Zweihänder with Quarterstaff (parry) bonus

[JazzJedi]

Originally Posted by Kromm

A person could always decide that more weapons need a Parry stat different from 0. It probably wouldn't be that painful to track. You could decide the modifier is the sum of, say, these factors:

Reach: 0 for Reach C; +1 for Reach 1; +2 for Reach 2; and +3 for Reach 3+.

[More surface area means it's easier to intercept a blow.]

Balance: -1 if the weapon is unbalanced ("U" on its current Parry stat); 0 if balanced (no "U").

[Better balance means faster response to attacks.]

Hand-Guard: -1 if the weapon lacks one; 0 if it has one of any style (basket, cross, tsuba, whatever).

[Hand protection means close calls count as saves.]

Surface: -1 if limited (blows must be received on a strong point, on or near the hilt, on or near the head, or whatever); 0 if unlimited (blows can be received anywhere on the weapon except where the hands are).

[Using more of the surface area gives more options to defend.]

Support: 0 if one-handed; +1 if two-handed.

[A solidly grasped weapon is harder to push aside. This is 0/+1 instead of -1/0 because it's intended to balance against weapon-and-shield, where shields give a bonus.]

Flexibility: -1 if non-rigid; 0 if rigid.

[A rigid weapon is harder to push aside.]

The results would look like this:

• Unbalanced one-handed flails such as the morningstar and nunchaku (reach 1, unbalanced, no hand-guard, unlimited surface, one-handed, non-rigid): -2.
• Most knives (reach C, balanced, hand-guard, limited surface, one-handed, rigid): -1.
• Unbalanced one-handed impact weapons such as the axe, mace, and pick (reach 1, unbalanced, no hand-guard, unlimited surface, one-handed, rigid): -1.
• Unbalanced one-handed swords such as the dao, khopesh, and large falchion (reach 1, unbalanced, hand-guard, limited surface, one-handed, rigid): -1.
• Balanced one-handed sticks such as the baton, jo, short staff, and short spear (reach 1, balanced, no hand-guard, unlimited surface, one-handed, rigid): 0.
• Balanced one-handed swords such as the saber, shortsword, smallsword, and broadsword (reach 1, balanced, hand-guard, limited surface, one-handed, rigid): 0.
• Bastard sword in one hand (reach 2, unbalanced, hand-guard, limited surface, one-handed, rigid): 0.
• Hatchet and knobbed club (reach 1, balanced, no hand-guard, unlimited surface, one-handed, rigid): 0.
• Two-handed flail (reach 2, unbalanced, no hand-guard, unlimited surface, two-handed, non-rigid): 0.
• Kusari (reach 3+, unbalanced, no hand-guard, unlimited surface, two-handed, non-rigid): +1.
• Rapiers and the longsword in one hand (reach 2, balanced, hand-guard, limited surface, one-handed, rigid): +1.
• Unbalanced two-handed impact weapons such as the great axe, dueling polearm, maul, and warhammer (reach 2, unbalanced, no hand-guard, unlimited surface, two-handed, rigid): +1.
• Balanced two-handed swords such as the bastard sword, greatsword, katana, and longsword (reach 2, balanced, hand-guard, limited surface, two-handed, rigid): +2.
• Heavy spear (reach 3+, unbalanced, no hand-guard, unlimited surface, two-handed, rigid): +2.
• Most full-length pikes and polearms (reach 3+, unbalanced, no hand-guard, unlimited surface, two-handed, rigid): +2.
• Quarterstaffs and spears of typical length (reach 2, balanced, no hand-guard, unlimited surface, two-handed, rigid): +2.

I'm sure there would be "broken" weapons using this method, but it's a start. However, parry bonuses of +1 or +2 for two-handed weapons probably aren't broken; they're saying "you have +1 or +2 only to parry" where a shield-user has "you have +1 to +3 to dodge, parry, or block."

This is an excellent system!