One-handed or Two-handed sword, that is the question

[Carlos]

Agramer, shield imbuements can be awesome. Energizing Defend (shield) can helps a lot; Widen Shield can give you the chance to protect all your buddies, etc. As I said, I think it's a waste of potential to skip these imbues.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Carlos

It's undeniable that a shield is of great help in low-tech/dungeon fantasy games. To block rains of arrows, fire balls (or other projectile spells) or dragon's fire breath is all that good.

It hasn't been brought up yet so I thought I'd point out that the usual benefit of a shield in Gurps is to add +1 or +2 to your normal Parry and Dodge defenses. Most people avoid the +3 for the largest shields becasue it comes with a -2 to attack. The right Perk from Martial arts fixes this and then you go with the +3 unless you're really hitting excessive encumbrance.

To illustrate, if you have Skill-16 and (justifiably) think yourself an Expert swordsman you still only have a Parry of 11. That's only a chance of 65%. Add a +3 DB shield and it's up to 90%. It adds that DB to your Dodges too.

That's a lot for just a modest amount of money. You get the DB bonus even without buying up your Shield Skill too. This is why 1-handed weapons are the norm in Gurps.

If your defenses are good enough without a Shield or your armor is so good that you worry little about being hit with most weapons then you go without a shield.

You boost your defenses with Combat Reflexes almost as a a matter of course and then you may add Enhanced Parry and Dodge if possible. Enchantments can add DB as well. However, shield DB still gives an advantage to shield users over non-users.

Really only the realistic rules about damage to shields from LT (or si one on the Companions?) argues agaisnt shield use.

All of this comes before you worry about Blocking Fireballs. This is bread and butter combat stuff.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Fred Brackin

Really only the realistic rules about damage to shields from LT (or si one on the Companions?) argues agaisnt shield use.

The shield damage rules are unchanged from the Basic Set and Martial Arts. However, Low Tech introduces less absurd DR and HP for shields, so it's plausible to break them.

LTC2 has additional shield rules, but nothing with very much significance to this.

[Agramer]

Originally Posted by Carlos

Agramer, shield imbuements can be awesome. Energizing Defend (shield) can helps a lot; Widen Shield can give you the chance to protect all your buddies, etc. As I said, I think it's a waste of potential to skip these imbues.

Thats true,but lets not forget that were playing rollplaying game and that stich often outweights functionality.

I often play dual wield(shortsword) martial artists,when according to rules I could as easily play dual wield broadswords...so only reason for my "handicap"(dmg wise) is stich.

OP wanted Big sword wilder due visual image(aka stich) and asked for advice how to compensate for a lack of shield.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Carlos

Zweihander is a two-handed weapon, so multiple parry penalty is halved, becoming 0/-2/-4/-6/-8...

But it's also a fencing weapon, which also halves again penalties, so its parry value are 0/-1/-2/-3/-4/-5... right?

While I give you bonus points for being a munchkin, I think you're wrong :) Fencing Parries are a separate section from Parrying with Two-Handed Weapons, and I don't think they're meant to stack.

That said, the Zweihander from Fantasy Tech is a ridiculous fantasy interpretation so I can see the point to arguing the other way.

[Agramer]

Originally Posted by Bruno

While I give you bonus points for being a munchkin, I think you're wrong :) Fencing Parries are a separate section from Parrying with Two-Handed Weapons, and I don't think they're meant to stack.

Thats irrelevant since Weapon Master cuts multiple parry penalty in half from -4 / parry to -2 / parry and is cumulative with two handed sword reduction to parry penalty.

So Weapon Master wielding Greatsword parrys at 0/-1/-2/-3 ...and so on per each additional parry.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by Agramer

Thats irrelevant since Weapon Master cuts multiple parry penalty in half from -4 / parry to -2 / parry and is cumulative with two handed sword reduction to parry penalty.

So Weapon Master wielding Greatsword parrys at 0/-1/-2/-3 ...and so on per each additional parry.

This isn't about a Greatsword, this is about the "Zweihander" from Fantasy Tech - it is a two-handed sword with a F parry. It's the fantasy kickass twohanded sword of horse decapitation and much ethnic badassery, not a "two-handed sword" or "a greatsword".

The Zweihander is a Two-handed sword with a F parry. Carlos was asking if the Two-Handed halving of the parry penalty was "stacked" with the benefits of the Fencing parry, which would THEN stack with the benefits of Weapon Master to produce further halved parry penalties.

Originally Posted by Carlos

By the way, what if you're using a Zweihander (from Fantasy Tech) and have Weapon Master?

Zweihander is a two-handed weapon, so multiple parry penalty is halved, becoming 0/-2/-4/-6/-8...

But it's also a fencing weapon, which also halves again penalties, so its parry value are 0/-1/-2/-3/-4/-5... right?

And what if you also have Weapon Master? Does it halves again for 0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-3/-3...?

[Kuroshima]

Let's see, the zweihander is a two handed sword with a fencing parry. If using the rule in MA that gives two handed weapons then either the Zweihander loses the thing that makes it unique (the Zambato from Fantasy Tech has the same stats without the fencing parry), or the rules for both parry penalty reductions stack.

Weapon Master just muddies the scene.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Kuroshima

Let's see, the zweihander is a two handed sword with a fencing parry. If using the rule in MA that gives two handed weapons then either the Zweihander loses the thing that makes it unique (the Zambato from Fantasy Tech has the same stats without the fencing parry), or the rules for both parry penalty reductions stack.

Reduced multiple-parry penalty is not the only effect of a fencing parry.

[Peter V. Dell'Orto]

Don't stack the parries. You no more get to halve them twice with the zweihander from FT1 than you get to halve them twice by sticking an extra hand on your rapier.