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Old 09-11-2019, 09:38 AM   #121
Polydamas
 
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Default Re: So how exactly do people fight with scythes?

And making a spearhead is a quick task for any blacksmith if you are too poor and remote to buy one from a peddler or at a fair, and reworking a scythe blade to mount parallel to a pole is not that hard. We see a fair number of them in pictures of peasant revolts in 17th/18th/19th century Europe alongside clubs-with-iron-studs, flails, pikes, and swords. Medieval laws on the minimum equipment which men had to possess don't present staff weapon as serious expenses, like they present crossbows, iron armour, and horses.
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Old 09-14-2019, 01:25 PM   #122
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Default Re: So how exactly do people fight with scythes?

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This is almost the pre-modern equivalent of the "chainsaw as a weapon" meme isn't it? Some psychological effect against inexperienced opponents (and maybe experienced ones hampered by laughter), and the potential to inflict a nasty injury if they connect properly … but very hard to land an effective hit with and somewhat dangerous to the user...
Less chainsaw, more shovel. Most people are unlikely to hurt themselves with it in combat, unlike the chainsaw.
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Old 09-20-2019, 09:54 PM   #123
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Default Re: So how exactly do people fight with scythes?

...and 13 pages later, you guys are still arguing about this.

That's the most entertaining part of this whole thing. :)
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Old 09-21-2019, 08:37 AM   #124
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Default Re: So how exactly do people fight with scythes?

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Originally Posted by tshiggins View Post
...and 13 pages later, you guys are still arguing about this.

That's the most entertaining part of this whole thing. :)
13 pages is nothing - in a few days, this thread will have been started a full 10 years ago.
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Old 09-22-2019, 10:48 AM   #125
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Default Re: So how exactly do people fight with scythes?

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Less chainsaw, more shovel. Most people are unlikely to hurt themselves with it in combat, unlike the chainsaw.
Most likely suggestion for why Leatherface wears a mask - because the last time he tried to murder someone with a chainsaw the chain came off and hit him in the face.
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Old 09-23-2019, 11:21 AM   #126
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Default Re: So how exactly do people fight with scythes?

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Most likely suggestion for why Leatherface wears a mask - because the last time he tried to murder someone with a chainsaw the chain came off and hit him in the face.
Pretty plausible really. If you have to chose between attacking somebody with a chainsaw or a scythe, use the scythe. It's safer, easier to hit with, and likely more effective when you do. It's actually quite rare for somebody to die from a chainsaw accident - you get long shallow cuts, rather than deep ones that are likely to reach something vital.
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Old 09-23-2019, 01:15 PM   #127
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Default Re: So how exactly do people fight with scythes?

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Most likely suggestion for why Leatherface wears a mask - because the last time he tried to murder someone with a chainsaw the chain came off and hit him in the face.
That could make for an interesting dark comedy. A psycho killer that keeps injuring himself trying various classic horror weapons.
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Old 09-30-2019, 02:15 PM   #128
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Default Re: So how exactly do people fight with scythes?

Easy, just bend it 90 degree an-

I jest. :)

Seriously though, couldn't you basically stab someone with the scythe by swinging it like an impractically huge and weird-balanced pick with the added bonus of being able to 'hook' someone with it.

Aside of the deadliness if you actually do nail a hit, a staff would probably be more useful in an actual fight though, especially if your opponent is also armed.
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Old 09-30-2019, 02:27 PM   #129
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Default Re: So how exactly do people fight with scythes?

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Seriously though, couldn't you basically stab someone with the scythe by swinging it like an impractically huge and weird-balanced pick with the added bonus of being able to 'hook' someone with it.
In principle sure (in fact, that's presumably what Sw/Imp on the scythe weapon is supposed to represent). Just unlikely to actually work. One of the issues with the way GURPS handles weapons is that there's no way of representing different weapons within the same basic class being harder to use than others, and even for weapons of different type, the E/A/H/VH skill distribution doesn't really have enough range.
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Old 09-30-2019, 04:30 PM   #130
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Default Re: So how exactly do people fight with scythes?

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In principle sure (in fact, that's presumably what Sw/Imp on the scythe weapon is supposed to represent). Just unlikely to actually work. One of the issues with the way GURPS handles weapons is that there's no way of representing different weapons within the same basic class being harder to use than others, and even for weapons of different type, the E/A/H/VH skill distribution doesn't really have enough range.
Some weapons, like the trident, have an inherent penalty to their use, requiring a Perk (Exotic Weapon Training, IIRC) to use at full skill. There could also be room for requiring success by a certain margin for full effect (otherwise reduce damage by some fraction, or even change damage type) for some weapons, to represent landing a proper edge-on hit being harder to manage with an axe (or, here, scythe) than landing a solid hit with a round mace. Other game systems could easily do something similar - perhaps in d20 a scythe needs to beat the enemy’s AC by 2 for full effect - even if they don’t normally use any sort of Margin of Success mechanics.
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