Re: (TFT) Attribute ratings for real people

["Craig W. Barber" <craigwbar@comcast.net>]

Wasn't the rapier originally invented to be slid through the joints of full
plate?  The armor was so thick, it made more sense to hamstring the guy than
hack at him.  I'm pretty sure it was NOT invented for more generalized combat.
So how did it end up being used for code duello?  Anyone remember details on
the development of the rapier?

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: raito@raito.com
  To: tft@brainiac.com
  Sent: Friday, September 22, 2006 2:28 PM
  Subject: Re: (TFT) Attribute ratings for real people


  Quoting Mark Tapley <mtapley@swri.edu>:

  > IQ is also possible to estimate, simply by adding up talents.  I'd be
  > a little careful about claiming weapon talents, but then modern
  > coaching in fencing, e.g. is probably a lot more effective per unit
  > time than what medieval swordsmen got. Many of the other talents

  I disagree. Recent research (in the last 20 or so years) indicates that
  mediaval
  combat, among the nobles at least, was not just big guys bashing each
other.
  More and more manuscripts of fighting manuals are being studied, with very
  interesting results. The earliest shword and buckler manual bears some
close
  resemblance to Filipino styles. Fiore's manual states that wrestling is the
  basis of all fighting. The anonymous Jeu de la Hache describes a
  precise system
  for the use of the pollaxe (there really is no pole ax). And there's a host
of
  others. I'd have to say that by the end of the practical use of the sword
for
  battle.there's several hundred years of written instruction to draw
  from. We're
  just starting to scratch the surface there.

  I'd also say that modern fencing has little or nothing to do with
  combat (not to
  mention that the weapons are completely different). It's all about getting
a
  light to light up before the other guy's. In fact, I'd go out on a limb
  and say
  that most points scored in mdoern fencing would result in the death or
  injury of
  both parties if played with sharps. This has made some go in for what is
being
  called classical fencing, where the idea is to see what would happen if the
  weapons were sharp. Even Silver says don't take your rapier onto a
  battlefield.

  Really, our modern society is just skewed in what Talents normal people
have,
  just like the usual fantasy milieu is skewed. We're more prepared to learn
  Mathematics, and so it's likely that a modern could do so without as high
an
  IQ, whereas learning Sword isn't as likely.

  And again, I prefer consistency to accuracy in mechanics. If a player
says,"My
  character does thus and so", I just want to be able to figure of how to
  rule on
  it.

  Neil Gilmore
  raito@raito.com
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