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Kromm · 03-07-2012, 09:44 AM

Weapons that become unready after attacking are rare in Fourth Edition, as we changed most weapons which worked that way in Third Edition to weapons that merely cannot attack and parry on the same turn (Parry of "U" and no "‡" on ST). The latter class can strike and then parry if one opts for a Defensive Attack (Martial Arts, p. 100) or a Rapid Recovery (Martial Arts, p. 131). The few weapons that still do become genuinely unready ("‡" on ST) are, realistically, grossly inappropriate for defense; e.g., a maul is a massive, rock-breaking sledgehammer that's swung in huge, clumsy arcs. Such weapons rely entirely on damage and/or Reach – that is, you should strike and step back to where you can't be hit, strike from behind friendly fighters, or hurt the victim so badly that he can't hit back.

Still, there are workarounds.

First, polearms only suffer this effect on a swing. When you thrust with the spear point on, say, a glaive or a halberd, you aren't unready, and can exploit Defensive Attack or Rapid Recovery. There's nothing wrong with extending this to Two-Handed Axe/Mace weapons; see the second attack line for the gada and tetsubo for examples of what the stats would look like. Mauls should be able to do the same thing, although that means sacrificing half of your Reach and most of your damage.

Second, enough ST makes this irrelevant. Granted, that means ST 20 for a maul. However, anybody who wants to "fence" with a maul pretty much has to be that strong. It isn't a light weapon for the lightly built.

Finally, there's switching to a lighter, less-crazy weapon. The round mace is a small maul – a kind of hammer, and far closer to what an archer would use to pound in a stake anyway. It can be used in two hands, and doesn't become unready after a swing when wielded that way (see Low-Tech, p. 70). If you use your hammer in two hands, it does sw+3 instead of sw+2, meaning that the damage reduction for a Defensive Attack that still lets you parry makes it only marginally less effective than swinging it one-handed.

03-07-2012, 09:44 AM	#8
Kromm *GURPS* Line Editor Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Montréal, Québec	Re: [MA] Parries With Unready Weapons? Weapons that become unready after attacking are rare in Fourth Edition, as we changed most weapons which worked that way in Third Edition to weapons that merely cannot attack and parry on the same turn (Parry of "U" and no "‡" on ST). The latter class can strike and then parry if one opts for a Defensive Attack (*Martial Arts,* p. 100) or a Rapid Recovery (*Martial Arts,* p. 131). The few weapons that still do become genuinely unready ("‡" on ST) are, realistically, grossly inappropriate for defense; e.g., a maul is a massive, rock-breaking sledgehammer that's swung in huge, clumsy arcs. Such weapons rely entirely on damage and/or Reach – that is, you should strike and step back to where you can't be hit, strike from behind friendly fighters, or hurt the victim so badly that he can't hit back. Still, there are workarounds. First, polearms only suffer this effect on a swing. When you thrust with the spear point on, say, a glaive or a halberd, you aren't unready, and can exploit Defensive Attack or Rapid Recovery. There's nothing wrong with extending this to Two-Handed Axe/Mace weapons; see the second attack line for the gada and tetsubo for examples of what the stats would look like. Mauls should be able to do the same thing, although that means sacrificing half of your Reach and most of your damage. Second, enough ST makes this irrelevant. Granted, that means ST 20 for a maul. However, anybody who wants to "fence" with a maul pretty much has to be that strong. It isn't a light weapon for the lightly built. Finally, there's switching to a lighter, less-crazy weapon. The round mace is a small maul – a kind of hammer, and far closer to what an archer would use to pound in a stake anyway. It can be used in two hands, and doesn't become unready after a swing when wielded that way (see *Low-Tech,* p. 70). If you use your hammer in two hands, it does sw+3 instead of sw+2, meaning that the damage reduction for a Defensive Attack that still lets you parry makes it only marginally less effective than swinging it one-handed. __________________ Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> *GURPS* Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just *GURPS* News]