Does a Balanced weapon get +1 to Fast-Draw?

[Anthony]

Honestly, I think fast-draw should be a technique rather than a skill.

[Hide]

Originally Posted by JulianLW

Does a Balanced weapon get +1 to Fast-Draw? It seems like "+1 to skill with any melee weapon" leaves the door wide open for it. It also seems intuitively correct. Weapon Bond also gives +1 to Fast-Draw, right?

IMO, GURPS Low Tech's “balanced weapon” refers to a well-balanced-weapon that “behaves” better as you fight. You can have a custom weapon that is further balanced (for example) in the sense it becomes easier to attack or defend, or in the sense a weapon delivers energy more efficiently to its projectiles (bows). However, this does not necessarily change the way a weapon will behave before or after you attack.

Let’s see it from another perspective, let’s think about axes and fast-draw.

AFAIK, if you make an axe “balanced”, you won’t remove the U from its parry stat (you need the "Dwarven" enhancement for that). It will be easier to deliver an attack (+1 to skill), but without increasing the weapon's weight or using special materials (that may also change the ST requirements), the head of your axe is always going to be the heavier part and it is always going to “leave you open” after attacking (because of physics).

On the other hand, it is not legit to fast-draw an axe, but if you were allowed to do so… Would you have a penalty because the axe is unbalanced? No, because unbalanced and poorly balanced are different subjects of balance.