Specifics: A character with this feat has trained especially hard with a specific weapon type, gaining a +2 damage bonus when using these weapons in combat.
Weaponmasters are borderline overpowered as it is for Layonara, so I'd say we keep things as is. There is a point where realism must subside to mechanic balance.
Realism when looking at the chars played on Layo , is that chars with magic or other special abilities are the ones that are overpowering on the server , not the fighters .I know this will be answered with " fighters die more often and therefor perm sooner , but maybe its time that the normal way off things in fantasy get re introduced onto Layo .The world started out as low magical one , but lets face it , that was long ago and the world has changed to one where magic rules .If it is possible to let a magic user run around with 600+ hit-points , 44 ac , 75% hidden , with summons and spells - then why not re introduce the most powerful things fighters could have , devastating critical ?Just as the spell-caster had to take every available feat he could to reach the stats , so would be the case for the fighter to get to devastating critical .There are plenty monsters that are immune to critical hits anyway , so the fable off " devastating critical with great cleave is far to overpowering " can be set back in the closet to never be used again ( forgetting the fact that great cleave only would work if the monster died in one hit - that means : crit hit has to be rolled and the monster must fail its save and that goes for every next monster )
I'm not talking about Melee vs Mage, I'm talking about the perks of the class versus the required investment. Besides, WM is supposed to be an extension of the Fighter class, so any fighter wanting to become a Weaponmaster could and quite rightly should pick up Weapon Specialization.
Could you please explain what you mean by " the perks of the class versus the required investments " ?Sorry if it is obvious what you mean , but English isn't my native language and i have no idea what you mean by " perk " .
What I mean is that for 7 levels of investment in the class you acquire abilities that greatly improve melee performance in comparison to other classes.In this sense, giving another free perk or feat to the class would even further make the class overpowered.Sure, one can argue, that there is a long list of feat requirements, but Fighters have the cure for it. Especially in Layonara, where keen (essentially a WM's biggest free feat) is extremely hard to come by.
These are the facts directly from LORE and if you ask me , then Weaponmaster has the worst deal off all .They have to invest the most and get only 1 feat more then DD , who only have to invest 2 feats .
Weapon MasterIntelligence 13 ( needed for expertise )Class: Any ? ( not listed on LORE ) Alignment: Any ? ( not listed on LORE )Race: Any ? ( not listed on LORE ) BAB: +5 Feats: Dodge - Mobility - Expertise - Spring Attack - Weapon Focus(melee weapon) - Whirlwind Attack Skills: Intimidate 4lvl Extra1 Ki Damage Weapon of Choice5 Increased Multiplier Superior Weapon Focus7 Ki Critical
Well, let's face it, Weapon Specialization is one of the very few things that fighters get that other classes can't... Sure, its thematically appropriate for weaponmasters too, but you could make the case that monks deserve to get an unarmed weapon specialization, or that duelists should get a free rapier weapon specialization, and so on. Let fighters get a few perks to keep for themselves, weapon master gets plenty of goodies, it doesn't really need more.
I totally agree with that.. As i see it WM is focused more on the art of the weapon itself , the way of using it eficiently and chanell his inner force upon the weapon. Hence why the Ki and the Crit increase. Weapon specialization is more based on the fact of knowing how to strike due familiariy with battles and the use of the muscular force more eficiently, And well WM, seems to have another aproach to the whole concept of fighting. they know where and when to strike, combining that to their strenght. Not by strenght and technique only as the fighter does.Hence Why Fighter / Weapon masters are supposed to be complete artist of their weapons.Just my two cents
Every time there is some argument about class balance, someone always narrows things down too much. That's why I asked what "invest the most" means. If it's only invested feats being considered, who cares? As far as I'm aware, there's only one Weapon Master that doesn't have Fighter levels. Fighters get oodles of feats, and Weapon Master is almost always a Fighter PrC, so it's not that big a deal that it requires lots of feats. Spending feats is not really a serious investment for Fighters, and the feats required for WM aren't 'throw away' filler, anyway.