 ___ Swing at an enemy's legs to deal damage and prevent them from getting away. #### Flourish *Scimitars, Shortswords, and Rapiers* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Bonus Action - **Damage:** N/A - **Condition** ***Off-Balance*** - **Duration:** Start of your next turn ___ Feint an attack to throw your opponent ***Off Balance***. #### Lacerate *All Weapons that deal Slashing damage* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Attack - **Damage:** Normal Weapon Damage - **Condition** ***Bleeding*** - **Duration:** End of your next turn ___ Slash at your target's vital points to make it ***bleed***. #### Piercing Strike *Rapiers, Daggers, Shortswords, Tridents, Javelins and Pikes* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Attack - **Damage:** Normal Weapon Damage - **Condition** ***Gaping Wound*** - **Duration:** End of your next turn ___ Stab an enemy and possibly inflict ***Gaping Wounds***. #### Pommel Strike *Longswords and Greatswords* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Bonus Action - **Damage:** 1d4 + Strength Modifier Bludgeoning - **Condition** ***Dazed*** - **Duration:** End of your next turn ___ Bludgeon an enemy with the pommel of your weapon and ***Daze*** them. \pagebreak #### Prepare *Greataxes* ___ - **Action Cost:** Special - **Damage:** N/A - **Condition** N/A - **Duration:** End of your turn - **Special:** You must spend 20 feet of movement to take this Action ___ You take extra care to ready your weapon and make the most of your strength. You spend 20 feet of movement to cause your attacks to deal extra damage equal to your Strength Modifier until the end of your turn. #### Rush Attack *Longswords, Spears, Tridents, Glaives, Halberds, and Pikes* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Attack - **Damage:** 1d4+ Strength Modifier Damage type is inherited from the weapon - **Condition** ***Off Balance*** - **Duration:** Start of your next turn - **Special:** You must be at least 5 feet away from your target to use this Action. Additionally, this attack causes you to charge up to 20 feet to your target. ___ Charge forward and attack the first enemy in your way, pushing them ***Off Balance***. The movement from this action doesn't provoke Opportunity Attacks. #### Tenacity *Morningstars, Flails, Greatclubs, Mauls* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Reaction - **Damage:** Strength Modifier - **Condition** N/A - **Duration:** N/A - **Special:** You take the reaction in response to missing an attack with the equipped weapon ___ When you miss an attack, deal Bludgeoning damage equal to your Strength Modifier (or a minimum of 1). #### Topple *Quarterstaves* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Attack - **Damage:** N/A - **Condition** Prone - **Duration:** N/A ___ Swipe at a creature to knock it ***Prone***. #### Weaking Strikes *Rapiers, Warpicks, Flails and Warhammers* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Attack - **Damage:** 1d4 + Strength Modifier. Damage type is inherited from the weapon - **Condition** Weakened - **Duration:** End of your next turn. ___ Target an enemy's attacking limbs and inflict ***Weakened***. \columnbreak ### Ranged Actions #### Brace(Ranged) *Longbows and Heavy Crossbows* ___ - **Action Cost:** Special - **Damage:** N/A - **Condition** N/A - **Duration:** End of your turn - **Special:** You must spend 20 feet of movement to take this Action. ___ For the rest of your turn, roll Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage twice and use the highest result. #### Hamstring Shot *Longbows and Shortbows* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Attack - **Damage:** Normal Weapon Damage - **Condition** N/A - **Duration:** Start of your next turn ___ Shoot an enemy in the thigh and reduce their Movement Speed by 10 feet until the start of your next turn. #### Mobile Shot *Hand Crossbows and Blowguns* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Bonus Action - **Damage:** Normal Weapon Damage - **Condition** N/A - **Duration:** N/A - **Special:** You must have taken the Dash or Disengage action on your turn to take this Action ___ Make a Ranged Attack while moving. #### Piercing Shot *Light Crossbows, Heavy Crossbows, Darts and Hand Crossbows* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Attack - **Damage:** 1d8 + Dexterity Modifier Piercing - **Condition** ***Gaping Wounds*** - **Duration:** Start of your Next turn ___ Shoot a foe in the chest and inflict ***Gaping Wounds***. \pagebreak #### Venom Shot *Blowguns and Darts* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Bonus Action - **Damage:** Special - **Condition** Special - **Duration:** 3 rounds - **Special:** You must have either a Poisoner's kit or vials of poison/venom on your person to take this action ___ You quickly apply multiple types of poison onto a piece of ammunition, creating a lethal cocktail. As a Bonus Action, you may apply up to 2 different poisons or coatings to your ranged ammunition. The combination of such causes them to become impotent if not delivered within 3 rounds, but they also all apply to each attack. For the duration, each of your ranged attacks apply the effects of both poisons to targets hit, and victims suffer an additional 1d6 Poison damage. If the poisons call for a Saving throw, use the highest DC between the two and the target only receives 1 save against both poisons. #### Weighted Bullet *Slings* ___ - **Action Cost:** 1 Attack - **Damage:** 1d4 + Dexterity Modifier Bludgeoning - **Condition** ***Concussed*** - **Duration:** End of your Next turn ___ Load up and launch a particularly weighty bullet into your sling, ***Concussing*** your foe. ## Weapon Tables For a different look at each weapon individually, here is a Table with all the Weapons, their Weapon Actions, and a clarifying table for how much Wear the weapons should have. <div class='classTable wide'> ##### Melee Weapons | Weapon Name | Weapon Actions | Wear | |:---:|:---:|:---| | Club | Concussive Smash | 1 | | Daggers | Piercing Strike | 1| | Handaxes | Lacerate | 1 | | Javelins | Piercing Strike | 1 | | Light Hammers | Concussive Smash | 1 | | Maces | Concussive Smash | 1 | | Sickles | Lacerate | 1 | | Quarterstaves | Topple | 1 | | Spears | Rush Attack | 1 | | Greatclubs | Tenacity, Concussive Smash | 2 | | Flails | Tenacity, Concussive Smash, Weakening Strike | 3 | | Morningstars | Tenacity, Concussive Smash, Crippling Strike | 3 | | Rapiers | Piercing Strike, Weakening Strike, Flourish | 3 | | Scimitars | Lacerate, Flourish | 2 | | Shortswords | Flourish, Piercing Strike | 2 | | Warpicks | Crippling Strike, Piercing Strike, Weakening Strike | 3 | | Battleaxes | Cleave, Lacerate, Crippling Strike | 3 | | Longswords | Lacerate, Rush Attack, Pommel Strike | 3 | | Tridents | Rush Attack, Piercing Strike | 2 | | Warhammers | Backbreaker, Concussive Smash, Weakening Strike | 3 | | Glaives | Rush Attack, Lacerate, Brace(Melee) | 3 | | Greataxes | Cleave, Lacerate, Prepare | 3 | | Greatswords | Cleave, Lacerate, Pommel Strike | 3 | | Halberds | Rush Attack, Lacerate, Cleave | 3 | | Mauls | Tenacity, Backbreaker, Concussive Smash | 3 | | Pikes | Rush Attack, Piercing Strike, Brace(Melee) | 3 | </div> \pagebreak <div class='classTable wide'> ##### Ranged Weapons | Weapon Name | Weapon Actions | Wear | |:---:|:---:|:---| |Blowguns | Mobile Shot, Venom Shot |2 | |Darts | Piercing Shot, Venom Shot |2 | |Light Crossbows | Piercing Shot |1 | |Short Bows |Hamstring Shot |1 | |Hand Crossbows |Piercing Shot, Mobile Shot | 2| | Heavy Crossbows| Piercing Shot, Brace(Ranged) |2 | |Longbows |Hamstring Shot, Brace(Ranged) |2 | |Slings | Weighted Bullet |1 | </div> ## Unique Weapon Actions One of the more common ways that BG3 distinguishes their Magic weapons is by giving them unique weapon Actions. These Actions are thematic to the weapon itself, and are often found on specially named weapons. For instance the Very Heavy Greataxe has a special type of cleave action that deals full damage instead of only half. Unique Weapon actions are something you need to consider carefully, as they also grant the weapon Extra Wear. My suggestion is to have Unique Weapon actions cost 2 points of Wear to use, instead of 1. Often, these actions are (and rightfully should be) more powerful than standard weapon actions and should come with an accompanying increased cost. Generally speaking, Martial weapons have more actions than Simple weapons, and two-handed weapons often have more Actions than their one-handed counterparts. This is important to consider when adding a unique weapon action, as having an extra Weapon Action on a Dagger is much more impactful than an Extra Weapon Action on a Greatsword. At the same time, because the overall impact is lower on a Greatsword or a Greataxe, they should more often have extra Weapon Actions. Finally, the higher the rarity of your Magic Weapon the better an extra Weapon Action should be. For example, the Soulbreaker Greatsword is a Rare Greatsword with an extra action that deals a simple 4 extra psychic damage, with a save to potentially stun the target. Potentially devastating, but only if they fail the Save. On the other hand, Balduran's Giantslayer (Also a Greatsword, but Legendary Quality) has an Action that deals Proficiency bonus extra damage, but if the target is Large or Larger, they take even more damage (2d6) and can be knocked prone. Both are pretty good, but the Legendary Weapon's Action is almost always more useful, especially as you get higher level and enemies tend to be larger. \columnbreak ## Optional Rule: Weapon Expertise Weapon Expertise is an optional feature you can give to your fighters to help them get more out of Weapon Actions. They have more attacks available to them than other classes, and as such will want more resources to keep attacks interesting as you get further into a Fight. ### Weapon Expertise #### 3rd level optional Fighter Feature You have come to understand that winning or losing a battle often begins before you ever step foot on the Battlefield. Starting at 3rd level, Weapons that you have performed **maintenance** on in the last 24 hours have 1 extra point of Wear that only you can use to perform weapon Actions. This extra Wear increases to 2 points at 9th level, and 3 points at 15th. \pagebreak # Tips for using this at your Table ### 1.) Bookkeeping (Player Side) Adding an extra layer like this to combat does improve the depth and engagement for characters who rely primarily on weapons (ala, Martials), but it also adds a bunch of extra things they need to keep track of. Consider giving players Notecards with their associated weapon's name, and using a d4 on the card to keep track of the amount of wear left on the weapon. If a character somehow manages to exceed 4 wear on a weapon, they can use a larger dice instead. ### 2.) More Conditions Because you're going to have a lot more conditions coming and going, you're going to want to invest in Condition Trackers if you haven't already. These are small markers, typically colored rubber rings, that can be put on a mini to indicate they are suffering from a condition of one sort or another. ### 3.) Bookkeeping (GM Side) All of these extra conditions also means you'll be keeping track of more minutia at the table if you're the GM. If you're confident your players can do it, consider having players keep track of Conditions they have imposed on enemies. This can alleviate some of the burden on your end, and also adds to help your players feel more engaged with the combat as they are taking on some additional responsibilities. Make sure to communicate with your players beforehand if you choose to do this. ### 4.) The Monsters Know what they are doing (GM Tip) One of the key factors to the Conditions Bleeding, Gaping Wound, and Concussed is that they are removed either by suffering their appropriate damage type *or* by regaining hit points. A simple Healing Word or spare Healing Potion can do more than just the healing they list by removing one of those conditions. It might feel rough for a player to apply one of those conditions only for it not to pay off, but the same applies to them and using a quick heal to prevent themselves from taking a big hit will feel satisfying on their end. \columnbreak ### 5.) Monsters can use these too! Monsters should 100% be using Weapon Actions, so players need to get a chance to face them. For GMs, it's probably best not to track the Wear of an individual monster's weapon and just expect them to be able to use 1 weapon Action per turn. In this way, you don't increase the bookkeeping significantly on the monsters, but they do get some fun things they can do! If a monster is using an unusually shaped weapon, consider giving it a Weapon Action as would be appropriate. ## Potential Ruling Questions - If I score a critical hit on a creature who is Bleeding, when do I apply the bonus weapon die of damage? The damage is applied to the weapon's ***base*** damage, so the extra die is multiplied on a critical hit. - What actions can I take while ***Dazed***? A creature affected by ***Dazed*** can only take 1 Action, Bonus Action, or their movement, but that doesn't mean that action can't do more than 1 thing. Players with the Extra Attack feature can make all of their attacks while dazed, as can monsters with Multi-attack features. Spell casting is also a viable option to take when dazed, as spells can often be particularly potent. - When you say to deal 1 additional damage dice of damage on a ***Bleeding*** creature, which dice do I use? The dice added to the damage of the attack is one that was already rolled for damage by the attack, effect, or spell. If more than 1 size of dice was used, the attacker chooses which size of dice they wish to add. - I just used Tenacity to deal bludgeoning damage to a ***concussed*** enemy. Tenacity doesn't have any damage dice associated with it. What do I do? If a creature suffering from concussed or a similar condition takes damage from an appropriate damage type that doesn't have any dice rolled for the damage, instead add a d4 to the damage dealt. - I gave my fighter the Weapon Expertise Optional feature. When is the extra wear they have used vs. the normal Wear on a weapon? The additional wear from the Weapon Expertise feature is used after the normal wear on a weapon is exhausted. This is meant to represent the greater ability someone would have in caring and using weapons, if they rely on it so heavily like a fighter might. \pagebreak # List of Changes from BG3 ### The following is a short list of major changes I made to default BG3 Weapon Actions to adapt them to Tabletop. My reasoning is listed after each change. ***This isn't a comprehensive list of changes, but really the changes I felt were most relavent*** - Slings and Blowguns: Added Weapon Actions for both. Neither exist in BG3, and they deserved some love. - Morningstar: The Heartstopper Action was removed as it is too similar to Concussive Smash. Instead I gave it the Crippling Strike Action to make it better as a Control option. - Wear Replacing individual Action uses. Firstly, having each individual action recharge on a short rest felt a bit like Vancian Magic to me and I'm generally not a fan of Vancian Magic, especially since it doesn't jive well with 5e. Secondly, a pool of resources is easier to track than a collection of individually expiring abilities. It collects bookkeeping into one place rather than be spread among several different features. This makes it easier to use at a Tabletop, which is a major focus of this document. - Bleeding and Gaping Wound changes. Fundamentally, these conditions grant increased Slashing damage and Piercing damage respectively, but they do so over time. While I do like them, they add extra little riders that are both easy to forget in person, and can slow down pacing. I replaced them with the less interesting but much more functional "Vulnerable to the next source of X damage" effect. It serves the same purpose, but is less fiddly. - Rush Attack Range changes. Rush Attack felt to me like it should be a "Charge-lite" effect, and being able to use it while right up next to someone doesn't fit the theme or feel of the attack. I also reduced the range as being able to charge an extra 30 feet as a Weapon action is insane. Even 20 feet feels high, but if I reduce the distance traversed any more it won't feel impactful. I may consider adding in a movement cost in addition to the attack cost if it is still too much. - Brace(Melee and Ranged) wording. I changed the wording on both Brace actions to clarify that only weapon damage would be rerolled. While it can still impact Rogues, I wanted to at least reign in Paladins as using this brew to further push their already strong Crit-Fishing builds. I'm not sure how to have these effects ignore Sneak Attack dice, without also broadly affecting other things like Battlemaster Maneuvers or Hunter's mark while also not specifically calling out Sneak Attack. \columnbreak - Removed Saving throws. This is probably the single biggest change, but also one that I feel is most necessary. Adding extra saving throws to most attacks will slow down combat in person to a crawl, as you are functionally doubling the number of dice rolls needed for each attack on top of adding the time it takes for people to choose from the many more options available to them. This will probably increase the strength of most of these effects, but I also tried to tone down conditions (or remain true to 5e conditions, such as in the case of Prone) so they feel useful, but not overbearing if inflicted without a saving throw. Also, the Weapon Actions already have an "application test" built in to the Attack, hitting. I'm willing to consider re-adding saves for them, but I'd want to see a strong case for it. ## Changelog v1.1 - Added Blowgun and Dart Weapon Actions - Added Venom Shot. - Added intro to adding Unique Weapon Actions to Magic Weapons - Added Optional Fighter Feature, Weapon Expertise. - Added tips for using this at the table - Added a section addressing Potential Ruling Questions ## Planned Future Updates - Armor Actions Section.