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Old 03-06-2018, 02:00 PM   #14
mlangsdorf
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Austin, TX
Default Re: What's the point of dual wielding?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
In a setting where you could quite literally face anything... leaving a hand empty seems ill-advised. I suspect that overall, weapon-and-shield is the safest bet, so even if you plan mostly to fight with a boldly presented sword, you'd be well-advised at least to carry a little buckler, "just in case."
The big problem with a shield is that useful ones are heavy - at least 8 lbs for a DB 1 small shield. If you're optimizing for low encumbrance to increase your Move and Dodge, and you don't want intend to engage in melee very often, it can make sense to fight with a single one-handed weapon when you have to fight in melee.

You mostly see it with Scouts, who don't really intend to fight in melee EVER, but might carry an emergency shortsword or long knife for dealing with things that are immune to ranged attacks. Thieves often want to do a single backstab and then go run behind the Knight, so learning a single weapon skill and carrying a single weapon without a shield can make sense.

I do agree that if you plan to fight in melee regularly, you need a plan to use both your hands. Dual weapon leverages a single skill and Weapon Master, so it's appealing out of the gate. I've seen more starting swashbucklers with Rapier-20 or Saber-20 and twin edged rapiers or twin sabers than I've seen swashbuckers with Rapier/Saber-19 and Shield-17/Main-Gauche-16 for exactly this reason.
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