MA fencing nerf

[FeiLin]

I looked at A Matter of Inches (MA110), and noticed that these replace multiple Parry penalties for fencing weapons. Now, I do enjoy the extra detail, but it seems to me that fencing weapons got nerfed quite a bit. There are exceptions, of course, but a rapier-wielding fencer will only get the same level of bonus as before the nerf on ST18, and even a +1 bonus requires ST14, whereas most fencers in our games have ST11-12.

How come, and, would you that fencing weapons have a minimum +2 for relative ST is sensible (basically merging the two rules)?

[Rupert]

Well, rapiers are actually quite big as fencing weapons go - most of what we think of as 'rapiers' would count as 'light rapiers' or 'smallswords'. If you're using a smallsword, ST10+ gets you that -2/parry.

I'm not convinced fencing weapons really deserve reduced penalties on multiple parries anyway - while they were fast their very lightness and balance meant parries vs heavier weapons required a lot of commitment, and most of the training with them was for 1v1 fights as well. 'A Matter of Inches' might reduce the strength of fencing weapons' defence somewhat, but it makes them offensively more powerful, if you're willing to take risks to go first, or willing to invest in feints (and they aid in defence vs feints, so that's a defensive bonus).

However, it's an optional rule, so adjust it as you see fit.