(TFT) Shields and a Friend

["grabowski" <grabowski@erols.com>]

This following message was on ONElist for Compact Combat/Warrior/Sorceror.
I thought you would all be interested in it.  The John mentioned is
Warplayer

<<<Good morning John, my name is Ron Pehr.  Like you, my primary experience
in
swords is with modern fencing.  There are some clubs, one in upstate New
York, that practice fencing as it was when swordsmen still used an off-hand
weapon.  Also there is a school that teaches fight choreography for
theatre, where some of that is old-style fencing.  Possibly they'd be
better sources for how people are doing it now.

Also, like you, I've always enjoyed the TFT system.   But, I think that
used shields to block damage as a game device.  It fit in with how Steve
Jackson wanted to have armor work, causing players to choose between
putting points into one or another characteristic.  Thus, for example,
Dexterity didn't help defense other than to counter-balance the Dexterity
loss for using armor.  A shield really doesn't stop damage at all.  To a
lesser extent that's true of armor, but with a shield you're never blunting
damage you're deflecting it.  If the shield catches the blow at all then
you're unhurt, it doesn't slow down or decrease the amount of hurt (I guess
it's possible a blow could be powerful enough it breaks the arm or sprains
the shoulder through the shield, but that doesn't seem to be what we're
talking about).  Shields should decrease the chance of hitting the target
(if successfully interposed, in a one-on-one you'd probably rule it's
always being interposed, the dice roll indicating a hit despite the shield
simulates the attacker cut or thrust around/past it).  This could be done
by making the attack more difficult or even by making the shield-bearer's
attacks easier; simulating that if you're partially guarded with the shield
you can hit more easily with your weapon because you're not also
parrying.>>>

If the name Pehr is familiar, he is the author of the TFT Review and
Superheroes in TFT.  And not only that I think what he states about shields
is excellent and it is something I have done since the 1980s.  Ron, may join
the list as he still has some interest in TFT.

Yours in Cidri,
Justin






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