Blunt claws better than Sharp ones?

[KlausPrinceOfTheUndeads]

I just noticed that Blunt Claws are more effective against armor than Sharp Claws (the former gets a damage bonus, where the latter change damage type from crushing to cutting). Am I missing something?

[Rothe]

I see no problems in buying both. Then the total cost would be 8 pts and you get sharp claws with +1 damage per die.
Compares well also to the claws: talons, which is +1 damage per die and you get to choose between cut and imp and costs 11 pts.

[Maz]

Indeed a Striker (sharp), costs 7 points and also gives +1 per die.
8 pts for sharp claws that gives +1 seems fair.

[KlausPrinceOfTheUndeads]

I think you missed the point. Is it realistic that blunt claws are better against armor than sharp ones? Is a dog more effective against an armored foe than a cat (ok, let's consider gengineered, superstrong pets)?

[Kromm]

Ordinary humans are considered to have "Short Blunt Claws," a.k.a. "fists with no projections to speak of." These are worth 0 points.

Blunt Claws are really "Long Blunt Claws," and assume significant projections beyond the level of a fist. Scale up a dog's paw to human size, and we're talking lumps the size of ball-point pen caps. They're not sharp, just tapered. These are worth 3 points.

Sharp Claws are really "Short Sharp Claws." They're the same as "Short Blunt Claws," but cutting: 5 points.

Talons are really "Medium Sharp Claws." They're the same as "Short Sharp Claws," but pointed as well as edged, so they can be impaling, too: 8 points.

Long Talons are really "Long Sharp Claws." They're like "Long Blunt Claws," but pointed. These cost 11 points. And since nothing that long can be pointy for impaling damage without being able to tear for cutting damage, there's no "Long Sharp Claws" that are only cutting.

All short versions are equally good at piercing armor. All long versions are, too. It isn't fair to compare a short version (Sharp Claws) to a long version (Blunt Claws). The correct comparisons are short-to-short (fists vs. Sharp Claws) and long-to-long (Blunt Claws vs. Long Talons).

[DocRailgun]

I'm not sure if it's realistic, but we're not talking about realistic things here. In any case, I think that yes... a dog's claws are more useful against armor than a cat's claws. Using my pets as an example... the cat's needle-like claws are more likely to cause minor cuts and shallow penetrations, while the dog's nails are likely to cause real damage because they're dull. Cat's claws are mostly for holding onto prey while biting... a canine uses its claws to dig.
Which do you think causes more damage (in real terms, not in game terms): a very shallow razor-sharp blade or a screwdriver? The latter is blunt, but if it does create a wound and is pulled through tissue, the trauma is severe and not easily repairable. Having cut myself fairly severely with a box-cutter, I know well that even a fairly deep razor cut heals well even without stitches (though they help). It probably took longer for me to heal the suture-needle holes than the box-cutter wound once it was stitched closed. I've also had open wounds that were not caused by sharp implements, and they took a good week or so until they healed on their own (should I have gone to the doctor... yes. Could a doctor have stitched this wound closed? I doubt it.)
So, thinking about it realistically, unless the sharp claws are somehow unnaturally strong (Wolverine's adamantium blades, for instance), I feel like blunt claws ARE more likely to be useful against armor, especially harder armor. Sharp claws may not even be effective against hard armor... they're more likely to break, especially if they're "natural" needle-like claws.
So, does that mean that sharp weapons aren't very useful against hard armor? That's another discussion, but not one that's going to be very fruitful. :)

Originally Posted by KlausPrinceOfTheUndeads

I think you missed the point. Is it realistic that blunt claws are better against armor than sharp ones? Is a dog more effective against an armored foe than a cat (ok, let's consider gengineered, superstrong pets)?

[JoelSammallahti]

Your explanation makes a lot of sense, but it does conflict quite a bit with the descriptions in Basic, which compare long talons to sword blades. Would you recommend making such a weapon as a reach 1 innate attack?