After a vote - where my favorite option lost! - we ended up merging weapon skills in DF Felltower.
Shortsword and Broadsword merge into one skill (Broadsword)
Staff, Spear, and Polearm merge into one skill (Polearm)
Kusari, Whip, and Flail merge into one skill (Flail)
Ranged:
Knife Throwing and Shuriken merge into Knife Throwing. Shuriken get a -1 to hit without a Perk (Shuriken Thrower) to remove it.
Otherwise unchanged.
This option will likely include 10-point weapon talents. These have not yet been defined. It's quite likely it'll basically be Master of Arms from Delvers to Grow, without the reaction bonus.
This will retroactively affect existing characters, who will have points in affected skills merged. Useless overages will be saved towards a new level, to avoid the usual "Can I buy a new skill with it?" annoyances.
sounds reasonable. what about defaults? can you wield a broadsword off a knife default, of a quarterstaff off 2h axe/mace?
ReplyDeleteThe current plan is to just retain the defaults of the new skill, and ignore those of the merged skills, for simplicity. It shouldn't be a big issue as few people improve off of defaults anyway.
DeleteWhat was your favorite option/how It differed out of curiosity?
ReplyDeleteIt was an even more compressed list of weapon skills and no talents. I think it would have worked fine, and given fighter-types a LOT of flexibility in choices of weapons and ability to use found magic items. An insufficient amount of players agreed with me.
DeletePlayers are seldom correct when disagreeing with the GM. For a DF game like yours I think the more flexibility in found weapons use the better.
DeleteI think the issue is that a lot of players seem to define their characters by what they wield, not by their personality. They don't say, "I'm going to make a curious and friendly knight" or "a swashbuckler who is always making ridiculous boasts and then tries to back them up," they say, "I'm making an axe-and-shield knight" or "I'm making a longsword swashbuckler with heavy armor." The curious and friendly knight could wield anything, and the boastful swashbuckler any sword, but the others are locked to their choices. Opening up the skill options probably seems like it's threatening character design more than expanding your options.
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