[MA] Southern Kung Fu, the Common Folk and Tong Hatchetmen

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by aesir23

Ah, I hadn't thought of that. Another thought is to limit the parry bonus even more: only to retreating parries against the foe who attacked you. And perhaps apply that to the whole benefit!

By RAW, that counts as another drawback for the Technique and so gets the default up to +0. I'm also not sure it's completely necessary. True, a boxer will not consider other threats than his opponent in the ring, but that's a function of his specific sport training. There's no reason that a Defensive Jab needs to lower his guard relative to other potential attackers any more than a normal Defensive Attack.

As for requiring Retreat, that's not a meaningful drawback. In practice, the jabbing character will always attempt to Retreat or Sideslip anyway.

Originally Posted by aesir23

True, but I think that Evaluate is a less potent option than AoD. At least it's a very unpopular option.

All-Out Defence doesn't just allow a +2 to Parry. You can also get a bonus to Dodge and move around, which is the best way to safely get somewhere while in combat. And you can get two Active Defences against each attack, which is huge. So even if Defensive Jab allows a +2 to Parry, that's not replacing AoD.

I agree that Evaluate is not a desirable combat option, as written. Especially not in the Basic Set. MA went a long way toward fixing that, but in my game, I also double the 'to hit' bonus from Evaluate. Makes it a lot more popular.

Originally Posted by aesir23

Yes, this makes me wonder if it shouldn't be it's own skill, like Fast-Draw. Or perhaps it's simply another specialty of Fast-Draw. Fast-Draw (Reverse Grip).

Eh, it's fine the way it is. I'm more concerned wtih Fast-Draw*, really, but that's way off-topic here.

*I disagree that every speciality should be its own skill. No default between drawing a knife and a sword seems harsh. I'd prefer to have just one Fast-Draw skill, with weapon Bulk giving a penalty along with position, with specific weapons and holster locations being Techniques.