Exotic Weapons [ROUGH DRAFT]

Homebrew is best and easiest to add when it's relatively light-weight, something that can be included in a game without too much fuss or argument, that blends into many settings and may even serve to enhance the more esoteric corners of whichever D&D world you are running.

That's kind of what I'm going for here: enhancing the basic weapon options offered by the 5e PHB, without rocking the boat too much in terms of balance. Hopefully it's on the mark, but of course that's where all of you all come in!

FEATURES:

• 23 New Exotic Weapons, each unique in their own way, from the likes of the Katana and the Kusari-Gama to the ever-popular Spiked Chain and Chakram!

• Rules for Gaining Proficiency in an exotic weapon, that don't disrupt balance or character progression.

• 5 New Weapon Properties to make these weapons even more unique (without breaking balance, of course).

CONCERNS:

• Double weapon may be a bit hard to understand, but it's about as clear as I think I'm able to make it.

• The katana held in two hands deals 1d10, which is more than any other finesse weapon. However, I think its negative special property (and the fact that it eats up an extra hand that no other finesse weapon does) somewhat cancels out this benefit.

• Grappling with reach seems alright, but also like something that could go wrong in ways I didn't think of. 

WHAT I LEARNED: 

• It's hard to keep weapons representative of what they do, while still remaining unique and balanced. 

• 5e is very restrictive on things like Crit Range (a.k.a. keen) and other staples of weapons in past editions. This makes 5e's weapons more streamlined and balanced, but less easily diversified. I had to get creative with keeping these weapons unique. 

A newer version of this option is available.