Rapid Strike - how many?

[GWJ]

1. I can't find this, but I think I remember Rapid Strike allows for attacks with just ONE weapon - you can't Rapid Strike with two different weapons, you must use DWA for that. Is this true (if yes, where I can find this?) or I remember incorrectly?

2. Martial Arts p.120 (last sentence on this page) gives example of mixing Rapid Strike with DWA.

fighter holding multiple small weapons ready in each hand can throw them all! All attacks with one hand are a single Rapid Strike, with an extra -4 for
DualWeapon Attack and a further -4 for attacks with the “off” hand

Is there error in the book, optional overruling of Basic Set, or special case specific only to Rapid Strike with thrown weapons?

3. Martial Arts p.121 (first sentence on this page) gives example with TWO Rapid Strikes, one for each hand.

if our ninja had four shuriken in his right hand and two in his left, he could make two Rapid Strikes

The same question as above

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by GWJ

1. I can't find this, but I think I remember Rapid Strike allows for attacks with just ONE weapon - you can't Rapid Strike with two different weapons, you must use DWA for that. Is this true (if yes, where I can find this?) or I remember incorrectly?

I see no reason to believe that is the case. Rapid Strike requires that you "use a ready weapon to make the extra attack" (p370) but makes no mention of it needing to be the same weapon as you used for another attack.

Remember, in Basic Dual Weapon Attack is considered an optional, cinematic rule. It is not widely referenced in the the Basic Set. In Campaigns I only see it in the one box where it is defined, in the combat modifier tables, and in the index and table of contents.

Originally Posted by GWJ

2. Martial Arts p.120 (last sentence on this page) gives example of mixing Rapid Strike with DWA.

Is there error in the book, optional overruling of Basic Set, or special case specific only to Rapid Strike with thrown weapons?

Originally Posted by GWJ

3. Martial Arts p.121 (first sentence on this page) gives example with TWO Rapid Strikes, one for each hand.

The same question as above

Those aren't two different things, they're the exact same case. The first is the general description, the second is the example. I don't know what element of the Basic Set you think it's overruling, but it seems perfectly clear that this is a special case rule for the extremely cinematic case of making multiple throws from both hands at once. Because that's what it says it is!

[Anaraxes]

Yes, that's a special case for a fistful of thrown weapons. The introduction to that section seems pretty clear.

Originally Posted by MA120

Cinematic kung fu masters and ninja often hurl multiple throwing weapons with uncanny precision. To simulate this, the GM may wish to let Rapid Strike (p. B370) – including the cinematic version on p. 127 – work with thrown-weapon attacks.

[AlexanderHowl]

DWA is not cinematic, there are entire effective martial arts built around dual-wielding, and there have been plenty of pistol wielders who have used two weapons in the past. It is cinematic, however, to improve DWA as a technique unless it is a pistol or you have the appropriate combat perk (usually with a significant limitation, like DWA only against the same target or DWA only against adjacent targets). Of course, in a 'realistic' campaign, there is nothing preventing you from having a high enough melee skill that you do not need DWA, especially since an additional four ranks in a melee skill improves your Parry by two, regardless if you make two attacks or one attack per turn.

In the case of Rapid Strike, a rapid strike generally represents two attacks by the same ready weapon (Martial Arts, p. 127), though Combinations follow different rules (Martial Arts, p. 80). It is important to note that it is not necessarily two different actions by the same weapon, as a character with a heavy cutting weapon like a Great Axe might attack twice by cutting through the arm of their target so forcefully that they cut into the torso of their target or a character with heavy impaling weapon like a Warhammer might attack twice by impaling the arm of their target so forcefully that they impale the chest of the target. In any case, it is up to the GM whether a Rapid Strike is legal with the particular weapon.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by AlexanderHowl

In any case, it is up to the GM whether a Rapid Strike is legal with the particular weapon.

That's technically true, in that all rules are at GM discretion, but if you've got a citation suggesting that supports the GM picking and choosing which weapons to allow to Rapid Strike I'd like to see it.

[GodBeastX]

Dual Weapon Attack is -3 and doing a Rapid Strike with two different weapons allowed would be -6. I'm not sure why you would want to Rapid Strike with two different weapons?

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by GodBeastX

Dual Weapon Attack is -3 and doing a Rapid Strike with two different weapons allowed would be -6. I'm not sure why you would want to Rapid Strike with two different weapons?

If you wanted to melee attack two non-adjacent targets, DWA wouldn't work.

But in most cases, yeah.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by GodBeastX

Dual Weapon Attack is -3 and doing a Rapid Strike with two different weapons allowed would be -6. I'm not sure why you would want to Rapid Strike with two different weapons?

Quibble: DWA is -4