stacktrace wrote:I respect that the game is meant to be played, though this hand waved rule also seemed strange.
Though, what really is the point of weapon training?
To prevent Mages and Thieves from using Two Handed Swords and Polearms and reflect a Diety's favored weapons?
That seems to be the main consequences of the rule as it currently is. Yes, there are other weapons unusable by non-Warriors, but the classes can also use an equivalent or better weapon, so there is no real balance reason.
You could easily get rid of the whole idea of weapon training without affecting the rules. Instead:
-Thieves cannot backstab with two handed weapons
-Clerics gain a -4 (or d16) when attacking with a weapon not favored by their diety or from their occupation to represent the diety's disfavor (while occupation weapon is an exception because their early lives were guided by the diety, so it was by diety's will that they pick up that particular weapon for some unknown purpose)
-Mages require a hand free to cast spells, as such two handed weapons cannot be properly wielded for proper defense during rounds in which they cast, causing a reduction in AC. The staff is an exception as it can still provide defense one handed.
Ok, I admit that last one is a little rough, I am sure others could do better.
I was thinking of trying something along these lines, too. It seems more elegant than listing specific allowed weapons for each class. It seems strange to say that wizards can use "usual list of old-school magic-user weapons plus longsword, because that's what Gandalf had" and instead just say all classes can use all weapons, with some specific restrictions.
One thing I played around with is the idea that all classes can use all weapons, but unless the character is a fighter, the damage can't exceed their hit die type. In other words, a wizard can use a longsword, but he'll only inflict 1d4 damage when doing so. It lets players give their character the weapon they want without outshining the fighter as the guy who is really a weapon master.
If you really wanted to get crazy you could give fighters the ability to bump up the damage dice of weapons, but I think that's probably going too far.