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Old 06-09-2018, 01:48 PM   #1
Steve Jackson
President and EIC
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Default One Last Shot missile attack

Right now the rule says that you have to drop your weapon if you take the One Last Shot option.

I'm very inclined to delete that. It forces a decision that should be left tot he player. In fact, the archer would be more likely to hold onto his bow even if only to defend with!

Any counterarguments?
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Old 06-09-2018, 01:59 PM   #2
Jim Kane
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Default Re: One Last Shot missile attack

Yes, for precisely the rationale you stated in 1980; being: defending with a bow would destroy it as a functional weapon. So while the player *could* choose this as an option; but the weapon should be destroyed after-the-fact, if they use a bow for a purpose for which is not designed.

JK

Last edited by Jim Kane; 06-09-2018 at 02:02 PM. Reason: Typo
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Old 06-09-2018, 02:44 PM   #3
Skarg
 
Join Date: May 2015
Default Re: One Last Shot missile attack

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jackson View Post
Right now the rule says that you have to drop your weapon if you take the One Last Shot option.

I'm very inclined to delete that. It forces a decision that should be left tot he player. In fact, the archer would be more likely to hold onto his bow even if only to defend with!

Any counterarguments?
I agree. I always took it as an overstatement for simplicity's sake, and to underline the point that you can't just stand in the front lines repeatedly shooting people who are attacking you with hand weapons. You probably shouldn't be able reload a bow or crossbow or sling if you're attacked (or you could just say, while engaged), but I think you should have the option to hold onto it if you want.

I tend to think similarly about entering Hand to Hand combat - a non-HTH weapon could possibly be held onto, even if it did no good or possibly got in the way.

The destroyed rule was also unclear whether it meant you could Defend with a bow that was previously "destroyed" by defending with it, or not. Some people felt a bow would possibly be shredded after a turn of defending against a sword (maybe not a spear), but a crossbow might last longer as a something you can defend with. But it's a bit fiddly and an unusual level of detail for TFT to specify exactly what happens when different things are used to Defend. It's not entirely clear what the rule means though.

Last edited by Skarg; 06-09-2018 at 02:49 PM.
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Old 06-09-2018, 04:23 PM   #4
JLV
 
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Default Re: One Last Shot missile attack

Maybe a better question from us would be: "How does the new rule actually read?"

As it stands, I don't feel strongly about it either way; I always assumed he dropped the weapon so he could free his hands to do something else (ready a melee weapon, for example), but I can see the point about "forcing" an action on the player. The actual phrasing of the new rule might help us understand what you are visualizing here.
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Old 06-09-2018, 04:55 PM   #5
Jim Kane
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Default Re: One Last Shot missile attack

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skarg View Post
...a crossbow might last longer as a something you can defend with...
And are you including the bowstring as part of the weapons functional duration after attack in your supposition regarding a crossbows' ability to perhaps "last longer"?

My feeling is: honed steel edges and bow strings - of any variety - do not tend to mix well... for the string that is. ;-)

JK

Last edited by Jim Kane; 06-10-2018 at 06:47 AM. Reason: Punctuation
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Old 06-09-2018, 05:15 PM   #6
Steve Jackson
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Default Re: One Last Shot missile attack

The proposal is just to delete the sentence in the option that requires the weapon to be dropped. So it would read:

(l) ONE-LAST-SHOT MISSILE ATTACK. If the figure had a missile weapon ready before it was engaged, it may get off one last shot. The missile weapon must be dropped next turn. (This option reflects the fact that you can almost always release an arrow at a charging enemy.)

The option currently (m) under Engaged Figures says:
(m) CHANGE WEAPONS. Shift one hex (or stand still) and drop ready weapon (if any), and ready a new non-missile weapon. (An engaged figure cannot ready or reload a missile weapon.)

The below remains unchanged:
A figure must have a physical weapon (staff, sword, club, etc.) in hand in order to defend; this weapon is used for parrying. You may “parry” with a bow or crossbow – but it will be ruined!
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Old 06-09-2018, 05:27 PM   #7
Rick_Smith
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Coquitlam B.C.
Default Re: One Last Shot missile attack

Hi Steve, everyone.
It seems to me that a certain amount of parrying is assumed to happen when two figures are trading blows. A figure with a DX of 12 could hit 100% of the time against a human sized dummy, but he only hits 72% of the time vs. a normal opponent.

So if I have a kick ass bowman, and a guy runs up and engages me, why don't I just ignore him and keep firing my brutal bow of magical slaying? Presumably because I WANT to have some sort of defence.

I would either prefer to keep the rule as it is, or give the guy with a sword a bonus for attacking the bowman who is ignoring any melee defence.

Warm regards, Rick.
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Old 06-09-2018, 06:01 PM   #8
Jim Kane
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Default Re: One Last Shot missile attack

Steve - Why not consider simply changing *must* to *may*?

To potentially read:

(l) ONE-LAST-SHOT MISSILE ATTACK. If the figure had a missile weapon ready before it was engaged, it may get off one last shot. The missile weapon MAY be dropped next turn in order to ready a new weapon. (This option reflects the fact that you can almost always release an arrow at a charging enemy.)

JK
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Old 06-11-2018, 12:17 PM   #9
zot
 
Join Date: May 2018
Default Re: One Last Shot missile attack

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Jackson View Post
The proposal is just to delete the sentence in the option that requires the weapon to be dropped. So it would read:

(l) ONE-LAST-SHOT MISSILE ATTACK. If the figure had a missile weapon ready before it was engaged, it may get off one last shot. The missile weapon must be dropped next turn. (This option reflects the fact that you can almost always release an arrow at a charging enemy.)
I'm curious, do you still use the term "figure" to refer to people when you write game rules? This isn't a normal way to refer to a person and it always seemed like shorthand for "lead figure" to me.
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Old 06-12-2018, 01:04 AM   #10
ak_aramis
 
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Default Re: One Last Shot missile attack

Quote:
Originally Posted by zot View Post
I'm curious, do you still use the term "figure" to refer to people when you write game rules? This isn't a normal way to refer to a person and it always seemed like shorthand for "lead figure" to me.
Just as a historical note: the term figure was used in DragonQuest and OE D&D as well... D&D was a growth from minis-wargames. The terminology shifted a lot in the 1980's.

Further, the term "figure" was used for notable persons in common speech for much of the 20th, and most of the 18th and 19th centuries.
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