(Some Editing Done Post-game)
One annoyance for me in playing D&D is (and nearly always has been) the way damage is based on the weapon used, because it makes certain choices of weapon optimal and leads to only certain weapons being chosen.
I would rather see weapons chosen on a basis of Color than mechanics. So you get things like pikemen and axemen and club-swinging warriors and archers and other such currently sub-optimal choices occurring much more frequently (if not as frequently as the currently optimal and usual choices).
(Why? Because of Zobal and Cushara, ala
The Black Abbot of Puthuum. And many more like them. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, go read some CA Smith, you unlearned heathen.)
The best way to solve this issue is to strip weapons of their damage rating and make base damage ratings dependent upon class.
If I were doing this for 3rd Edition, I would handle it this way:
Fighters should do d12
Barbarians, Rangers, and Paladins should do d10
Clerics, Druids, and Rogues should do d8
Wizards, Monks, and Sorcerers should do d6
Note: I'm giving Fighters d12 because they're the mundane base class, so to balance that, they should hit hardest. I'm giving Monks d6 because weapons aren't really their forte, and their hand damage will be what they mostly end up using. But I'm iffy on making d12 the top. It might work better to shift them all down one die step (ie: d12 = d10, d10 = d8, etc), so that fighters have a die to step up to later via feats or so forth.
Note: Yes, this means fighters can pick up a rock or a pointy stick and kill you with it. Good. That's what they're trained to do, in terms of class -- use a variety of weapons to hurt a variety of people. Fighter should equate to "professional warrior" not "run of the mill conscript". Just like a monk is a "professional martial artist" not "a guy who took a Tae Kwon Do class".
There are a number of options to help further differentiate and restrict weapon choices.
Class-favored weapons get the favored damage rating for the class (the one listed above).
Untrained weapons have the untrained damage rating for the class (step one die down).
Exotic weapons simply can't be used without training. (Which, on reflection, is nonsense. You can use them, because you can still swing them about and such, though badly, so they only do...d4 I suppose.)
Note: The only question here would be what to do if d4 were the damage rating for wizards, etc. Untrained weapons do what? 1 hp each strike? Ouch. That's why I'm flopping back and forth on whether to open the bottom category (ala d6 being the lowest favored) or the top category (ala d10 being the highest favored).
Proficiencies and feats can open up new damage ratings for a character, or allow them to use different weapons with their favored damage rating.
Certain (exotic?) weapons may also have minor damage bonuses, or shift the regular damage rating in one direction or another, or function better (or worse) under certain circumstances, modifying the damage in some fashion.
That's the basic thought, but right now I'm off to my weekly game.