Re: (TFT) Ty's New TFT Campaign -- Swords 'n Space

["Anthony Merlock" <amerlock@execpc.com>]

I don't mean to argue with you about this - after all, it's your
campaign; however, if I was a player in this campaign, I may have
some problems suspending disbelief (and, more importantly, getting
in the 'swords & space' mindset) if I didn't believe that it was
the best way to go.

As an example, the Broadsword in Traveller was one of the best weapons
in the book - 4d6 damage, and good penetration even against battledress.
Yet, I don't know of anyone who used one, because using it meant that
you had to close with the enemy, and with guns, you could stay further
away (and theoretically safer).  And that happened even when the group
constantly encountered people in reasonably cheap and effective Cloth
armor.

But, I will agree that armor is cooler.  Except in hot climates, when
it becomes unbearable (unless it's environmentally controlled, which
increases the cost).

If only people who frequent dangerous situations have armor, then
the lower-class hoodlums will have cheap, concealable slug throwers,
because their prey, the average person, will not have armor, and slug
throwers are good ways to intimidate, injure, or kill unarmored people.
They may also have a decent knife or heavy bludgeioning weapon to deal
with lightly armored people.  And, if the most common thugs have guns,
that detracts from the 'swords-n-space' feel (IMHO, of course).

> See Dune for a particularly well-conceived swords 'n sci-fi
> universe. The book, that is. The movie and miniseries added
> guns.

I read the first three Dune books (which is where I came up with the force
screen in the first place).  Saw the movie, didn't see the miniseries.

Now, you could introduce strong political or sociological reasons why there
are minimal firearms, but you would have to enforce that by having firearms
be so rare, they're not on the equipment lists (well, maybe some really
exotic, pure military weapons like heavy railguns, missle launchers, and
energy weapons, but not simple slugthrowers).  Kind of like 'demolition
man', where firearms were sociologically obsolete, so they could only be
found in museums, and with the underground movement.  But, if that's the
case, then why would melee weapons be allowed?

Maybe it's illegal for civilian weapons of any kind to be anything more
than single-shot weapons, so that melee weapons have become the backup
weapon, and society went back to a dueling culture.  Pure military
weapons would have multi-shot capacities, of course, but control
over them would be tight (including biometric controls so that only the
registered owner could fire them).

Ok, now I'm just ranting in a stream-of-conscience way, because I have no
desire to do more work today....  All I'm really saying is that there
should be a really good reason to use melee weapons, or your players won't.

Good luck!

Tony Merlock
=====
Post to the entire list by writing to tft@brainiac.com.
Unsubscribe by mailing to majordomo@brainiac.com with the message body
"unsubscribe tft"