Re: parrying or Multi Skills

["Steven E. Ames" <steve@virtual-voodoo.com>]

> True... from a costing standpoint it would be a something for nothing
> proposition. Your example above isn't quite correct (if memory serves)
> because in all actuality no one really every bought parts of the skill
> and I think quick draw was only base 100. (everyone just bought
> multi-attack and quick draw. Quick draw never really needed to be
bought
> above 12 (and realistically never above 9) so Warriors weren't paying
> much more back in the day.
>
> I'm not sure how to do it otherwise without increasing the complexity
> though.
> I shall ponder...

So I've been pondering. You know what bothers me most about the current
way weapon skills are setup? The fact that it implies equal skill with
all of the subskills (quickdraw, multi-attack, etc...). I know from
experience with the limited selection of weapons that I can use
adequately that this just isn't the case. Now I realize that these were
combined to increase versatility at the possible expense of realism. And
I agree with the change so far. It's pretty playable. However it does
seem to be a bit packaged. We long ago got rid of "packaged" thief
skills (sorry rogue... err... auger) so perhaps packaging warrior skills
was actually an evolutionary backstep.

Before I can defect to Ster's camp on this issue, we need to discuss the
use of multiple skills per round. At present (using split dice) I can
roll 5d6 -vs- broadsword and say 2d6 was for quickdraw and 3d6 were for
multi-attack. So I can (if I make the roll) quickdraw my weapon and make
4 attacks (or just draw my weapon if I fail the roll). With seperate
skills I'd need to roll -vs- quickdraw and multi-attack. I recall that
used to slow combat down a bit for the 1st round.

Then there is the issue that the old quickdraw skill was a 2d6 check. I
hate those. Checks should have more granularity giving a bonus for
buying them even higher. Maybe the number of dice you roll against your
quickdraw is also the maximum number of dice you can roll against your
multi-attack that round? Thats more complicated right there. 'tis evil
is what it is.

Then there's the whole issue of regardless of how the weapon skill is
setup your options for a defensive skill are:

1. roll it on your round and have its affects carry through to your next
round
2. roll it on your defensive round

I don't like players rolling anything except resistance checks on their
defensive round (including the pesky tor'ites). A defensive parry skill
wouldn't even be applicable from a backhit (its not a passive defense,
you have to actively be blocking hits). It also doesn't work without
your weapon in your hand. Realistically it would work in a somewhat
different fashion from weapon to weapon tying it to the type of weapon
again. Can it be used in conjunction with a shield? Probably yes. Does
being defensive automatically make you less offensive (e.g. buy being
defensive you get fewer multi-attacks)? In most cases, yes. And that
fact links it in a complex fashion with your offensive skills.

If "parry" was just a weapon sub-skill (perhaps purchased seperately but
still considered a subskill) then split dice would indicate:

5d6 -vs- broadsword... made it. Thats 3d6 of multi and 2d6 of parry. The
2d6 of parry will add +4 CDV (GDV?) until my next round. Pretty straight
forward. The parry skill is a weapon subskill which is purchased
seperately and cannot be bought higher than the weapon skill itself.
Voila.

Such is the nature of my pondering.

-Steve