Comments on: Spears Rule http://mu.ranter.net I miss my frames. Wed, 28 Jul 2010 07:15:22 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Brett http://mu.ranter.net/design-theory/weapons/spears-rule/comment-page-1#comment-485 Brett Thu, 10 Jun 2010 01:19:45 +0000 http://mu.ranter.net/design-theory/weapons/spears-rule#comment-485 Part of the problem with spears getting a bad image is that spears are, as you mentioned, extremely good - in ranks. But how often does your typical fantasy adventurer spend in large groups? At best, he might be in a small group doing a quest, which would give the opportunity for "pike squares" and the like with fellow spear-men. Most of the time, though, it's rather difficult for him to lug around an 18-foot spear. <blockquote>A system like this would also allow for considerations like proper greatswords, pikes, and the absurdity of charging into a battle with a ceremonial punch dagger, but would represent an additional drain on resources and bandwidth, important considerations given current wide area networking technology. </blockquote> Some of the games I've played try to work this in by manipulating accuracy statistics. In other words, if that knife-wielding thief goes up against a spear-wielder, he has only a minor chance of getting a hit, because he has to successfully dodge the spear-point to get close enough. Part of the problem with spears getting a bad image is that spears are, as you mentioned, extremely good – in ranks. But how often does your typical fantasy adventurer spend in large groups? At best, he might be in a small group doing a quest, which would give the opportunity for “pike squares” and the like with fellow spear-men. Most of the time, though, it’s rather difficult for him to lug around an 18-foot spear.

A system like this would also allow for considerations like proper greatswords, pikes, and the absurdity of charging into a battle with a ceremonial punch dagger, but would represent an additional drain on resources and bandwidth, important considerations given current wide area networking technology.

Some of the games I’ve played try to work this in by manipulating accuracy statistics. In other words, if that knife-wielding thief goes up against a spear-wielder, he has only a minor chance of getting a hit, because he has to successfully dodge the spear-point to get close enough.

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