Repel attempt bonuses

[Calanor]

Is the difference in length between two weapons considered when repel attempts are made? Let me clarify that: would it be harder to close in on a guy wielding a spear, if you use a dagger rather than, say, a sword?

If not, I would suggest that repellers gain a bonus (say, +1 per length difference beyond 1) to their attempts when fighting off guys with short weapons.

[ November 01, 2003, 16:05: Message edited by: Calanor ]

[Saber Cherry]

This entire thread is repulsive

I think that the repel/morale save is more difficult for greater length differences.

[LordArioch]

I'd think once you got past the guy's spear a dagger would work as well as a sword, and maybe even better (less unwieldly at close range).
Of course I don't have much melee weapon combat experience here so I'm not sure.

[Calanor]

Originally posted by LordArioch:
I'd think once you got past the guy's spear a dagger would work as well as a sword, and maybe even better (less unwieldly at close range).
Of course I don't have much melee weapon combat experience here so I'm not sure.

I most certainly agree, but you have to get there first. As I mentioned in another thread, I would certainly be clapping my little hands if soldiers with unwieldy weapons would have to draw a secondary blade when forced into close-combat (e.g. a pikeman would have to switch to a shortsword), but I am not sure that such a feature could be easily implemented.

Alternatively, one could skip the whole secondary weapon approach and simply reverse the roles - the pikeman would now have to make rolls in order to distance himself from his attacker.

[PvK]

It depends on the nature of the longer weapon. Yes, a pike has a signifigant minimum reach, but a two-handed sword, for example, can kill just as easily at shortsword range as it can at spear range.

Trying to get to dagger range is generally easier against a broadsword, than against a longer weapon.

PvK

[Calanor]

Originally posted by PvK:
It depends on the nature of the longer weapon. Yes, a pike has a signifigant minimum reach, but a two-handed sword, for example, can kill just as easily at shortsword range as it can at spear range.

Trying to get to dagger range is generally easier against a broadsword, than against a longer weapon.

PvK

A two-handed sword - provided that we are talking about the ones found in Europe during the late medieval period and early renaissance - won't fare that well at close range. A two-handed sword relies a whole lot on momentum and force, which is hard to achieve if someone's a few inches away from you considering the great length of these blades. The edge wasn't that sharp, as it was mainly meant to penetrate armor (hello, Saber Cherry!). Again, I am refering to Western two-handers here. Eastern (Chinese, to be specific) two-handed swords tended to be much shorter, more akin to the Western "hand-and-a-half", and were used in quite a different manner.
Of course, there are always exceptions, but I think the above is true in most cases.