Speed of attack and the amount of damage an attack does are only a few of the considerations a player should take when choosing the proper weapon.
A dager is a short-range weapon, where a sword or an axe are mid-range. Long-range weapons like bows and spears would do well against opponents at a distance, but would be utterly useless at close range.
If my opponent has a long sword, and I am wielding a dagger, I should be able to dodge thier attack and, if successful, go in close for the attack. By now being in close combat quarters, the sword would not be as effective, while my dagger is most effective.
Ever try hitting someone with a sword who is hugging you?
Granted, daggers could also be considered long-range weapons as well, (by throwing) and would add to their allure.
The whole point is, think about how these weapons would be used properly (or improperly) in real combat situations. There's more to fighting than just swinging a blade...
~X
*nodnods* Thats what I was trying to say.
Another thing that came to me today, that Im gonna try to get to work properly, is the fact that you can do different things with the same weapon. Who said you could only slash with a sword? You can stab with the tip, as well as bash with the flat of the blade. So you could make a broadsword, that would be good at slashing, fairly decent at bashing, but prolly utterly suck at stabbing, as opposed to a rapier which would be a closer range wep, as well as be a fair bit faster, as well as being a really good stabber, a 'alright' slasher, but a damned horrible basher. *L* I get too many ideas sometimes @.@ Elorien, who is -very- glad she doesnt get hangovers | |
I'm all for lots of items. I think players like having items they don't see on other players too much, even if in truth the black axe and the polka-dotted axe do the exact same thing. But I have it easy, Cerulea being a text game. I can make an oak-hafted steel axe, a honed bronze double bit axe, and a small snake-etched hatchet... all look different, yet no extra artwork is needed.
The only drawbacks I can think of to lots of items is that (a) if they're all sold in the main stores, new players may be overwhelmed, and (b) it's more work for the designer. Z | |
In a story driven game, where combat is less about die rolls than it is about thinking through an actual situation, where weapons are good for more than severing troll limbs, the type of weapon becomes very important. A small knife could be concealed up your sleeve... if you've got a stout oak door in front of you, you'll want an axe to chop it down, etc.
I suggest anybody interested in this and the related topics (weapon materials, skills, reach, range, and so on) check out the GURPS roleplaying game. It's a daunting system, but approaching it from the point of view of a story teller and a coder can help. It has extremely detailed and realistic rules for weapon materials, length, and so on... and one of the system's most attractive features is that it offers as an alternative, extremely unrealistic rules for such things, to fit a particular genre or style of play.