Does Weapon Bond apply to Innate Attack?

CrimsonDawn · 07-10-2010, 02:00 PM

If you have a Staff with Weapon Bond, do you only get the bonus for using it with the Staff skill, or also to attack rolls with spells you're casting with it?

blacksmith · 07-10-2010, 02:51 PM

Broadly no. A weapon bond with the staff would help with melee spells delivered through the staff, and I would let WB be taken with Gadgets built with the IA power, but that is about it.

PK · 07-12-2010, 12:58 PM

Weapon Bond applies when you're using the item as a weapon. It wouldn't, for example, help your ST roll to use the staff to pry open a container, or help your Acrobatics roll when using the staff to pole-vault, so it shouldn't help your Innate Attack skill to "point" with the staff when throwing a fireball. As blacksmith pointed out, it'd certainly help with Melee spells cast by whacking someone with the staff, though.

blacksmith · 07-12-2010, 01:07 PM

You could conceivably have some kind of missile spell bond to get a +1 to hit with a particular missile spell. I would consider such a perk if a player asked for it.

Yami Fowl · 07-12-2010, 01:15 PM

Since with Weapon Bond, if your weapon is lost, you lose the perk...
To have something like, Spell Bond, seem a little over a perk...
Since you can't lose a spell as easily as a lose a weapon.

To better hit with a particular missile spell, I would suggest Magery (One-Spell Only) for 2 points...
And a perk, Psyquic Guidance, which allows you to use the RL of the spell to guide the missile, instead of innate attack.

aesir23 · 07-12-2010, 01:27 PM

Someone could, theoretically buy several "bonds" to cover multiple purposes, I suppose.

Weapon Bond and Equipment Bond (Forced Entry) with the same Axe, frex.

I'd be a little skeptical of allowing Equipment Bond to work for casting spells with a staff, however. That would be better modeled as Magery 1 with gadget limitations.

This brings up related questions: would you gain the benefit of Weapon Bond while pistol whipping, for instance, or would you have to buy it twice for the same weapon?

aesir23 · 07-12-2010, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rev. Pee Kitty

so it shouldn't help your Innate Attack skill to "point" with the staff when throwing a fireball.

Well...weapon bond can give you a bonus to other ranged attacks that could be described as "pointing". Pistol, for instance.

I just think it should probably be two weapon bonds for two such disparate skills.

blacksmith · 07-12-2010, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yami Fowl

Since with Weapon Bond, if your weapon is lost, you lose the perk...
To have something like, Spell Bond, seem a little over a perk...
Since you can lose a spell as easily as a lose a weapon.

Except that there is already a spell perk in Magical Styles that gives a bonus to cast a particular spell at the cost of having a more traceable spell. Here a bonus to throw one specific missle does not seem too powerful for a perk.

Quote:

To better hit with a particular missile spell, I would suggest Magery (One-Spell Only) for 2 points...

That would help cast it, I don't think magery is added to IA though, and increase the damage caps. Might be a better deal if it does add to IA for that spell.

Quote:

And a perk, Psyquic Guidance, which allows you to use the RL of the spell to guide the missile, instead of innate attack.

Not sure I would allow that, puts a lot of emphasis on the spell level, and cuts back on the value of things like homing spell.

blacksmith · 07-12-2010, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aesir23

Well...weapon bond can give you a bonus to other ranged attacks that could be described as "pointing". Pistol, for instance.

I just think it should probably be two weapon bonds for two such disparate skills.

But the pistol is the weapon, the fireball is a spell. Conceivably if you had a staff of fireballs a weapon bond with that could help both hitting people with the staff and with the fireballs. You don't need multiple bonds for melee attacks and thrown attacks with a axe or spear after all.

Yami Fowl · 07-12-2010, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blacksmith

Except that there is already a spell perk in Magical Styles that gives a bonus to cast a particular spell at the cost of having a more traceable spell. Here a bonus to throw one specific missle does not seem too powerful for a perk.

Sorry, the last line on my sentence was wrong, I was supposed to say:
"You can't loose a spell as easily as a weapon."

But then again, about the perk, you are right, sorry.

07-10-2010, 02:00 PM	#1
CrimsonDawn Join Date: Mar 2006	Does Weapon Bond apply to Innate Attack? If you have a Staff with Weapon Bond, do you only get the bonus for using it with the Staff skill, or also to attack rolls with spells you're casting with it?

07-10-2010, 02:51 PM	#2
blacksmith Join Date: Aug 2005	Re: Does Weapon Bond apply to Innate Attack? Broadly no. A weapon bond with the staff would help with melee spells delivered through the staff, and I would let WB be taken with Gadgets built with the IA power, but that is about it.

07-12-2010, 12:58 PM	#3
PK Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Dobbstown Sane Asylum	Re: Does Weapon Bond apply to Innate Attack? Weapon Bond applies when you're using the item as a weapon. It wouldn't, for example, help your ST roll to use the staff to pry open a container, or help your Acrobatics roll when using the staff to pole-vault, so it shouldn't help your Innate Attack skill to "point" with the staff when throwing a fireball. As blacksmith pointed out, it'd certainly help with Melee spells cast by whacking someone with the staff, though. __________________ Reverend Pee Kitty of the Order Malkavian-Dobbsian (Twitter) (LJ) MyGURPS: My house rules and *GURPS* resources. #SJGamesLive: I answered questions about *GURPS After the End* and more! {Watch Video} - {Read Transcript}

07-12-2010, 01:07 PM	#4
blacksmith Join Date: Aug 2005	Re: Does Weapon Bond apply to Innate Attack? You could conceivably have some kind of missile spell bond to get a +1 to hit with a particular missile spell. I would consider such a perk if a player asked for it.

07-12-2010, 01:15 PM	#5
Yami Fowl Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Brazil	Re: Does Weapon Bond apply to Innate Attack? Since with Weapon Bond, if your weapon is lost, you lose the perk... To have something like, Spell Bond, seem a little over a perk... Since you can't lose a spell as easily as a lose a weapon. To better hit with a particular missile spell, I would suggest Magery (One-Spell Only) for 2 points... And a perk, Psyquic Guidance, which allows you to use the RL of the spell to guide the missile, instead of innate attack. __________________ Current Playing: Gurps Fantasy. Current GMing: DnD 3.5 on an original setting. Planning a GURPS Sci-Fi Campaign. Last edited by Yami Fowl; 07-12-2010 at 01:36 PM.

07-12-2010, 01:27 PM	#6
aesir23 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Vermont	Re: Does Weapon Bond apply to Innate Attack? Someone could, theoretically buy several "bonds" to cover multiple purposes, I suppose. Weapon Bond and Equipment Bond (Forced Entry) with the same Axe, frex. I'd be a little skeptical of allowing Equipment Bond to work for casting spells with a staff, however. That would be better modeled as Magery 1 with gadget limitations. This brings up related questions: would you gain the benefit of Weapon Bond while pistol whipping, for instance, or would you have to buy it twice for the same weapon? __________________ My ongoing thread of GURPS versions of DC Comics characters.