Single-Handed Fighting

Skarg · 07-18-2018, 01:22 PM

I tend to think that fictional and artistic warriors not using their off-hand tends to be a matter of style and of a lack of concern and/or knowledge for realistic tactical considerations.

On the other hand, I might say that in reality, a competent warrior who has the time & opportunity to use a shield but is just using a one-handed melee weapon, is going to fight a lot differently than one with a shield - he'll be more focused on not getting hit by paying attention to reach and footwork and what can be done with the sword, as opposed to keeping the shield involved. And that (like most defensive considerations) is a gap in what TFT represents, except abstractly and lightly in the tradeoff of shield protection vs DX penalty. It'd be slightly more present if there were no -0 DX shields.

There could be an IQ 8 (1) talent for fighting without a shield & instead using mobility to try to avoid being hit, giving melee attacks a -1 DX.

Unfortunately the whole system already has a tight balance that under-represents avoiding getting hit, and adding anything tips various scales, and there are already several suggestions for various tweaks.

07-18-2018, 01:22 PM	#3
Skarg Join Date: May 2015	Re: Single-Handed Fighting I tend to think that fictional and artistic warriors not using their off-hand tends to be a matter of style and of a lack of concern and/or knowledge for realistic tactical considerations. On the other hand, I might say that in reality, a competent warrior who has the time & opportunity to use a shield but is just using a one-handed melee weapon, is going to fight a lot differently than one with a shield - he'll be more focused on not getting hit by paying attention to reach and footwork and what can be done with the sword, as opposed to keeping the shield involved. And that (like most defensive considerations) is a gap in what TFT represents, except abstractly and lightly in the tradeoff of shield protection vs DX penalty. It'd be slightly more present if there were no -0 DX shields. There could be an IQ 8 (1) talent for fighting without a shield & instead using mobility to try to avoid being hit, giving melee attacks a -1 DX. Unfortunately the whole system already has a tight balance that under-represents avoiding getting hit, and adding anything tips various scales, and there are already several suggestions for various tweaks.