Character Optimization: Best and worst combat Techniques

[PK]

The guideline (and it is a good one) is that you shouldn't have more than 3 techniques in a skill unless they'll be combined together regularly. Since you could certainly combine Crack and Ground Fighting, there's no need to count them as two techniques for this guideline.

[TheMorten]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

Sure it can, it helps you feint your foe and helps you resist his feints against you.

Ah, I completely forgot that... I was thinking about the alternate use of feints which decrease the opponent's attack skill on the next turn. My bad. :)

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by Rev. Pee Kitty

The guideline (and it is a good one) is that you shouldn't have more than 3 techniques in a skill unless they'll be combined together regularly. Since you could certainly combine Crack and Ground Fighting, there's no need to count them as two techniques for this guideline.

Even if they are combined regularly why would having a level in 4 techniques be better than a level in the base skill? Regularly combined I could see doing three techniques but even if combined I don't see why raising the base skill by one and lowering the techniques by 1 isn't better if you have 4 techniques.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

Even if they are combined regularly why would having a level in 4 techniques be better than a level in the base skill? Regularly combined I could see doing three techniques but even if combined I don't see why raising the base skill by one and lowering the techniques by 1 isn't better if you have 4 techniques.

Because if you're using them together, they stack. So lowering each of your techniques by one and buying up one level of skill lowers your performance by one if you're using two of them together.

[Bruno]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

What doe you mean by this. The defensive use of feint is in resisting opponents feints. So if in say turn 1 you feint your opponent and your opponent feints you, it helps twice that turn.

Martial Arts also introduces a kind of feint, called a Defensive Feint, which penalizes the opponents rolls to attack you, instead of penalizing his defenses to your attack.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

I understand the usefulness of Feint (Feint) alone, but Feint (Beat) and Feint (Ruse) don't seem worth the trouble - Beats are vastly underpowered, and so are Ruses (because the only reason to use a Ruse is if you have lower DX than IQ, not if your enemy's IQ is notably lower than yours)

Ah, I also rule that Ruses have to be resisted with Per or IQ-based weapon skill (Tactics is small units combat, not hand-to-hand duels) and that Beats have to be resisted with ST-based skill.

Basically, I disallow the 'always use DX-based skill' option that makes it impossible to specifically target an opponent's weaknesses and discourages realistic concepts such as a well-rounded fighter.

[blacksmith]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Because if you're using them together, they stack. So lowering each of your techniques by one and buying up one level of skill lowers your performance by one if you're using two of them together.

Got a specific example?

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

Got a specific example?

Counterattack Arm Lock, for example.

Or Targeted Attack (Stamp Kick/Face).

[Dinadon]

Originally Posted by blacksmith

Got a specific example?

Without wanting to specify a specific skill:

Assume minimum 4 point investment in skill, with skill at 15.

Buy Ground Fighting up to skill-0 [5]
Buy Targeted Attack (Eye) up to skill-4 [5]
Buy Counterattack up to skill-0 [6]
And assume one other technique.

At present when you combine GF, TA and CA you'll start at skill-4, which is 11. Taking 1 point out each skill to increase your base skill to 16 means that GF, TA and CA are each reduced by 1. This means combining them is now at skill-7 and you will be rolling against a score of 9, two worse than before you switched around the points.

So in summary, if you have 4 maximised techniques and you want to regularly use 3 together, dropping all the techniques by 1 to increase skill will be bad for the three you want to use regularly, as they will have a net drop of 2. You could drop the 4th technique by 4 points (or by 3 and take 1 from one of the others), but if this your secondary technique you'll also have had a net drop of 1-3 for when you want to use it.

Though admittedly combining three techniques is generally hard to do, two pairs of techniques is probably more likely.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Dinadon

Though admittedly combining three techniques is generally hard to do, two pairs of techniques is probably more likely.

Counterattack Targeted Attack (Boxing Uppercut/Jaw), Ground Fighting Targeted Attack (Head Butt/Nose) or even Counterattack Dual-Weapon Attack Targeted Attack (Shortword Swing/Arm).