04-09-2021, 10:04 AM | #31 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Tokyo, Japan
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Re: Improved Melee Defaults for Skilled Combatants
JulianLW, I honestly think your proposal is fine. What you want to do is clear, it is at least as realistic as how GURPS handles it, and does not seem over-powered. So, if it suits the feel you want in your game, why not?
The only tweak I would make is to limit the bonus to +3. This will give DX-1 for Easy, DX-2 for Average, and DX-3 for Hard skills. It will be on par with the improved defaults given to Weapon Masters, and will avoid introducing additional calculation caused by raising skills from defaults. |
04-09-2021, 06:39 PM | #32 |
Icelandic - Approach With Caution
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Reykjavķk, Iceland
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Re: Improved Melee Defaults for Skilled Combatants
I think you're forgetting Flail and Kusari, both Hard.
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04-09-2021, 06:49 PM | #33 | |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
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Re: Improved Melee Defaults for Skilled Combatants
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"It is easier to banish a habit of thought than a piece of knowledge." H. Beam Piper This forum got less aggravating when I started using the ignore feature |
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04-09-2021, 07:56 PM | #34 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Re: Improved Melee Defaults for Skilled Combatants
No, there was an "or higher" that got left out.
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Fred Brackin |
04-09-2021, 09:30 PM | #35 | |
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: GMT-5
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Re: Improved Melee Defaults for Skilled Combatants
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One thing I've always found a bit odd about GURPS was the abundance of melee weapon skills. Think of all the different things that gymnasts, acrobats, cheerleaders, various circus workers, etc., do that are all covered by the Acrobatics skill. Yet Knife and Short Sword are two different skills? If anything, it would be more realistic for there to be one melee weapon skill and a few acrobatics skills. I get that most table-top RPGs focus more on combat than on other activities. But dammit, there's a "U" in GURPS! :D |
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04-09-2021, 10:12 PM | #36 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: Improved Melee Defaults for Skilled Combatants
If you are going to collapse them just to collapse them, and not because you want vastly cheaper or something, consider just using the existing Wildcard skill rules. Yeah the "official" ones for melee weapons are almost uselessly narrow for their costs, but there's no particular reason you couldn't allow Melee!, or Fight!, especially if you use the straight interpretation of the Basic Set rules that just amounts all the included skills with no special additional benefits. Yeah 24 points for everything at DX seems kind of on the high side for the initial buy in, but not all that bad, and 12 per additional level (i.e. the cost to improve just 3 skills) is actually pretty fair. If you really have a problem with the base cost (and honestly if you are comparing it to those same 3 skills at DX for 6 points, 24 points is pretty high), it's not too tough to include enough additional stuff like techniques at full DX, or perks (normally specialized by skill but here applying to everything included) to bring the value up. Armed Grapple, Cavalry Training, Close Combat, Fast Draw, Reverse Grip and Sweep at full skill, plus Form Mastery, Grip Mastery, Reach Mastery, Reverse Grip, Off Hand Weapon Training and Quick Sheathe, would come to more than 18 points (for one weapon!), bundle them into Melee! for all weapons and 24 starts to seem quite a fair buy in price.
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-- MA Lloyd Last edited by malloyd; 04-09-2021 at 10:25 PM. |
04-09-2021, 11:30 PM | #37 | |
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Meifumado
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Re: Improved Melee Defaults for Skilled Combatants
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04-10-2021, 03:04 AM | #38 |
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Dreamland
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Re: Improved Melee Defaults for Skilled Combatants
I really like combining weapon skills into smaller skills;
Fencing/H Pole/H (Impact and Pole weapons) Sword/H Whip/VH (Flail and Whip weapons) [some fifth one for weird weapons?] Use optional specialties to keep skills at the same difficulties (give things like Knife and Force Whip a +1 to use). Fencing and Sword default at -3, everything else at -5. Melee Weapon! replaces many weapon wildcard skills. To be more realistic, you could make the -5 above only work for defensive use (such as resisting feints, parrying, etc). This also makes the wildcard skill actually worth it. A player suggested this once and while I really like the idea, I would want to work it out more. |
04-12-2021, 09:39 PM | #39 |
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Re: Improved Melee Defaults for Skilled Combatants
Realistically, any serious fighter is going to have a higher DX than normal, which gives them superior defaults for melee weapons across the board.
If you want someone whose default skills with all melee weapons are better than normal, but who doesn't have superhuman DX, another possibility might be a variant on the "Jack of All Trades" Talent, which just boosts default skill levels for melee weapons, 5 points per level, and a maximum default level of DX-1 seems fair. |
04-12-2021, 10:00 PM | #40 | |
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Re: Improved Melee Defaults for Skilled Combatants
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For short spears, (e.g., the Qiang used in Wushu and other Chinese martial arts) where you can easily "choke up" to grasp the weapon at its balance and use it like a quarterstaff, Staff skill is more appropriate. The fact that your "staff" has a pointy tip on one end is an unimportant detail. The default from spear to Staff-2 and spear to Staff-2 is maybe a bit severe, but not too out of line. |
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