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Old 02-07-2010, 01:42 AM   #11
Darekun
 
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Default Re: Unarmed Parrying - Brawling Weapons?

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Originally Posted by Figleaf23 View Post
I'm not sure that's a completely reliable distinction.
Frankly, I'm not sure anything that distinguishes between parry and block can be both useful and reliable. There is a "shields are for parrying" school of thought :J
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Old 02-07-2010, 07:02 AM   #12
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Default Re: Unarmed Parrying - Brawling Weapons?

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Originally Posted by Darekun View Post
Frankly, I'm not sure anything that distinguishes between parry and block can be both useful and reliable. There is a "shields are for parrying" school of thought :J
I guess that's what I'm coming around to, but I hesitate because I wonder if I'm missing something about the designers' thinking about block/parry distinctions. Or maybe clearer distinctions need to be made ... e.g. a "Block" is something done with the off-hand, using an object that has not been used as a weapon that round. (I don't know, I'm just spit-balling here.)
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Old 02-07-2010, 11:38 AM   #13
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Default Re: Unarmed Parrying - Brawling Weapons?

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Frankly, I'm not sure anything that distinguishes between parry and block can be both useful and reliable. There is a "shields are for parrying" school of thought :J
In GURPS, its something like "an active defense with a Shield or Buckler is a Block, and an active defense with any other weapon or body part is a Parry", if I recall Martial Arts correctly. It has a pretty good explanation of how the GURPS terms of art are different from their use in other contexts.
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Old 02-07-2010, 03:07 PM   #14
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Default Re: Unarmed Parrying - Brawling Weapons?

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Originally Posted by Figleaf23 View Post
I guess that's what I'm coming around to, but I hesitate because I wonder if I'm missing something about the designers' thinking about block/parry distinctions.
Well, the differences I've found are thus:
  • You can block slow ranged attacks, like arrows, napalm jets, and thrown knives.
  • Blocking multiple times per turn is at -5 per(with MA) or disallowed(before MA), while parrying multiple times per turn is at -4 per.
  • Injuring yourself by punching a shield doesn't work quite the same as getting parried by a weapon whose attack is a shield bash.
  • Some techniques and weapons, especially in MA, apply different modifiers to blocks and parries.
  • The Blockable limitation(Powers), the Enhanced Defense advantage, and the technique-building rules in MA apply separately to blocks and parries.
  • By RAW, you can't use two shields for separate blocks. I've asked, and this appears to be simply an oversight - they hadn't considered the possibility of someone with Extra Arms using them for shields. Or a human using a pair of sharpened shields, or the like.

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Originally Posted by Figleaf23 View Post
Or maybe clearer distinctions need to be made ... e.g. a "Block" is something done with the off-hand, using an object that has not been used as a weapon that round. (I don't know, I'm just spit-balling here.)
You run into the main-gauche there. From MA122: "In GURPS, these terms have different meanings. “Parry” refers to either kind of defense made with a weapon or a limb. “Block” describes either type of defense executed with a shield." There's further discussion there, too.
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