[sjard]

Originally Posted by Snaps

Those rules seem a little off to me. So a 19 ST Grizzly is easier to parry than a 3 lb broadsword in the hands of a ST 10 man (or woman)?

The ST 10 man part is misleading in that it doesn't actually play a part.

The only thing that really matters is the effective weapon weight of the bear claw of 1.9 pounds, vs the (in the case of a broadsword) 3 pounds of the weapon.

In order for the 3 pound broadsword to be broken parrying another weapon, the parried weapon would have to be more than 9 pounds. The bear paw thing is just for the swipe, a charge or other aspects would use other rules.

The end result is that it is no easier, or harder to parry based on weight. The difficulty is based entirely on the target number (parry number) that you have to roll against. This is simply about the chance of breaking the weapon.

Originally Posted by Snaps

You could also stop the tusks of a Bull Elephant, or even tail swipe/bites/claw attacks of a ST 100 Dragon? The Dragon would need 100 ST before you'd even need to check for breakage. A ST 80 Dragon could be parried by a normal broadsword without even having to check for breakage.

I'd play that one by ear as a size issue as well. A dragon tail being as large as it is, would probably count as the full ST in my view. Or, to put it the way someone I knew phrased it when he broke his arm in the SCA "I saw the ground coming at me, so I parried." I doubt it would break the weapon as you're basically moving it between you and the ground.

Also, after looking over the rules, I notice that a Rapier can Parry a Greatsword without having to even check for breakage.

I've seen it done with at least recreation weapons so... not too hard for me to believe. Close enough for game purposes.

Note also that, even if you do parry something heavy enough to risk breakage, the initial breakage chance results only on a 1 or 2 on a 1d roll.