Quote:
Originally Posted by brianfb
Forget his example. For the same amount of points it takes to make a viable archer, you can make a BOSS swordsman, that I think I,what he I getting at. In low point games having an attribute over 13 and a skill over 14 can be very expensive I terms of opportunity cost in character points. In the games I run and play in, it might take years of playtime to reach a skill of 20 in anything.
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At low skill point levels, if you have range the archer will win most times as the swordsman cannot do anything at range until he can close in on the archer and the archer gets multiple shots at fairly good skill and the swordsman's defenses are just bad against it and after a single hit by an impaling weapon going 1d+1 damage low point characters are most likely slowed. After being slowed the archer can just then alternate running away a bit and then aiming and shooting.
A skill 14 archer with aim for 1 second gives effective skill of 17, thus hitting well out to 10-15 yards and if the swordsman is starting at further out by aiming beforehand can do a shot first at 20+ yards.
Remember that in GURPS combat at low points a single 1d+1 impaling attack hit is really really bad unless you have a heavy armor.
If you are in heavy armor then you likely move slower in low point games, and then the archer can just run away a bit and shoot and repeat. And while heavy armor forces the archer to use Bodkin Points reducing the damage multiple to 1x and thus forcing really 2-4 hits instead of 1-2, the archer gets those things for free while the swordsman is running around..
It is in higher point games that the archer gets in trouble unless you allow predictive shot and/or multiple rapid strikes with weapon master/heroic archer. As at those games the archer speed advantage is less as the swordsman can carry heavier armor before being encumbered and parry missile weapon skill or just plain high dodge makes the attacks ineffective.