Melee Weapons

Good point, tk!

All I've said is very much my personal opinion, and it really is a minor issue... I'm just petty like that :)

FYI, I'm thinking in terms of doing some kind of revamp on the martial arts rules from Icon to bring them into Coda. Bat'leth training is one of the arts, requiring the appropriate armed combat skill as a prerequisite - or substituting for it. Bat'leth damage would be downgraded a little. Martial arts manouevres would then do varying amounts of additional damage, and should reflect skilled users being much more effective. It's basically the same idea as they use in Hero.

Any thoughts?

First off, I don't understand this thing about some games treating katanas as more powerful than other swords somply because they're oriental. What game does this? I realize my experience is limited because I haven't played than many different games, but in D&D 3ed katanas are just masterwork bastardswords. Weapons of equal quality can be found everywhere! So you can't really say that D&D 3ed makes katanas more powerful than other swords...

Second, what is this talk about skill not affecting the damage? If you score a critical success you deal 2 extra points of damage and with an extraodinary success you deal an extra 4 points of damage...

The fact that a bat'leth deals more base damage than a sword is perfectly reasonable since the klingons abandoned the sword in favor of the bat'leth. They wouldn't do that if it wasn't superior, would they?

The CODA systems seems much more realistic than D&D for example, but you still can't chop down a person with one hit... Humans can survive a surprising amount of damage, but it doesn't really take much to knock you out cold. I suppose you've seen those movies where the hero and the villain fight it off at the end? Well, most of the time, if it were real, they both would suffer serious trauma to the brain, broken ribs, multiple concussions, broken bleeding noses, and so forth... A single kick to the head is more than enough to knock you out. So why can't you kill someone with one hit from a bat'leth?

Say you're facing a character with Health 10. A hit with youre bat'leth that deals maximum damage would only leave him Injured! So I think that a bat'leth (and all the other weapons) should deal MORE damage! If we're looking for realism that is...

If we're looking for game balance however, it becomes a totally different matter...

The other thing to remember is a point of definition.

The Bat'leth may translate to 'Sword of Honour'. And it may hold the Cultural Equivalent of the sword in Klingon society. However as a weaon it is closer akin to an Axe.

It can be used to hack, slash and parry... But the design of the weapon makes the skewering attacks less so. The Bat'leth is a far greater Traumatic damaging weapon vs. the finer control of a sword... Combined with the Klingon fighting style vs. the lack of training apparent in equivalent cultures...

I can accept a Bat'leth as a weapon with higher damage. However YMMV, and the approach to alternatives to allow for training is a good idea...

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Originally posted by Almos
First off, I don't understand this thing about some games treating katanas as more powerful than other swords somply because they're oriental. What game does this? I realize my experience is limited because I haven't played than many different games, but in D&D 3ed katanas are just masterwork bastardswords. Weapons of equal quality can be found everywhere! So you can't really say that D&D 3ed makes katanas more powerful than other swords...

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But then 3e has gotten more reasonable in that respect! In 2e AD&D (when masterwork had not been invented), it did quite a bit more damage. Also in RuneQuest, Storyteller, Champions (3rd ed at least) and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head. Even GURPS succumbed - the standard katana gets a +1 with more if you have a fine or very fine quality weapon.

Anyway, I'm going to shut up now, this has gone on long enough ;)

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Even GURPS succumbed - the standard katana gets a +1 with more if you have a fine or very fine quality weapon.

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gurps also notes that a katana is a base fine weapon. katanas get the standard bonus for a fine weapon in gurps because of their manufacture.