Thank you guys for the feedback! Very much appreciated :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericthered
Ok, I think I see what you are trying to do here. Trying to slow down combat, and slow it down in such a way that the weapon you are using matters, are both commendable goals. And the penalty point mechanic is a decent way to do it. I have a couple of observations though:
Your PP curve is too steep and tied solely to weight. The dagger can attack five times faster than the axe -- that's a balance issue. Twice as fast I could see. Three times I might hee and haw with. Five times? too large a difference. You need to also consider the ergonomics of the weapon, and the movement the arm has to perform.
Most combat should probably start the battle with BP. This is probably what gurps calls the ready manuever.
This system is related to 'The Last Gasp'. It won't do everything you want, but its worth looking at.
Also, folks with access to a broadsword don't go for short swords unless there are very specific reasons for it. The one army that I know of that did it (rome) used it in very very tight fighting where the longer length of a broadsword was a liability.
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An average Lumberjack with ST11/DX10 gets 3 BP per Wait (I did not use “Ready Axe” because the maneuver is not limited to a single weapon, but to all of the characters actions) plus removes one PP per turn.
He can attack once every two turns with an axe (4 PP) vs once every turn with a dagger (1 PP), assuming the dagger wilder won’t have to wait very often ( he would do it once in a while because he will accumulated PP as he defends). Thus only being twice as fast.
The main problem with the axe is that, if he needs to parry, he will get 2 PP and the dagger only 1 PP. Also the axe will need a wait before the attack and the dagger probably wont, making the dagger wilder strike first.
With this system, a broadsword (3PP for ST 10) would be better than a shortsword (2 PP for ST 10) for dealing basic damage but would be slightly slower. No weapon would actually be "superior" to the other.
Ergonomics and arm movement could be considered as with Unbalanced vs Balanced, adding or subtracting Weapon’s Weight (WW) in PP calculation (remember that an axe is 4 pounds but gives 5 PP to a 10 ST char). Maybe a thurst could calculate the PP as if the weapon had WW-1. It would make trusting a little faster than swinging.