05-19-2022, 09:24 AM | #1 |
Join Date: May 2010
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[Martial Arts] New perk idea: Two and a Half Hands
Been thinking about how to make life a bit easier for players who want to play katana masters. Here's what I came up with:
Two and a Half HandsI think this is pretty balanced. It can be viewed as an extremely limited variant of Extra Arm (Weapon Mount), or a melee variant of the Army of One perk. Thoughts? (Also: I might be reinventing something that's already floating around somewhere out there, which I'd be curious to know if true.)
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Handle is a character from the Star*Drive setting (a.k.a. d20 Future), not my real name. |
05-19-2022, 12:31 PM | #2 | |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
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Re: [Martial Arts] New perk idea: Two and a Half Hands
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05-19-2022, 12:40 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: [Martial Arts] New perk idea: Two and a Half Hands
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05-19-2022, 12:51 PM | #4 | |
Join Date: May 2010
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Re: [Martial Arts] New perk idea: Two and a Half Hands
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Handle is a character from the Star*Drive setting (a.k.a. d20 Future), not my real name. |
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05-19-2022, 12:58 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: [Martial Arts] New perk idea: Two and a Half Hands
My guess would be the Perk would allow you to use the Two Handed Sword skill when wielding the katana in one hand (because with the Perk your one hand counts as two), as well as getting the improved damage and - IIRC - Parry associated with that skill (I think a katana swung with one hand has Parry 0U, while one swung with two hands has Parry 0, but I could be misremembering; regardless, as I noted in the Force Sword thread, there's an optional rule in Martial Arts that halves the iteration penalty for multiple parries for a two-handed weapon, and this would presumably benefit from that). This would let you wield another weapon or a shield in the offhand (or grapple a foe, drag a downed ally, etc), ride a horse into battle without being reliant on the Hands-Free Riding Technique, continue to fight effectively if one hand/arm is crippled, etc. Oh, and in a campaign inspired by Rurouni Kenshin, you could totally use battojutsu (which is very much a one-handed thing in that anime/manga) without having to rely on Broadsword skill.
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05-19-2022, 03:42 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Re: [Martial Arts] New perk idea: Two and a Half Hands
Looks good.
A nice combat perk, especially for one-armed characters. In a way, it's a variant on the Giant Weapons perk. |
05-19-2022, 05:04 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Central Europe
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Re: [Martial Arts] New perk idea: Two and a Half Hands
But so far I do not see a problem, I just see a way in which this perk makes a fighter more effective and removes an interesting, tactically meaningful choice (one-handed or two?)
It reminds me of how D&D 3e handles bastard swords: pay a Feat, get a one-handed weapon which does the next larger die than ordinary people's weapon. Mechanically simple and balanced but boring!
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"It is easier to banish a habit of thought than a piece of knowledge." H. Beam Piper This forum got less aggravating when I started using the ignore feature Last edited by Polydamas; 05-19-2022 at 06:05 PM. |
05-20-2022, 01:08 AM | #8 | |
Join Date: May 2010
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Re: [Martial Arts] New perk idea: Two and a Half Hands
Quote:
__________________
Handle is a character from the Star*Drive setting (a.k.a. d20 Future), not my real name. |
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05-20-2022, 02:26 AM | #9 | |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: [Martial Arts] New perk idea: Two and a Half Hands
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This also doesn't really reflect any possible real world training because most of the benefits of two-handed use are very much a consequence of grip. Although I am not sure why Weapon Adaptation doesn't work here. |
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05-20-2022, 05:22 AM | #10 |
Join Date: May 2018
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Re: [Martial Arts] New perk idea: Two and a Half Hands
I see it less as an Extra Arm (Weapon Mount; One/Two-Handed weapons only) and more like Striking ST (One/Two-Handed weapons only).
As for tactical choice, the most important benefit of one-handed weapons is being able to use a shield but given the character concept, I don't think that would be the case so I see no problem here. |
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