Retooling the Bladed Gauntlet for 5E D&D

January 31, 2022

We started a new video series over at Nerdarchy the YouTube channel where we look at things from previous editions of Dungeons & Dragons that have not made it into fifth edition. In the first video we talk about the ridiculously powerful character builds you could make with the bladed gauntlet, a weapon from 3.5 D&D. As a follow up I am making a bladed gauntlet inspired weapon to fit the themes and tone of 5E D&D.

Blades in spades

The bladed gauntlet can be a small to medium blade affixed to a metal gauntlet. The nature of the weapon is such that the wielder cannot be disarmed while of this weapon. I’ve decided to make a couple of versions so you have two new weapons to add into your 5E D&D game.

The bladed gauntlet is a light martial weapon that deals your choice of 1d6 slashing or 1d6 piercing damage. While wielding the bladed gauntlet you are immune to any feature that disarms you. It takes one minute to equip or unequip the gauntlet attached to the approximately 20 inch blade. This weapon costs 20 gold pieces.

The bladed claw is designed to be smaller than the bladed gauntlet. It is also a light martial weapon with the finesse property. It can be fashioned to either be a single blade or up to a few. The bladed claw deals 1d4 slashing damage. Like the bladed gauntlet, while you wield the bladed claw you cannot be disarmed. It takes one minute to equip or disarm the bladed claw. The bladed claw costs 12 gold pieces.

Either version can be made to be retractable. The retraction ability costs an additional 50 gold pieces. This can also be done with the use of either smith’s tools or tinker’s tools. A bladed gauntlet can be made with 10 gold worth of supplies and a successful DC 15 check (DC 18 for a bladed claw).

The bladed gauntlet is a more rare weapon and is not likely to be available everywhere. Many weaponsmiths might be willing to give it a try while others say it is not worth their time to fiddle about with such a ridiculous idea. In some areas of civilization the retractable version might be considered a concealed weapon and potentially illegal to carry around. If you are going to use such a device, be cautious.

Over in Nerdarchy the Store we have many products. In Secrets of the Vault: Mage Forge Vol. 1 we created a new weapon property — Savage. A savage weapon treats any weapon damage roll of a 1 as a 2 instead. This minor point allows for the weapon to have a slightly higher damage point very fitting with this style of item from previous editions.

If you have played other editions and you would like us to talk about it in this series please reach out and let us know your thoughts and share ideas with us. Who knows — your idea might warrant a call out.

Thanks for reading. Until next time, stay nerdy!

*Featured image — The cover for 3.5 D&D’s Arms and Equipment Guide looks pretty intense. But our dwarven mage smith’s got a way better beard game and cooler items too in the Mage Forge. [Art by Eric Peterson]