Re: (TFT) How often should TFT swords Break

[ErolB1@aol.com]

In a message dated 4/1/2004 3:26:26 PM Central Standard Time, pvk@oz.net 
writes:

>Except that, as I tried to explain, I don't think the reason for breaking 
>is usually going to be that the sword was defective. The reason is 
>sometimes going to be something that will tend to ruin a weapon of any 
>level of quality.
>
>For example, someone stepping on it sideways while it is caught against the 
>floor, and snapped that way, which can happen to any sword. The 1/216 of 
>rolling 18 is more like the chance that some rare circumstance occurs that 
>is going to subject the weapon to extreme abuse likely to render it useless.

And that example is a reason why I disagree with your argument. I'll accept 
that a poor-quality weapon is likely to break when "stepped on sideways" like 
that. But I'd expect a good-quality weapon to be tens of times less likely to 
break after being stepped on sideways, and a very-good-quality weapon to be 
hundreds of times less likely to break. Good blades flex. 

Or to put it another way, good blades aren't abuse-*proof* but are 
abuse-*resistant* And furthermore, I can't imagine abuse in combat to be anything other 
than a smooth continuum. I don't expect it to suddenly jump from "not enough 
to break a cheap sword" to "extreme enough to break even the best sword."

Erol K. Bayburt
Evil Genius for a Better Tomorrow
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