07-31-2020, 06:14 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Mar 2019
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Vow (Use only improvised weapons/carries no weapons)
For some reason the idea of PC who doesn't carry a weapon popped into my head the other day. Perhaps they like to appear unarmed, perhaps they don't like how it affects their silhouette, perhaps they are sworn to a deity who prohibits arms--for some reason, they've vowed not to own and carry a weapon. This could take two forms: Vow (Use Only Improvised Weapons) or Vow (Carries no Weapons).
Vow (Use Only Improvised Weapons) is obviously more restrictive: When a fight starts, the character would have to Scrounge for a weapon -- a stick, a fire poker, a chair, a bottle, a loose bit of chain, anything. According to Exploits (37) these weapons would be at a -1 to -3 to use depending on how similar they are to the most similar weapon and -1 to -2 per damage (both GM's discretion.) Vow (Carries no Weapons) would allow the same options, but also allow the character to use actual weapons from disarmed or slain foes (or allies), they'd just have to put abandon the weapon when the fight ended. In either case, the character would need to spend either some points on a bunch of different weapon skills or a bunch of points on DX to allow them to use a variety of weapons depending on the situation and to soak up the penalties for improvised weapons. Based on the examples in Adventurers (67), this seems somewhere between Major and Great vow: Uses No Edged Weapons (Major) seems less inhibiting than either while Using No Weapons at All (Great) is obviously more restrictive. How would your price Vow (Use Only Improvised Weapons) and Vow (Carries no Weapons)? |
07-31-2020, 06:19 AM | #2 |
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: FL
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Re: Vow (Use only improvised weapons/carries no weapons)
It's definitely a judgment call. Great and Major, respectively, I think.
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07-31-2020, 11:10 AM | #3 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Re: Vow (Use only improvised weapons/carries no weapons)
I think "Use no weapons" is canonically worth [-15] in GURPS. DFRPG isn't GURPS but it's close enough so that the costs probably carry over.
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07-31-2020, 04:08 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Houston, TX
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Re: Vow (Use only improvised weapons/carries no weapons)
Then, can said character take Weapon Master (Improvised Weapons), and how many character points would that cost?
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07-31-2020, 09:28 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Saint Paul, MN
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Re: Vow (Use only improvised weapons/carries no weapons)
I love the improvised weapons concept; every battle would be a bit different. With the "carries no weapons" I would worry that it would be easy enough to just borrow another PC's backup weapon, in which case it might just slow them down a tad at the beginning of combat. If that was somehow forbidden (like the character believes that the Fates will provide a weapon, or not, as they see fit), then it would be similar enough.
As a GM, I'm not wedded to multiples of five. If we figured that one of these was worth 12 points, I'd be fine with that. |
07-31-2020, 09:35 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: traveller
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Re: Vow (Use only improvised weapons/carries no weapons)
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08-01-2020, 03:16 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Dec 2012
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Re: Vow (Use only improvised weapons/carries no weapons)
I think that would count, or at least it generally would if I were GMing; you could also carve a wooden stake, or carry a rip hammer (but probably not an axe). No good for Vow (Carries no Weapons), but fine for Vow (Use Only Improvised Weapons). Of course, the Vow could also be Vow (Use Only Immediately-Improvised Weapons), which would forbid preparing them in advance.
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08-01-2020, 09:51 PM | #8 | |
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Republic of Texas; FOS
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Re: Vow (Use only improvised weapons/carries no weapons)
Quote:
For the slight difference between them, ye could split it as -12 for Use only Improvised Weapons and -13 for Carry No Weapons (or even Use Only Immediately Improvised Weapons)... a quirky restriction on a Vow :)
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08-04-2020, 09:47 AM | #9 | |
Join Date: Mar 2019
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Re: Vow (Use only improvised weapons/carries no weapons)
Quote:
If they always carry the same thing with them, that would probably be okay, as the penalties to hit and damage would still be significant enough to merit the penalty, but it sin't in the spirit of what I envisioned (whatever that means). However, there might actually be a difference: if a character picks up a stick of the ground and hits someone with it, that's an improvised club; if they carry the same stick all the time for the purpose of hitting people, then it's just a poorly made club. |
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08-05-2020, 09:13 AM | #10 | |
Join Date: Jun 2006
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Re: Vow (Use only improvised weapons/carries no weapons)
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Given that some "improvised" weapons have no to hit or damage penalties, some have ranges, and some are impaling, use only improvised weapons is arguably worth -0 points, though you'll suffer one of those penalties often enough that -4 or -5 isn't unreasonable. Use no weapons is worth whatever that gives you for your unarmed attacks vs weapons somebody like you would otherwise be expected to use (i.e. it's worth less the more martial arts buffs you have that avoid those drawbacks). "Carries" no weapons I'd hesitate to give you more than a quirk for if an ally can just hand you one and you are perfectly willing to use it, *especially* in a DF game where munchkinizing to the letter rather than the spirit of a vow like that is so often the rule of the day.
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Tags |
improvised weapon, vow |
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