Are Scythes a weapon type in the game..?

[Raindustz]

o_o..? my dream dnd weapon.

[Heu, Iterum Id Feci]

Originally posted by Dellecross:

Originally posted by (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Rusty ♥:

So does any other totally broken OP weapon you can convince your GM to give you. It's nothing inherent to scythes. Take a sword or a rolling pin with those values and you have the same stories to tell...

No, because that paladin just did it with a mundane scythe.

And that goblin rogue just did it with a mundane rolling pin.

[id795078477]

Originally posted by (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Rusty ♥:

Originally posted by Dellecross:

No, because that paladin just did it with a mundane scythe.

And that goblin rogue just did it with a mundane rolling pin.

Not sure why such a knee-jerk reaction. No rolling pin will be able to do as much damage unless the DM makes it OP. A scythe can do that much damage at its base form. And it's not unbalanced because speccing into scimitar/rapier in 3e would yield far better results in terms of damage + allow to use shield and get all the AC and item benefits. If you don't know the circumstances - there's no need for a jerk reaction.

Scythe is awesome both in RP and game mech senses. If you don't get it - that's fine. I can live knowing that your opinion differs from mine.

[GrandMajora]

If you're lucky, you might find a sickle or two at some point. But I don't know exactly where.

Which is disappointing, because I was hoping to acquire one for my Druids.

[Heu, Iterum Id Feci]

Originally posted by Dellecross:

Originally posted by (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Rusty ♥:

And that goblin rogue just did it with a mundane rolling pin.

Not sure why such a knee-jerk reaction. No rolling pin will be able to do as much damage unless the DM makes it OP. A scythe can do that much damage at its base form. And it's not unbalanced because speccing into scimitar/rapier in 3e would yield far better results in terms of damage + allow to use shield and get all the AC and item benefits. If you don't know the circumstances - there's no need for a jerk reaction.

Scythe is awesome both in RP and game mech senses. If you don't get it - that's fine. I can live knowing that your opinion differs from mine.

I don't know if you noticed, but this is 5e. And there's no way scythes would be implemented in that way in 5e (except maybe in some op homebrew power fantasy)
You are directly transplanting from 3.5e to 5e, and that just doesn't work.
If you make an op weapon in 5e the type doesn't matter, it's still an op weapon, be it scythe or rolling pin. So the RP potential doesn't come from the weapon type but from the op-ness of the weapon.

[GrandMajora]

Originally posted by dolby:

Thing is Scythes are derivative from farming tool... same as pitchforks into spears

So are nunchuku and sais.

The nunchuku were originally used to beat rice grains, while the sai was originally used like a trowel for weeding gardens.

[desrtfox071]

Originally posted by GrandMajora:

Originally posted by dolby:

Thing is Scythes are derivative from farming tool... same as pitchforks into spears

So are nunchuku and sais.

The nunchuku were originally used to beat rice grains, while the sai was originally used like a trowel for weeding gardens.

Yeah this is true, and none of them are particularly good weapons. The Sais perhaps being the best, while the scythe clearly the worst. Is there any historical example of a scythe being used as a weapon?

[Sambonizer]

Originally posted by GrandMajora:

Originally posted by dolby:

Thing is Scythes are derivative from farming tool... same as pitchforks into spears

So are nunchuku and sais.

The nunchuku were originally used to beat rice grains, while the sai was originally used like a trowel for weeding gardens.

The time has come
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUWoUM4Wttc

[Quillithe]

Originally posted by dolby:

Thing is Scythes are derivative from farming tool... same as pitchforks into spears
evolution you use what you got...

I'm pretty sure humanity developed spears way before pitchforks. Chimpanzees make spears.



Anyway, I see both sides, scythes are completely nonsensical weapons - you get the blade behind someone and then...die as they're stabbing you in your defenseless chest.

But...there are also double axes in d&d which are just absurd.

[Quillithe]

Originally posted by Sambonizer:

Originally posted by GrandMajora:

So are nunchuku and sais.

The nunchuku were originally used to beat rice grains, while the sai was originally used like a trowel for weeding gardens.

The time has come
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUWoUM4Wttc

What if I took a staff or club and made it less effective and harder to use.

But cooler.

[id795078477]

Originally posted by (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Rusty ♥:

Originally posted by Dellecross:

Not sure why such a knee-jerk reaction. No rolling pin will be able to do as much damage unless the DM makes it OP. A scythe can do that much damage at its base form. And it's not unbalanced because speccing into scimitar/rapier in 3e would yield far better results in terms of damage + allow to use shield and get all the AC and item benefits. If you don't know the circumstances - there's no need for a jerk reaction.

Scythe is awesome both in RP and game mech senses. If you don't get it - that's fine. I can live knowing that your opinion differs from mine.

I don't know if you noticed, but this is 5e. And there's no way scythes would be implemented in that way in 5e (except maybe in some op homebrew power fantasy)
You are directly transplanting from 3.5e to 5e, and that just doesn't work.
If you make an op weapon in 5e the type doesn't matter, it's still an op weapon, be it scythe or rolling pin. So the RP potential doesn't come from the weapon type but from the op-ness of the weapon.

I don't know if you noticed, but there's no scythe in 5e and the whole topic is about that weapon in the DnD setting. And since 3e/3.5e are the popular editions where scythe is present, it's a valid reference point to display the game mechanics and the related RP elements.

And I am not "transporting" it, I am just refuting unfounded arguments that scythe should go away because it provided for no RP or didn't have a place in the game for some reason. It did. If it is introduced into 5e via some homebrew it will need to follow the balance of 5e but it nevertheless is a valid weapon as I pointed out above.

[Heu, Iterum Id Feci]

Originally posted by Dellecross:

Originally posted by (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Rusty ♥:

I don't know if you noticed, but this is 5e. And there's no way scythes would be implemented in that way in 5e (except maybe in some op homebrew power fantasy)
You are directly transplanting from 3.5e to 5e, and that just doesn't work.
If you make an op weapon in 5e the type doesn't matter, it's still an op weapon, be it scythe or rolling pin. So the RP potential doesn't come from the weapon type but from the op-ness of the weapon.

I don't know if you noticed, but there's no scythe in 5e and the whole topic is about that weapon in the DnD setting. And since 3e/3.5e are the popular editions where scythe is present, it's a valid reference point to display the game mechanics and the related RP elements.

And I am not "transporting" it, I am just refuting unfounded arguments that scythe should go away because it provided for no RP or didn't have a place in the game for some reason. It did. If it is introduced into 5e via some homebrew it will need to follow the balance of 5e but it nevertheless is a valid weapon as I pointed out above.

I didn't say it didn't provide any RP, I said it doesn't provide more or less RP then any other weapon outside of the overused "edgelord" baddie. it's not inherintely more or less rp-able then any other weapon. In other words, the RP is in you, not in the weapon. The weapon is just a catalyst.

Edit: and I'm specifically addressing a single point that I quoted with that:

Originally posted by Dellecross:

The RP element is through the roof with that one.

[Sambonizer]

Originally posted by Quillithe:

What if I took a staff or club and made it less effective and harder to use.

But cooler.

Fair, but then you'll have some killjoy telling you that its useless and shouldn't be in the game.

[Lord Adorable]

I don't think there will be.

If you want an alternative though, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Rightious does have scythes. Some religious classes in that game such as the Warpriest also start with one if they worship the approperiate god. If I recall correctly, one of the scythes you can find is also borderline broken.

[GrandMajora]

Originally posted by desrtfox071:

Yeah this is true, and none of them are particularly good weapons. The Sais perhaps being the best, while the scythe clearly the worst. Is there any historical example of a scythe being used as a weapon?

None that I'm aware of; and personally, I've actually never understood how a scythe was supposed to be depicted as an effective weapon in the first place. Just the design of it alone looks like the weapon would be incredibly unwieldy.

It's a huge, curved blade attached to the end of a thin stick, which protrudes out to the side. How are you supposed to hit anybody with this thing, if they move closer than your maximum reach?

[Lord Adorable]

Originally posted by GrandMajora:

Originally posted by desrtfox071:

Yeah this is true, and none of them are particularly good weapons. The Sais perhaps being the best, while the scythe clearly the worst. Is there any historical example of a scythe being used as a weapon?

None that I'm aware of; and personally, I've actually never understood how a scythe was supposed to be depicted as an effective weapon in the first place. Just the design of it alone looks like the weapon would be incredibly unwieldy.

It's a huge, curved blade attached to the end of a thin stick, which protrudes out to the side. How are you supposed to hit anybody with this thing, if they move closer than your maximum reach?

I believe it's because it's supposed to be 'cool'.
A scythe is a symbol of Death after all, and he reaps life the way a farmer does wheat. Moreover it also brings to mind an angry mob of peasants the same way a torch and pitchfork does. So the 'classic' scythe is unwieldy and lame at worst, and a good symbol at best.

Actual warscythes which WERE used by the likes of the Scotts and Danes on the other hand looked very different from the good'ol Reaper/Farmer version.