Quote:
Originally Posted by Varyon
The problem the spear master runs into is that GURPS skill defaults are kind of broken. A character with Spear-16 has Staff-14. He can spend [8] to change this to Spear-16, Staff-16 (putting the points into Staff), or he can spend [8] to change this to Spear-18, Staff-16 (putting the points into Spear). It's pretty obvious the latter is the better option, to the extent that the former is a laughable idea, but then you can never (unless wanting to basically throw points away) have a character who is equally good with spears and staves.
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There is a point missing to this analysis: you need to have points in Staff to get the +2 to parry that is one of the main benefits of the skill (B173). If he buys up Staff, he has a 13 parry available. If he buys Spear instead, he only has a 12 parry. You're effectively trading a +2 to attacks for an extra +1 on the defensive. It's still not good enough (you'd get the same result from buying Enhanced Parry for 5 points), but it's not entirely laughable.