12-17-2010, 02:27 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Boston, Hub of the Universe!
|
[MA] Weapon Question: Rope Kusari?
A Kusari is a weighted chain wielded in two hands (B209). Martial Arts mentions the Rope Dart (p222) and it has a listing under Kusari skill (p228), but clearly its attached line it not made of chain (or even rope) - a half pound weight for 4 yards of line makes it light-weight cord.
So, assuming the ends were similarly weighted, what would be the stats for a kusari made of rope instead of chain? My thoughts: From reverse-engineering the kusari, kusarijutte, and rope dart, it looks like a kusari chain is 1 pound per yard which doesn't include the weights on the ends (probably about 0.5 pounds each). 3/8" rope (B288) is 0.15 pounds per yard, so a 4 yard rope is 0.6 pounds, plus 1 pound for end-weights. We'll posit slightly thinner rope and call it 1.5 pounds; cost is very low (call it $15). A weighted scarf (MA pp224, 227) can act as a flail for sw cr damage, and it has a Reach of 1. Our 4 yard weighted rope probably doesn't do quite as much damage as a 4 yard chain kusari (which does sw+2 cr), so we'll call it sw+1 cr. Parry penalty is the same for all weapons using the Kusari skill, so our weighted rope should have the same. In conclusion: a weighted rope does slightly less damage, costs and weighs considerably less, and has the huge downside that a weapon doing 3 or more points of cutting damage will cut right through it.
__________________
Demi Benson |
12-17-2010, 08:13 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Charlotte, North Caroline, United States of America, Earth?
|
Re: [MA] Weapon Question: Rope Kusari?
this actually makes for a cool character concept: the stable hand who uses a length of knotted rope as a kusari. I like it.
__________________
Hydration is key |
12-20-2010, 07:33 AM | #3 |
Join Date: Jan 2009
|
Re: [MA] Weapon Question: Rope Kusari?
I knew a summer-camp knotwork instructor who practiced what could be a Combat Art or Sport form of this - he had a length of rope with a heavy stopper-knot on either end. He could maneuver it fairly well, and used to put on demonstrations for his students... he sparred occasionally with another instructor who'd practiced with staff and sword in SCA, and its slow speed seemed to limit its utility, but I was always glad not to be in reach of the thing!
So, yes, I'd say definitely possible, and possibly even effective, assuming it's made by someone planning more for combat utility than looking nifty at campfires. |
12-21-2010, 01:56 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Maitland, NSW, Australia
|
Re: [MA] Weapon Question: Rope Kusari?
Its slower speed is probably worth a -1 to skill compared to metal equivalents.
|
12-21-2010, 07:48 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Oregon
|
Re: [MA] Weapon Question: Rope Kusari?
This sounds kind of like the Chinese 'Meteor Hammer', which was a heavy weight on the end of a rope. If I recall correctly, it was used more like a rope dart (throwing and retrieving) than a kusari (swinging to strike), in addition to having just a single weight. Anyone want to posit stats for such a weapon?
|
01-06-2011, 10:00 AM | #6 | |
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Boston, Hub of the Universe!
|
Re: [MA] Weapon Question: Rope Kusari?
Quote:
Think of it this way: spinning poi (light cord with weighted ball at the end) is far easier to get up to speed than swinging a rope of similar weight (constant density profile). The only thing going for kusari of chain is that they can't be cut with a realistic melee weapon. And for a weighted rope even that can be overcome with the right application of technology - silk or aramid rope, or reinforcing the rope with thin wires.
__________________
Demi Benson |
|
01-06-2011, 10:28 AM | #7 | |
Join Date: Jul 2008
|
Re: [MA] Weapon Question: Rope Kusari?
Quote:
__________________
I don't know any 3e, so there is no chance that I am talking about 3e rules by accident. |
|
01-06-2011, 12:50 PM | #8 |
GURPS Line Editor
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
|
Re: [MA] Weapon Question: Rope Kusari?
A chain, being made of denser stuff than rope, has a much lower overall surface area than a rope of comparable mass. This greatly mitigates the drag it feels, improving its speed as a weapon (basically, the long, skinny version of why a 4-lb. steel bar is more maneuverable than a 4-lb. boffer, even if the boffer has all of its weight at the far end as boffers often do). You could of course use a rope with the same surface area as a chain instead of the same mass, but then it would be unduly fragile.
__________________
Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News] |
01-06-2011, 12:58 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
|
Re: [MA] Weapon Question: Rope Kusari?
A chain also hits ahrder and is less flexable when striking a soft object then a rope.
|
01-06-2011, 01:09 PM | #10 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
|
Re: [MA] Weapon Question: Rope Kusari?
My SO spins poi, and has quite some skill. Speed isn't an issue. Damage, or HP of the rope, might be a serious issue, but not speed.
|
Tags |
martial arts |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|