different stat mods for different types of melee weapons?

[comrade raoul]

What if swords used Strength and Dexterity, like daggers, and blunt weapons used Strength and Constitution? (Axes would still just use Strength.)

That is, the revised stat mods might look like this:

• Waraxes: 100% strength.
• Battleaxes: 120% strength.
• Daggers: 40% strength, 40% dexterity.
• Longswords: 55% strength, 55% dexterity.
• Greatswords: 65% strength, 65% dexterity.
• Maces: 55% strength, 55% constitution.
• Greatmauls: 65% strength, 65% constitution.

Here swords and maces are slightly improved (to 110% and 130% total stat mod for one- and two-handed weapons, respectively), to compensate for their dependence on multiple stats. (This might not be necessary; I'm not sure.) Daggers are slightly weakened, to incentivize dual-wielders to consider main-handing a longsword (and to balance out the pairing).

I think this differentiates melee weapons in an intuitive and thematic way. It enables different builds to have natural affinities for different sorts of weapons--finesse fighters will like swords; cursed will like axes; reavers and arcane blades might like maces--without punishing suboptimal weapon choices *too* much. (If your strength and a secondary stat are equal, you'll be equally good with axes as swords or maces, though get a bit more punch out of the type that plays to your specific strength. But unless you completely neglect one of the three stats (and are high-level), you'll still be able to use any type of weapon without being completely terrible.)

It also opens some interesting strategic choices: melee characters with broad stat dependencies might pump Con over Str or Dex and rely on maces, getting survivability at the cost of some damage and weapon flexibility. Dual wielders will need to decide whether to spend the extra generic points to use a main-hand longsword, or stick with daggers and do less damage.

Thoughts?

[HousePet]

I'm unsure about making weapon choice more complicated.
It could be done, just not sure it is worth doing.