10-11-2010, 09:30 PM | #31 |
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Vermont
|
Re: Weapon skills, what I would change with GURPS
Those aren't really ordinary polearms, but exotic weapons. The poleaxe, naginata, and heavy horse cutter, etc... all only do crushing damage when used with Staff.
__________________
My ongoing thread of GURPS versions of DC Comics characters. |
10-11-2010, 10:31 PM | #32 |
Join Date: Sep 2009
|
Re: Weapon skills, what I would change with GURPS
What?! Considering I wasn't being sarcastic I get the feeling I should be insulted.
What teviet and the_seeker was saying made sense to me. If you've trained to use something like axe for attacking and shield for blocking, why would you have a high parry for axe? Or a high shield attack skill? In the GURPS historical books I've been reading it says that many fighters refrained from parrying because that would wreck your weapon. Why would fighters like that have a good parry score? It seems to call into question the whole tying together of attack and defense skills. And how do you fix something like that? Make Parry (Melee Weapon) a separate skill? At what cost? Would that make attacking without parrying an Easy skill, since it's some kind of specialization? I don't know how to answer these questions. I don't even know if these are the right questions to ask! That's why I've always trusted GURPS for The Answers. But now there are these...inconsistencies, between the RAW and "reality", possibly, though I don't really know how reality works either, when it comes to combat. What's a guy with no knowledge of martial arts supposed to do? I can't wait 20 years for a new edition! |
10-11-2010, 11:26 PM | #33 | |
Join Date: May 2005
|
Re: Weapon skills, what I would change with GURPS
Quote:
I wouldn't mind seeing these as true separate skills in 5e (but that's another thread!), since I think that training in a specific style was the norm, rather than being trained in all possible uses of a given weapon. But it's a matter of taste. TeV |
|
10-12-2010, 12:39 AM | #34 |
"Gimme 18 minutes . . ."
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Albuquerque, NM
|
Re: Weapon skills, what I would change with GURPS
Personally I hate the idea of setting the baseline at needing to buy up both attack and defense separately for every weapon. Most people learn to use any weapon they train with both offensively and defensively. I wouldn't be adverse to having a quirk or other price break to represent someone who focused excessively on one are over another, or maybe being able to buy up just offensive or defensive techniques once you have a basic level of competency or something, but every weapon I've ever trained with (even two-weapon fighting in escrima) both attacking and defending with both weapons were equally emphasized. I don't think a situation where one is preferred is common enough that we should make it the base assumption when designing a character.
|
10-12-2010, 01:06 AM | #35 | |
Join Date: May 2005
|
Re: Weapon skills, what I would change with GURPS
Quote:
I don't think that techniques really work quite right. (I use techniques very sparingly.) In particular, the idea that once you've trained up a technique, then it automatically improves along with your skill. I liked the fact that in RQ you had to keep practicing different styles if you wanted to improve them! During an adventure, if you stuck with one style, that was all you'd be good at. With a technique, if you're just as good with sword-and-shield and sword-only, then you always will be, even if you use sword-and-shield exclusively while adventuring. Optional specialties would be a compromise, permitting (IMNSHO) realistic style specialization while still keeping as "standard" the symmetrical skill that you prefer. TeV |
|
10-12-2010, 07:32 AM | #36 | |
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Vermont
|
Re: Weapon skills, what I would change with GURPS
Quote:
I only house rule because I care too much. :)
__________________
My ongoing thread of GURPS versions of DC Comics characters. |
|
10-12-2010, 08:21 AM | #37 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
|
Re: Weapon skills, what I would change with GURPS
I like the idea of treating someone who has neglected their defense (or attack) in a weapon as an optional specialty, despite this not traditionally being an option.
It's simple, it doesn't do significant damage to the system, and it basically holds up the suggestion I was going to make, which is "If you do split them into different skills, have a very generous default between them". characters using this option "should" those 4 points they save into their Shield skill to nudge it up higher and help improve their defenses, but it's easy to imagine "lazy" fighters who just rely on their Shield DB to make up the difference.
__________________
All about Size Modifier; Unified Hit Location Table A Wiki for my F2F Group A neglected GURPS blog |
10-12-2010, 08:36 AM | #38 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Edmond, OK
|
Re: Weapon skills, what I would change with GURPS
In GURPS Vikings, there is an option for giving Viking warriors +1 to block and -1 to parry. In 4E, I suppose you could have some sort of Perk that would do this.
|
10-12-2010, 09:44 AM | #39 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
|
Re: Weapon skills, what I would change with GURPS
I'd think a 0 pt trait but it's actually closer to being a 1 pt Disad. Unless you're using Knife Skill, Block is cheaper than Parry.
__________________
Fred Brackin |
10-12-2010, 10:34 AM | #40 | |
Join Date: Sep 2004
|
Re: Weapon skills, what I would change with GURPS
Quote:
|
|
Tags |
4th ed, 4th edition, combat skills, skills revisited |
|
|