A while ago I showed how I’d rewrite evasion, and decided to extend that to other class features. Class features like this are generally pretty straightforward, so this should be a good, easy thing to work on.
“Weapon and Armor Proficiencies” is in all classes in some form, even if to say “no proficiencies gained”.
Source Text
Let’s look first at the current text.
From the fighter weapon and armor proficiencies class feature (representative of the format, I won’t examine them all):
From the Simple Weapon Proficiency feat:
Benefit: You make attack rolls with simple weapons without penalty.
Normal: When using a weapon with which you are not proficient, you take a –4 penalty on attack rolls.
Under ‘Weapons’ in the equipment chapter, we see:
A character who uses a weapon with which he is not proficient takes a –4 penalty on attack rolls.
Consistent. Rules are simple. This should be an easy one to rewrite.
From the Light Armor Proficiency feat:
You are skilled at wearing light armor.
Benefit: When you wear a type of armor with which you are proficient, the armor check penalty for that armor applies only to Dexterity- and Strength-based skill checks.
Normal: A character who is wearing armor with which he is not proficient applies its armor check penalty to attack rolls and to all skill checks that involve moving.
I included the ‘brief’ text before the benefit because it is needed to understand fully what the feat does.
Rewriting
First, I’m breaking this down into Weapon Proficiency and Armor Proficiency. Pretty much all classes have ‘weapon and armor proficiencies’, but many archetypes only change one of these. In data modeling terms, I would consider this ‘mixed grain’ (resolution of detail), and I don’t like that.
I’ll start with the ability, then the class feature, then show what the ‘combined forms’ (i.e. what I might do in the Echelon Reference Series) could look like.
Weapon Proficiency
Ability
You no longer take a –4 penalty with proficient weapons.
Fighter Class Feature
You gain proficiency with all simple and martial weapons.
Combined (In Class)
You gain proficiency with all simple and martial weapons.
- You no longer take a –4 penalty with proficient weapons.
Combined (Ability)
You no longer take a –4 penalty with proficient weapons.
- Fighter You gain proficiency with all simple and martial weapons.
- Monk You gain proficiency with the club, crossbow (light or heavy), dagger, handaxe, javelin, kama, nunchaku, quarterstaff, sai, shortspear, short sword, shuriken, siangham, sling, and spear.
- Arcane Trickster You gain proficiency with no weapons.
… I will need to think more carefully about folding all the places that grant an ability. For something like evasion it can be manageable, but for something like weapon proficiency it can be really long. It seems like a nice to have but perhaps overwhelming ‘feature’.
On the other hand, given how my workflow works, I expect I can make it configurable. The regular version just defines the ability, a more exhaustive version can include where you can get it.
Armor Proficiency
Ability
You apply armor check penalties from proficient armor only to Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks.
Fighter Class Feature
You gain proficiency with all armor (light, medium, heavy), shields, and tower shields.
Combined (In Class)
You gain proficiency with all armor (light, medium, heavy), shields, and tower shields.
- You apply armor check penalties from proficient armor only to Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks.
Combined (Ability)
You apply armor check penalties from proficient armor only to Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks.
- Fighter You gain proficiency with all armor (light, medium, heavy), shields, and tower shields.
- Monk You gain proficiency with no armor or shields. Wearing armor or a shield can interfere with other monk features.
- Arcane Trickster You gain proficiency with no armor or shields.
The monk class feature includes notes about how wearing armor or shield interferes with other class features. I understand why it’s there (druid has a similar thing), but I would not use it as written.
Closing Comments
I thought this would be a simple one. All classes have ‘weapon and armor proficiencies’, and the rules themselves are pretty simple.
What I found, though, shows the direct approach I took with evasion might not be entirely workable. I see ways around it, I’ll show in Mk II.