Parry Missile Weapons - too easy?

[Kaldrin]

Originally Posted by DAlillama

It's wort noting that a batter who hits the ball 33% of the time is considered exceptional, which can be considered a testament to how hard it is or an example of what ranged DAs look like, depending on interpretation.

Well, you have to consider that the pitcher is throwing the ball two to three times faster than any weapons would probably be thrown too.

[Gudiomen]

Originally Posted by Maz

But trick-throwing seems rather realistic. Another have already mentioned baseball but you also use it in basketball. And I could easily imagine it with daggers or axes.

It seems more realistic, but I can't see them being even close to as intricate and unpredictable as a melee attack can be. And that's what it boils down to.
As for basketball, it's clearly a use of Feint, you threaten to throw the ball one way which makes your opponent move that way, you then take advantage of that. You're not trying to trick the basket, which would be what a DA would be, or trying to hit other players in the head with the ball, which is just plain counter-productive, if somewhat funny.

Originally Posted by DAlillama

It's wort noting that a batter who hits the ball 33% of the time is considered exceptional, which can be considered a testament to how hard it is or an example of what ranged DAs look like, depending on interpretation.

Arrows are giro-stabilyzed, thrown weapons are somewhat controllable, but not even a tenth of the control of a melee attack, bullets fly very straight. You won't be seeing stuff nearly as tricky as a special technique developed just for tricking a batter. There's no "curve-arrow".
It's also worth noting that most professional baseball players, while skilled I'm sure, have neither DX14 nor Combat Reflexes.
They're also not just trying to deflect the ball, they're trying to throw it far away (aggressive parry), which is harder and might lower their chances. I bet trying to just put the bat between them and the ball is much easier. They're also parrying to the side, which is effectively a "sacrificial parry" intended to avoid the ball reaching the catcher (if I don't have my names mixed up).

[pawsplay]

My cousin and I performed some experiments in the mid 80s that suggested a staff can be used to block a shuriken. Admittedly, there was no deadly intent involved.

While I freely admit the extent to which this can be applied to real combat is questionable, I know that in the boffer sport I play in, blocking thrown weapons is definitely possible. When I was in fighting form, I probably had a better than 50% parrying success rate. Blocking a real life flying hatchet might be somewhat trickier, but in principle all you need to do is 1) stop its motion, and 2) watch out that it does not indirectly collide with you.

Our arrows are much slower than real arrows, so much so that a rule exists that forbids parrying them. Not much help there. I imagine it's just that much more difficult, as suggested by the modifiers for PMW. While an arrow is smaller and faster, it's also much easier to render harmless if struck.

[chris1982]

In the movie "Mind, Body and Kick Ass Moves" they show a report of a modern Japanese Kenjutsu master that quite reliably parries arrows shot at him. (Ok, it's a test situation, so +4 on the skill, but he gets 4 out of 5 or so if I remember correctly...)

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by chris1982

In the movie "Mind, Body and Kick Ass Moves" they show a report of a modern Japanese Kenjutsu master that quite reliably parries arrows shot at him. (Ok, it's a test situation, so +4 on the skill, but he gets 4 out of 5 or so if I remember correctly...)

if it's the same "MOdern Samurai" YouTubes I've seen, this guy also manages to cut a 6mm airsoft pellet shot at him, doing a draw and strike maneuver.

No report on how many times he missed...

[Maz]

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

if it's the same "MOdern Samurai" YouTubes I've seen, this guy also manages to cut a 6mm airsoft pellet shot at him, doing a draw and strike maneuver.

No report on how many times he missed...

Everyone crits onces in a while... but you still need an effective skill of 3 or more to be able to roll at all. Thats pretty nice considering the size modifier alone is more than -10.

[Cpt_Clyde]

My PCs asked if they could have this, and reading that it was not designated as "Cinimatic", I slapped on the "Must be Trained By a Master" requirement for my campaign (Lowish Fantasy?).
The only way I could see it fitting in my campaign was if a Monk used it, and since they already have the Trained by a Master, they can feel free to buy it up.
May differ from setting to setting of course.

[trooper6]

Originally Posted by Cpt_Clyde

My PCs asked if they could have this, and reading that it was not designated as "Cinimatic", I slapped on the "Must be Trained By a Master" requirement for my campaign (Lowish Fantasy?).
The only way I could see it fitting in my campaign was if a Monk used it, and since they already have the Trained by a Master, they can feel free to buy it up.
May differ from setting to setting of course.

I just want to point out that anyone can parry thrown weapons without the Parry Missile Weapon skill. That indicates a whole level of not cinematic right there.

Kromm says so here:
http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.p...17&postcount=2

[Wraithe]

Well, I'll certainly confirm via personal experience that's is repeatable and doable, at least with arrows.

As someone else noted, how believable something is, depends a lot on your viewpoint. Personally, I view parrying arrows to be easier than juggling. (OTOH - I can't juggle to save my life. :))

couple points:

1: "Parrying" a thrown/muscle-powered just requires that you knock it "off balance" and make the non-pointy part hit you.

2: It is also possible to parry "into" yourself. If you want to get "realistic", you can judge that if you fail by the negative modifier (-1 or -2), you parried, but have it affect the hit locations. (hitting a limb, rather than torso)

[B9anders]

Originally Posted by Maz

Everyone crits onces in a while... but you still need an effective skill of 3 or more to be able to roll at all. Thats pretty nice considering the size modifier alone is more than -10.

wait... I thought Sm only applied to the attacker, not the weapon?