03-22-2019, 03:52 PM | #31 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Sword question - swing vs thrust
Realistically, the best way to get through armor is a pick. The problem is that if you get your aim slightly wrong, the pick turns instead of doing something useful; an axe is considerable more forgiving of getting distance wrong, a mace is also more forgiving of getting the angle wrong.
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03-22-2019, 04:01 PM | #32 | |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Charlotte, North Caroline, United States of America, Earth?
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Re: Sword question - swing vs thrust
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proper edge placement should be relevant for any cutting tool. I've been working on a log in my front yard this week, and there's plenty of times my strokes are not on target, and you can feel the axe twist, and essentially do nothing. This happens with swords as well, and as you point out, with a pick. I've toyed around with the idea of getting rid of the cutting damage modifer, and instead having cutting attacks do increased damage based on margin of success. Skilled swordsmen can slice men in half with ease, while untrained but strong guys often struggle to inflict any more meaningful damage than if they had a stick. But it felt clunky.
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03-22-2019, 04:27 PM | #33 | |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Sword question - swing vs thrust
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03-23-2019, 12:28 PM | #34 | |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
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Re: Sword question - swing vs thrust
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Both in real life and in GURPS, cuts are more favourable against some targets like the arms and legs. And of course it depends on the weapon and the target's armour: swinging is more favourable than thrusting with a Light Club, but the reverse is true for a Rapier which can only do Tip Cuts from Martial Arts.
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03-23-2019, 03:31 PM | #35 | |
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Re: Sword question - swing vs thrust
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03-23-2019, 06:13 PM | #36 | |
Join Date: Jul 2008
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Re: Sword question - swing vs thrust
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03-23-2019, 10:33 PM | #37 |
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Oz
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Re: Sword question - swing vs thrust
Lunge mines!
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03-23-2019, 10:47 PM | #38 | |
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Southeast NC
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Re: Sword question - swing vs thrust
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At ST 11, those thresholds are 5, 6, and 7 (for regular, committed, and all-out). At ST 12, the damage progression really kicks in and it becomes never, 0, and 1. However, not all injuries are created the same. A sword that bashes somebody through armor but fails to penetrate isn't likely to cause bleeding, for example.
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03-23-2019, 11:27 PM | #39 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Sword question - swing vs thrust
The problem is that cutting is realistically absolutely terrible against armor. Realistically, cutting excels at doing gross tissue damage and at destroying fibrous materials (ropes, most plants, muscles, ...) and, because it damages a larger area, is more tolerant of imprecise aim (an impaling attack can hit things like tendons and nerves, but it's rather likely to miss). Impaling attacks are good at going through armor and reaching internals, but (even when at the same energies, like a pick) less effective if they don't hit anything important (a pick is, however, better against hard homogenous objects such as rock).
Last edited by Anthony; 03-23-2019 at 11:39 PM. |
03-24-2019, 04:20 PM | #40 | |
Join Date: Aug 2018
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Re: Sword question - swing vs thrust
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Some people might also specialize in swings from certain directions, like doing a backhand/forehand/downward/upward swing. |
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