Unarmed parries while wielding a 2h weapon

[Mercutio Montecchi]

Hi, let's assume I have a character with 18 ST who wields a warhammer.

Warhammers are not exactly the best weapons for parrying (0U) so I'm looking into some defensive options for such a character.
I was wondering... can I wield such a weapon with two hands on my turn and then let one arm go, parry bare-handed and then attack again with my warhammer on my next turn?

[Bruno]

You can let one hand go as a free action, but after that your weapon is Unready, and you will need to take a Ready action before attacking again.

You might be able to put together a "parrying kick" technique with Martial Arts, but I'd better warn you that parrying a weapon with a limb invites the limb getting crippled or cut off. An arm is bad enough, but a crippled leg makes you fall over, which really stinks.

I would recommend making Defensive Attack maneuvers (again, from Martial Arts) if you're concerned about your defenses - there's a damage penalty, but you can bypass the U this way. Otherwise, consider investing in good armor, extra HP, and High Pain Threshold, or as high a Dodge as you can afford and your GM will allow.

[vierasmarius]

If you've used the warhammer to attack 2-handed on your turn, the Unbalanced trait means you've dedicated not just the weapon, but also both hands to the attack. You wouldn't be able to let go with one hand to parry.

If the weapon is balanced but you'd like to parry barehanded instead, I'd let you do so, but to use the weapon 2-handed again will take a Ready maneuver to change your grip.

[Dinadon]

Originally Posted by Bruno

You can let one hand go as a free action, but after that your weapon is Unready, and you will need to take a Ready action before attacking again.

I'm fairly certain any change in the number of hands on a weapon requires a Ready maneuver.

[Mercutio Montecchi]

So this basically means I should work on the "flying barbarian" character concept and be a warhammer-wielding, 18 ST ballerina with a high basic move, combat reflexes, and a lot of points in Acrobatics.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Dinadon

I'm fairly certain any change in the number of hands on a weapon requires a Ready maneuver.

There are several related Perks such as Grip mastery that can get around some of the limitations . . .

[Michele]

Originally Posted by Bruno

You can let one hand go as a free action, but after that your weapon is Unready, and you will need to take a Ready action before attacking again.

I agree.

You might be able to put together a "parrying kick" technique with Martial Arts, but I'd better warn you that parrying a weapon with a limb invites the limb getting crippled or cut off. An arm is bad enough, but a crippled leg makes you fall over, which really stinks.

I'd go the other way around. Parry with the warhammer. Now the opponent thinks you can't attack, because the warhammer is not ready. So kick him good now. If you are that strong to start with, and invest points both in the Kicking technique and in anything that increases your kick's damage, you might cripple a non-armored leg, and wound an armored one.

[Michele]

And, by the way... this will have surely come up somewhere... what if you feint, let's say successfully, then you parry with the 0U weapon? Can you then exploit your feint by attacking with something else than the weapon you feinted with, and get the bonus from your feint?

[Dustin]

Originally Posted by Dinadon

I'm fairly certain any change in the number of hands on a weapon requires a Ready maneuver.

I think you can free up one hand as a free action (both if you're just dropping the weapon, of course), but that doesn't mean the weapon is Ready for one-handed use (for weapons that permit it).

In other words, a Ready would still be required to change your grip from Two-handed (dropped one hand) to One-handed (ready to fight).

[vierasmarius]

Originally Posted by Michele

And, by the way... this will have surely come up somewhere... what if you feint, let's say successfully, then you parry with the 0U weapon? Can you then exploit your feint by attacking with something else than the weapon you feinted with, and get the bonus from your feint?

Well, you generally wouldn't be able to Parry after a Feint with an Unbalanced weapon (if I understand correctly). But you can (typically) claim the Feint bonus on any other attack you perform. One common tactic is to Feint with your main weapon or shield, and strike with the other.