two weapon skill

[Guest Keneton]

The Faq

 

Since it has been mentioned in my post as well as others, I'd like to address Steve's official point of view on this subject. here is the section from the FAQ that addresses this discussion.

 

Two-Weapon Fighting

 

Q: 5E 51 says: “Characters using Two-Weapon Fighting are subject to all rules for Rapid Fire or Sweep (pages 262-263) regarding the Manuevers they can use, CV modifiers, time required, END cost, number of targets, and so forth.â€

 

Since Rapid Attack (5E 47) is specifically designed for use with Rapid Fire (or Sweep), can it be combined with Two-Weapon Fighting, thus allowing the character to gain the two-weapon bonuses as a half-move action?

 

A: Yes.

 

Q: Why should a character buy Two-Weapon Fighting (10 points) when he can simply buy two 2-point Combat Skill Levels with Sweep, and define the special effect as “fighting with a weapon in each hand�

 

A: The cost for TWF is calculated based on CSLs to counteract the Sweep penalty, and Ambidexterity to counter the standard Off-Hand Penalty.

 

If you’re going to use the Sweep maneuver as a standard option in the campaign, the alternate route you suggest works better from a point-accounting standpoint. However, not all campaigns use that Maneuver — it is specifically listed as optional — and for them, the more “traditional†TWF Skill might be appropriate even if characters normally cannot Sweep.

 

If you still want to use TWF as-is, but encourage people to take it instead of just two CSLs with Sweep, tack some other benefit onto it. For example, maybe if a character has TWF, he only suffers a -2 DCV penalty, instead of 1/2 DCV.

 

Q: Can a character with Two-Weapon Fighting Hold one of his attacks, or make one and then Abort the other to Block, or choose a Strike and Block as his two attacks?

 

A: Two-Weapon Fighting is based on, and uses, the mechanic for Rapid Fire/Sweep. As such, it constitutes a single maneuver. A character can’t Hold half of it, anymore than he could, for example, Hold half a Haymaker or half a Disarm. Similarly, he can’t Abort half of it, nor can he choose to perform a defensive action like Block — Sweep involves attacks, not defenses.

 

However, for those who think Two-Weapon Fighting is overpriced (see above), what this question describes — the ability to “split†the attack and Hold half, or Abort half — might be feasible as an “extra function†for the Skill, in the GM’s discretion.

 

Hope this helps.