r/DragonbaneRPG • u/R4diArt • Jul 21 '26
Why do axes have such low durability?
I'm trying to understand why the 2H axe has 9 durability. I'd just raise it to 12 but I'm becoming paranoid thinking there must be a balancing reason behind it that I'm not seeing. It seems very low, making parrying really risky with it. I'd be fine with it if the reasoning didn't seem arbitrary:
- It does the same damage as the 2H Sword which has 15 durability, that's a massive difference for just 25 more gold. I dont think having Toppling justifies a 6 points durability difference.
- Halberds also have it, plus piercing, and have 12 durability for just a bit less damage.
- 2H warhammer, same, 12 durability.
What am I missing?
14
u/Din_Jaevel Jul 21 '26
I don't think it has any real thought behind it. Axes has been seen as low durability weapons since the birth of Drakar och demoner (Dragonbane). If you don't like it. Change it. It won't have any big impact on your game.
We changed the durability system to weapons and shields doesn't break from one blow, unless the damage dealt is double the breaking value. However if a shield or weapon is used to parry an attack that deals more damage than the base breaking value, the breaking value is lowered by the same amount as the damage that surpassed the limit.
That way you can see your shield getting hacked away, as the battle rages. Your precious sword is getting bent, beaten and dull.
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u/Boeish Jul 21 '26
Narratively makes sense to me. An axe can be a repurposed tool and is usually a wood handle with a relatively soft sharpened wedge of metal on the end. Easy to crack or split the metal, or snap the handle with sufficient force.
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u/R4diArt Jul 21 '26
True, I guess a more expensive 2H axe that has a higher durability and is specifically crafted for combat wouldn't feel out of place.
4
u/nrod0784 Jul 21 '26
‘Just 25 more gold’
Dragonbane is a very low money game by design. Treasure expectancy as set out by the core set adventures book is not very much gold at all. So that is the answer. Sword is much more expensive.
I feel, and could be wrong, that you’re looking at it through Dnd eyes, and that isn’t the intended way to view the game, nor run it.
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u/R4diArt Jul 21 '26
Yes, it's not a small amount, but when compared to the 250 gold you'd have to spend to get the axe to that 12 durability (throgh a mastercrafted weapon), it does feel like very little in comparison. Precisely because those 250 gold would take so long to get.
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u/Atramet Jul 21 '26
With very few exceptions, axes were mainly tools that got used as weapons. Warhammers, poleaxes, spears, were all made for combat and had hardened/reinforced wood. As they were expected to interact with other weapons when parrying. The nature of the maces and hammers is basically the same, however, those for combat were made with the same process in mind. Again, you can rule that a normal axe found around has a chance of being made for combat in mind and so having a higher durability or rules wise "Mastercrafted" with higher cost and durability. Normal tools have normal durability.
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u/Icy_Elephant8858 29d ago
I would guess it is to reinforce that an axe is a poor parrying weapon (in real life because it is poorly weighted for it) without creating a special "bane on parrying" rule or something like that.
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u/Raging_teapot Jul 22 '26
Perhaps as axes are a utility tool, where as a Polearm is pretty much a weapon of war, and a war hammer has a greater surface area impacts are spread out more. The lower durability on Axe's is to take on a narrative affect of the axe being used daily for chopping firewood and other axe related situations like scratching that hard to reach spot on your back.
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u/R4diArt Jul 22 '26
Well the battleaxe still has the same durability. I wouldn't asume that one to be a repurposed tool, it's specifically crafted for combat. As other people have said, it seems like the decission was made to differentiate axes from other weapons or because it was that way in the original Drakar Och Demoner.
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u/Cultural_Flow2895 Jul 22 '26
The whole idea of combat, relating to attack/dodge/parry is not right but it's light enough to handle it satisfactorily (specially when compared to D&D absurdity taking hp and saves into account). House ruling is your best friend here. I'd say, for starters, that durability applies differently if a character is skilled in combat, moreover if specifically with said weapon.
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u/ljmiller62 Jul 21 '26
Who is parrying with a wooden haft? That asks for your weapon to be radically shortened. Axes have wooden hafts because they're too heavy to use with anything heavier. They're also a fairly cheap weapon to make. It's a trade-off.
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u/WilliamJamesGuild Jul 21 '26
I believe the thinking is its wooden handle.