Best melee weapon for a ST 16 char

[chris1982]

Hi guys,

What do you think is the best TL 3 melee weapon for a very strong human character in a fantasy campaign?

I'm leaning towards a Falchion and Shield combo, but the dueling bill is also a very nice weapon - as is the flail...

[DanHoward]

You have the ST to wear all the armour you want. May as well get a two-handed weapon and forego the shield.

[kure]

Originally Posted by chris1982

Hi guys,

What do you think is the best TL 3 melee weapon for a very strong human character in a fantasy campaign?

I'm leaning towards a Falchion and Shield combo, but the dueling bill is also a very nice weapon - as is the flail...

Dueling Halberd, from MA.

[Nymdok]

Throwing Axe!
It is my single favorite melee weapon for Low/Tech settings.

You can swing it.
You can throw it.
Throwing it is DX/E.
Swining it is DX/A.
Its cheap and easy to replace.
The same skill works for maces too.


For st 16 it will do SW+2=(2d+2)+2 = 2D+4 (or 3D) damage. Which means your looking to do about 10 a lick.

Its parry is 0U so a shield is a good companion or Rapid Recovery if you have the FP to spend.

Since encumbrance is probably not a problem for you, bring no less than 3 wherever you go :)

Nymdok

[Kalzazz]

Id get an axe and shield. Make sure to get the axe Dwarvenized

[Kalzazz]

Er, yeah . . . what was said about Throwing Axe! Its as good as an axe, but throwable!

Get it balanced, fine, dwarven for extra fun

However, you only have 51lbs of encumbrance to work with here before you start being encumbered and your dodge and move goes down, so you cant go overboard on armor, weapons and shield unless you dont mind being Captain Immobile

[mlangsdorf]

A one-handed, spiked axe or a longsword, backed up by a shield, are by personal favorites.

Shield lets you do Shield Rushes and block missile attacks.
Cutting/Impaling weapons let you do effective swung damage against most foes, backed up by impaling damage if you need to target the eyes/vitals/chinks in armor against heavily-armored foes. Being strong, you already do good damage, so getting a really big weapon is often overkill - tactical flexibility is better.

[DanHoward]

Originally Posted by Kalzazz

However, you only have 51lbs of encumbrance to work with here before you start being encumbered and your dodge and move goes down, so you cant go overboard on armor, weapons and shield unless you dont mind being Captain Immobile

With ST 16 a person could wear the heaviest armour in history and only be lightly encumbered. I second the motion for the Duelling Halberd from MA

[Agramer]

Shield+ Morningstar

Have high Shield skill and Morningstar .

Bash,Feint,Slam with shield(could add spike on shield also) and than atatck with Morningstar(all flails are -4 to parry/-2 to block;with prior Shield Bash or feint +deceptive attack = youll most likely hit whoever youre atatcking).

ST 16 = 2d+2 swing Morningstar =Sw+3 ::> 3d+1 dmg
-almost guarantees knockback,if targeting foot/leg/hand/arm almost guaranteed Crippling injury.

You could complement that with throwing axe or two.
When throwing axe at enemy hold Morningstar in Shield hand...just make sure to attack outside ETA1 range of enemy to have time for ready manoeuvre to ready Morningstar.

Ambidexterity aint bad idea,or off hand weapon training(Though am not sure does -4 for offhand applies to Shield feints/bashes).

If you get skill levels into 16+ range..than you could make dual weapon attack ,at -4, Shield bash + Morningstar attack for extra -bash -1 on opponents defenses....or feint+attack(though fent with -4 maybe aint such smart idea).

Haha,your PC could than get nickname "Kneesmasher" ...just target knees(or leg) Cripple enemy...move to another.When done with all return to finish or capture prostrated ones.

Though if your GM allows Weapon Master Advantage Id seriously give it a thought.For 20 points you would get improved parry(useles due nature of weapon),blocks(useful)....etc but most importantly +2/die of basic dmg. With 2d+2 Basic Swing thats +4 dmg (If you add Striking strength 1 for 5 points than its 3d-1 and +6 from Weapon master)

So with 25 CP more(Weaponmaster Morningstar and Striking strength 1) you would get equivalent of +70 CPs worth of Strength(Youd hit with force of ST 23) for 4d+2 dmg cr

[Landwalker]

Originally Posted by Agramer

Shield+ Morningstar

Have high Shield skill and Morningstar .

Bash,Feint,Slam with shield(could add spike on shield also) and than atatck with Morningstar(all flails are -4 to parry/-2 to block;with prior Shield Bash or feint +deceptive attack = youll most likely hit whoever youre atatcking).

ST 16 = 2d+2 swing Morningstar =Sw+3 ::> 3d+1 dmg
-almost guarantees knockback,if targeting foot/leg/hand/arm almost guaranteed Crippling injury.

You could complement that with throwing axe or two.
When throwing axe at enemy hold Morningstar in Shield hand...just make sure to attack outside ETA1 range of enemy to have time for ready manoeuvre to ready Morningstar.

Ambidexterity aint bad idea,or off hand weapon training(Though am not sure does -4 for offhand applies to Shield feints/bashes).

If you get skill levels into 16+ range..than you could make dual weapon attack ,at -4, Shield bash + Morningstar attack for extra -bash -1 on opponents defenses....or feint+attack(though fent with -4 maybe aint such smart idea).

Haha,your PC could than get nickname "Kneesmasher" ...just target knees(or leg) Cripple enemy...move to another.When done with all return to finish or capture prostrated ones.

I was just about to advocate for a flail, as well.

Don't forget, the big ol' defense penalties a flail causes an opponent to suffer makes Telegraphic Attacks a pretty viable option. You could be hitting the face or skull without much trouble, and causing Knockdown (at a considerable penalty) in addition to Knockback. And once an enemy is on the ground, they have to take a couple of seconds to get back up, so you have all the time in the world to Evaluate and then make another Telegraphic Attack (or even just a normal attack, at that point).

The fact that you can cap that off with what nearly amounts to "crippling injuries at will" makes it all the better. You probably won't run into many opponents who have a better-than-50% chance to Dodge, after all.

And, of course, if you're fighting one-on-one and don't need to worry about other opponents, after one Knockdown you can also start making All-Out Attacks to take advantage of your opponent's less than favorable positioning. The flail or morningstar is a perfect weapon for just piling on the hurt.

Cheers.