Talent/Spell of the Week: Quick Draw (Weapon)

[Shostak]

At only one talent point and with the low IQ prerequisite of 8, this talent appears indispensable for adventurers, especially those who might have reason to not walk around with a drawn weapon. But with closer scrutiny, Quick Draw quickly loses appeal. Sure, those with the talent can use a weapon the same turn they ready it on adjDX-2 roll, which is admittedly valuable--possibly even life saving. However, on a failed roll, the weapon is not readied and there is even a chance of dropping it due to an especially bad roll. There is also the fact that Quick Draw must be learned according to weapon type, which means that someone who knows Quick Draw (Axe/Mace) can’t use it to whip out a dagger and attack on the same turn, even if they have the Knife talent.

Quick Draw, from my perspective, is not worth the cost, and one has to wonder about the playtesting involved in its evolution. This is especially true when comparing it to Thrown Weapons, which would allow a single character to ready a knife, axe, mace, even a spear and make a thrown attack (with increased accuracy) in one turn with only a to-hit roll. After such comparison, it is clear that either a.) Quick Draw is underpowered, b.) Thrown Weapons is overpowered, or c.) both. If one is using Thrown Weapons as written and is not averse to house rules, the simplest fix is to just eliminate the roll for Quick Draw, though it still seems underpowered in comparison. If I had my druthers, Thrown Weapons would be also be nerfed, but that is the subject of a separate thread. Quick Draw is also strange when one considers the chance a character forced into HTH has to draw a dagger-- there is no die roll in that situation that might result in a fumbled weapon. Perhaps Quick Draw should let one automatically ready an HTH-suitable weapon?

In my games, I see inexperienced players and those with characters with high adjDX eyeing Quick Draw, but more often than not they pass it over.

Conversation starters:

• How often do you see players choosing Quick Draw for characters in your games?
• Do you use Quick Draw as written, or do you house rule it?
• If the latter, what changes have you made?
• Have you any spectacular incidents involving Quick Draw to share from your table?
• Are there any talents with which you think Quick Draw works especially well?
• Are there any other imbalances between Quick Draw and other talents?