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Old 07-09-2020, 09:57 AM   #1
Plane
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Default idea for adapting Long Weapons in Close Combat rules to encourage Striking At Weapons

I don't know if it ever feels like SAW rules (B400) might be underutilized? Weapons have impressive DR a lot of the time, for example, so it could just seem a better tactic to attack it's wielder directly and injure them.

Especially since it seems equally easy to use a weapon to parry an attack directed at you or use that weapon to parry an attack directed at the weapon.

The largest incentive is probably just that weapons tend to be in reach before the wielder since they occupy hexes in front of them. But with high "Move" scores that might not matter as much.

MA117 "Long Weapons in Close Combat" introduces the concept that when someone is in your hex you can attack/parry them with non-C weapons (couldn't in Basic Set) with a yard-based penalty.

Although this is based on the length of your weapon, this is in respect to the frame of reference of your own hex...

This is framed in the writeup as reflecting the awkwardness of reaching that location...

Like for example "to use a reach 2 weapon to defend, I need to make a wrap-parry at -8 to skill (-4 to parry) to get it into position where it needs to be within my hex"

I was thinking a second perspective on it (perhaps a mutual factor) is also because the attack begins closer to you, so it is harder to observe and you have less time to react to it.

Like for example what if the -4 to skill was split into a -2 for "attack begins closer than ideal" and a -2 for "weapon must be brought a further distance".

In that case, the half of the penalty for "begins closer" is something we could take into account for Striking At Weapons, in respect to their location rather than their wielder's.

For example:
"the ideal place for an attacker for the defender parrying with a reach 2 weapon is at least 2 yards away from your torso"

If we extrapolated that to be "at least 2 yards away from target" that could make things more interesting for defending when the weapon is the target instead of the wielder.

In that case:

1) no penalty when attacker is at least 2 yards from weapon
2) -2 to skill (-1 to parry) when attacker is 1 yard away
3) -4 to skill (-2 to parry) when attacker is in close combat with your reach 2 weapon (not you: if they ALSO had a reach 2 weapon they would JUST be able to hit you at this point, and you would have NO penalty to parry weapons targeting YOU)
4) -6 to skill (-3 to parry) when attacker is occupying the hex BETWEEN you and the furthest tip of your reach 2 weapon
5) -8 to skill (-4 to parry) when attacker is in close combat with you and 2 yards from the tip of your reach 2 weapon which is 2 yards behind him (perhaps even obstructing your view of it)
This would make weapons harder to defend, and those defensive penalties would create incentive for more attempts at Striking At Weapon attacks.
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