WIP - Class Specializations

[cynthialee]

Perhaps penalizing the mage for wearing armor is in order?
Perhaps a dice penalty to all offensive spells could be payed for equiping armor on the Battle Mage?

[knightkrawler]

I'd say no two-handed weapons for the battlemage (one hand free for gestures or some piece of equipment to store the magic),
which limits his attack dice to 3... seems reasonable to me.
The exception: a battlemage's staff (2 attack dice, two-handed, adjacent & diagonal, one or two ends sharp or pointy)

And, by all means, no plate armor (simply too much metal for any kind of magic to work), which limits his defend dice to 5 (3 for chainmail +1 for bracers +1 for robe).

[el_flesh]

eh. a staff really doesn't do much dmg with one hand (trust me on that); it would be much more useful as a javelin. 2 handed it can also be used to block to some extent - depending on how well reinforced and what type of wood.
Of course, this is HQ, so maybe it can MAGICALLY stand up to sharp metal.

[knightkrawler]

Yes, I know.
That's why it's the exception to the two-handed rule.
A battlemage should be trained in working magic and fighting (two-handedly) with his staff.
And he can work magic if there's not too much metal around him, so some kind of blade or point on the staff is o.k.

Stats:
Battlemage
Equipment: Chainmail, Bracers, Battlemage's Staff
AD 2 (incl. diagonal)
DD 5
Spell Sets: 2 (or 3 after a certain number of successful quests?)

[el_flesh]

anything having a point on the tip can be thrusted as a one handed spear or two handed, depending on its length.
What length is his staff?

Sorry if I'm over analyzing "a frikkin GAME for chrissake", but we like more realism - at least in terms of most physics- in ours.

Even a staff without points on the tip can still be thrusted quite effectively...

[knightkrawler]

And they say, I overanalyze the game and my houserules complicate things too much

Yes, if it is pointy, it can be thrusted, why not!?
Brings quite some flexibility into the battlemage - magic, melee, diagonal AND ranged... Not bad at all.

In my imagination the staff is between 5 and 6 feet long, has one blade, looking similar to those:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Glaive

[cynthialee]

anything having a point on the tip can be thrusted as a one handed spear or two handed, depending on its length.
What length is his staff?

Sorry if I'm over analyzing "a frikkin GAME for chrissake", but we like more realism - at least in terms of most physics- in ours.

Even a staff without points on the tip can still be thrusted quite effectively...

I knew a guy in Alaska that was a staff master. The guys were all SCA fighters and they were all burly guys with big sword types. Not Brandon. He was a slight framed young man who favored the spear. He would chalenge up to 5 fighters at a time to just land one blow on him.
They never could. The dude would have the guys disarmed and fleeing. Not chumps either, I am talking about card carrying, qualified SCA fighters that have trained in melee combat. Large guys.
Anyways, my point is that the staff is very much a discounted and ignored weapon. It is definatly a powerful weapon in the hands of a person who is qualified in its use.
In HQ the staff is way under powered in my opinion.
Figure the mage has been fighting with the thing for many quests exclusively while the others are changing weapons, sometimes quite often.
I figure if advancement rules are used the Mage could get some bonus after a number of quests using the staff.

[el_flesh]

Yes, I agree it is underpowered. It is indeed underestimated in real life - but this has a good reason. Most people think they can twirl it around, and it will work for them. It takes many hundreds of hours of practice to begin to move smoothly and use it with good timing & distance.
But I think CLee already knows that! Something tells me she might know more about their use...

Anyway. Who was this slight guy in Alaska? Your BF? (See I'm being inappropriately impolite now) BURRRP sorry

____________

I also found that sharp blades can penetrate through wood enough to get stuck = trouble when your staff is wood and you aren't an absolute master in striking angles while using it...metal coverings/sheathes can help on that.

[cynthialee]

No Brandon wasn't my boyfriend. My girlfriend at the time would have been very upset and she got very mad when I hinted that he was cute enough for a three way. (I have learned to keep my bisexual ways quite around my lesbian sisters. They really get upset with bisexual girls...Anyways that is a discussion for other places.)

As for staff fighting the right way, I learned a trick or two from him. One thing he never did was fancy twirly stuff. He kept his staff pointed at the ground out away from him at about a 45 degree angle, unless he was pwning with it. Never saw anyone use a staff like he did but it got results and thats what matters. No flashy moves or hollywood style will serve in a real fight. One must know the limitations of the weapon, yourself and your enemy.

[knightkrawler]

I figure if advancement rules are used the Mage could get some bonus after a number of quests using the staff.

That's included in my rules.
It's training advancement and will add +1 to your attack dice when you've succeeded in 14 quests. Ticker box is on the character pass.