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Old 01-11-2018, 08:44 AM   #21
mlangsdorf
 
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Originally Posted by Hide View Post
But, can't a buckler or a shield block an attack just once?
If you're not using the advance rules in Martial Arts, you can only block one attack per turn. That's still one less attack you have to Dodge.

I'm assuming you're a fairly competent swashbuckler, with a Dodge of 11 and enough Acrobatics to make one Dodge per turn an Acrobatic Dodge. Assuming no predictive shots, you've got an 85% of Dodging a single arrow per turn, a 50% chance of dodging two, a 33% chance of Dodging three, and a 20% chance of Dodging four arrows in a turn.

If you had a DB 1 shield and Shield-16, you have an 85% chance of blocking the first arrow, a 90% chance of Acrobatically Dodging the second, and 75% chance of Dodging each of the next the next two - which puts your cumulative chances of avoiding two arrows at 75%, three arrows at 57%, and four at 40%.

So picking up a shield gives you a better chance of getting through 3 arrow hits per turn than you had of getting through two arrow hits without a shield.

Even if you had a DB0 shield boss buckler, it still ups your chances of getting through two arrow hits per turn unscathed by 10%. But get a fine light balanced light shield - they're cheap for what they do for you. They also give you defense options when fighting people with flails or extremely heavy weapons: most pole-arms can break fencing weapons, so having a shield is useful.
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Old 01-11-2018, 08:53 AM   #22
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Originally Posted by gibberingmouther View Post
where are the rules for this? i could use something like this for my homebrew and innate attack ki blasts or lasers.
Martial Arts p 121 "Tricky Shooting".
or
Gun Fu p 11 "Tricky Shooting".

Surprisingly, it doesn't seem to be an option in Tactical Shooting.
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Old 01-11-2018, 12:26 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by mlangsdorf View Post
Martial Arts p 121 "Tricky Shooting".
or
Gun Fu p 11 "Tricky Shooting".

Surprisingly, it doesn't seem to be an option in Tactical Shooting.
Tactical Shooting assumes you are using Martial Arts.
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Old 01-11-2018, 12:39 PM   #24
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Default Re: Countering archers and bows?

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Well there's your problem. And the fact that you have had archers attack you may be your GM's way to exploiting this weakness clueing in the group that they need to get some range. So that's something to discuss with the group.
That would be my thought. There are three valid responses to this situation.
  1. Get angry at the GM for violating the agreed upon "no ranged attacks" policy.
  2. (If no such policy was agreed upon) Suck it up and learn a method of fighting back, the most obvious being to take up a bow yourself.
  3. (If you refuse fight with ranged attacks and the GM refuses not to) Accept the fact that if you stay in this game you're going to be at constant threat of becoming a pincushion.
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Old 01-11-2018, 01:04 PM   #25
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Default Re: Countering archers and bows?

Note that the (probably) most iconic swashbucklers in fiction were primarily ranged fighters: musketeers.
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Old 01-11-2018, 01:28 PM   #26
AlexanderHowl
 
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Default Re: Countering archers and bows?

But dodging does not get worse with each previous dodge, not unless you are using optional rules (which would definitely be biased against melee characters), so a character with Dodge 11 always has a 60% of dodging an attack (after accounting for critical successes on the part of the attacker). Acrobatic dodges increase it to 83%, while a DB 1 shield increase it to 73% (88% during an acrobatic dodge).
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Old 01-11-2018, 01:44 PM   #27
gruundehn
 
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Default Re: Countering archers and bows?

Question about the setting. If you are running a swashbuckler, why are you facing archers? Historically the swashbuckler came into being as firearms reduced the usefulness of armor, so a pointy stick was more effective against an opponent. Your ranged opponents should be firing muskets or something similar - firing two or three times a minute - 60 rounds. Plenty of time to go at them and force them to flee, leaving their weapons behind or to force them to fight with melee weapons to your advantage.
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Old 01-11-2018, 01:48 PM   #28
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Default Re: Countering archers and bows?

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Originally Posted by gruundehn View Post
Question about the setting. If you are running a swashbuckler, why are you facing archers? Historically the swashbuckler came into being as firearms reduced the usefulness of armor, so a pointy stick was more effective against an opponent. Your ranged opponents should be firing muskets or something similar - firing two or three times a minute - 60 rounds. Plenty of time to go at them and force them to flee, leaving their weapons behind or to force them to fight with melee weapons to your advantage.
There's also the Swashbuckler template in Dungeon Fantasy - a sword-specialist.
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Old 01-11-2018, 03:41 PM   #29
mlangsdorf
 
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Default Re: Countering archers and bows?

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But dodging does not get worse with each previous dodge, not unless you are using optional rules (which would definitely be biased against melee characters), so a character with Dodge 11 always has a 60% of dodging an attack (after accounting for critical successes on the part of the attacker). Acrobatic dodges increase it to 83%, while a DB 1 shield increase it to 73% (88% during an acrobatic dodge).
If you have a 50% chance of doing something one time, you have a 6% chance of doing it four times in a row, because that's how iterative probability works.

If the objection to a shield is "it won't protect me against a second arrow in the same turn" then my argument is dodges, unpenalized or not, will not reliably protect against multiple arrows per turn. With a shield, Luck, and Acrobatics, you can probably 2-3 arrow hits a turn for several turns while closing with a nearby archer. Doing the same thing without the shield is a lot harder unless you have Dodge 13+ and most GMs tend to frown on that.
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Old 01-11-2018, 03:49 PM   #30
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Default Re: Countering archers and bows?

Broadly speaking, the way you counter people with longer range than you is by not getting into fights at long range. How viable this is depends on the scenario and the GM.
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