Q: The Staff skill, various weapons covered by it, Weapon Adaptation . . . uh, how they interact? Is the +2 Parry bonus a property of the skill or the weapon?
A: the answers are a bit scattered, but here's what I managed to gather so far:
Regarding the parry bonus:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Basic Set page 208
This skill makes good use of the staff’s extensive parrying surface when defending, giving +2 to your Parry score.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm
Any balanced weapon used with Staff skill gets +2 Parry. However, there is no such thing as "+2U" Parry, which is why the naginata is "0U."
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Quote:
Originally Posted by the Form Mastery perk
you could start your turn using a spear with the Staff skill, switch to the Spear skill to attack, and then return to Staff for parrying.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by the Weapon Adaptation perk
This lets you wield the weapons covered by one weapon skill using a different skill and its techniques, with all of the benefits and drawbacks of that skill
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Regarding the tetsubo:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm
Note that contrary to gaming myth, a tetsubo isn't really an iron staff . . . it's closer to a honking huge maul. It just happens to be baseball bat-shaped instead of hammer-shaped. It would definitely use Two-Handed Axe/Mace skill, not Staff.
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Regarding use of hooked custom heads on a staff:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm
GURPS Martial Arts, p. 74: "You can learn [Hook] for any Melee Weapon skill, but you’ll need a suitable weapon to use it."
GURPS Martial Arts, p. 214 (or GURPS Low-Tech Companion 2, p. 14): "Any swung weapon [...] can have a small hook to permit use of the Hook technique."
A quarterstaff is a swung weapon, so it can have a hook for +$25 and negligible weight. If you want to go nuts and give it a full-on bill head for +$90 ($100 for dueling bill minus $10 for quarterstaff) and +2 lbs. (6 lbs. for dueling bill minus 4 lbs. for quarterstaff), then you've gone above and beyond the call of duty. Go ahead and learn Hook (Staff) to wield it.
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Something to keep in mind for those who want to use a Default to wield a staff with the Staff skill:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Basic Set page 173
Regardless of your default skill level, you do not get the special benefits of a skill – especially combat
bonuses such as improved damage, special defenses, and unpenalized off-hand use – when you use a skill at
default. To enjoy these benefits, you must spend at least one point on the skill.
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