untalented weapon usage

timm meyers · 09-16-2023, 11:32 AM

A club can be used by anyone (p.122) at no DX penalty.
I think replacing the weapon damage of the untrained character swinging the sword or spear etc with club damage would be more appropriate than DX modifiers.
Grandma is just as likely to hit you with a broom or a spear as she desperately defends the cookie jar but lacking the pole weapon talent is unlikely to cause stabbing damage as she swats away at the perpetrator. (Of course, the minimum ST requirements would still cause DX modifiers if she is weak and frail.)

Guns and crossbows? One of the main historical results of these "simple to aim" weapons was the effectiveness they had with minimal or no training. Again grandma on the porch with a gun is not to be taken lightly. The higher DX modifier for guns seems to be more trying to represent the mechanics of loading, I guess?

This topic is innately complicated and any simplified system like TFT is not going to be completely balanced. Myself I would stick with the -4 DX all round, but I'm old and find change difficult (5/IQ roll at least).

09-16-2023, 11:32 AM	#5
timm meyers Join Date: May 2020	Re: untalented weapon usage A club can be used by anyone (p.122) at no DX penalty. I think replacing the weapon damage of the untrained character swinging the sword or spear etc with club damage would be more appropriate than DX modifiers. Grandma is just as likely to hit you with a broom or a spear as she desperately defends the cookie jar but lacking the pole weapon talent is unlikely to cause stabbing damage as she swats away at the perpetrator. (Of course, the minimum ST requirements would still cause DX modifiers if she is weak and frail.) Guns and crossbows? One of the main historical results of these "simple to aim" weapons was the effectiveness they had with minimal or no training. Again grandma on the porch with a gun is not to be taken lightly. The higher DX modifier for guns seems to be more trying to represent the mechanics of loading, I guess? This topic is innately complicated and any simplified system like TFT is not going to be completely balanced. Myself I would stick with the -4 DX all round, but I'm old and find change difficult (5/IQ roll at least).