Hotrod wrote:Mark Hall wrote:FWIW, Hackmaster has the longer weapon go first when
1) the person with the longer weapon has reached initiative
2) only in the initial exchange of blows
If you've got a pike and I've got a short sword, you're probably going to hit me first, but if you failed to keep me at bay, then I'm going to be able to close and carve you like a turkey.
That's a good point (oh the puns). I'm not sure how I'd implement it. Ninjas & Superspies includes a bit on different melee ranges, but in practice, I found no way to use it.
In Palladium? I think "Tie on first conflict goes to longer weapon" is a simple one, but Palladium doesn't really have a speed mechanic.
If I were to deal with engagement ranges, I'd be inclined to make switching engagement ranges cost an action, which could immediately be countered by your opponent maintaining engagement ranges... the sort of action that doesn't necessarily require a role, but does require an APM.
Since I don't remember the N&SS ranges, I'll make some up to do an example.
Close (Roughly w/i 1-4 feet; punches, knives, some kicks)
Armed (3-6 feet; most hand weapons, some kicks)
Great Weapon (5-8 feet; two-handed weapons, like flamberge and halberds; also, leap kicks)
Long Pole Arms (8-12 feet; spears, pikes, etc).
Now, you can function at your range with no penalty, or at an adjacent range with a -2 penalty to attack, parry, and damage; if you have a long sword, you can try to brain someone with the hilt if they get too closer or lunge a bit to get someone who has bigger reach, but you can't really attack someone with a long pole arm without some work.
Initial melee range, assuming no one is surprised, is at the longest applicable range... so if I have a knife and you have a pole-arm, we start at LPA range... if we both have knives, we start at close range (but if I'm a martial artist, I might choose to start at Armed range by kicking you in the face).
Changing melee range takes an action and will usually be all you can do for that action; if we start at LPA range and I want to hit you with my sword, I need to move inside your range... but you can counter by immediately stepping back, if you want and can (i.e. you can't if there's another pikeman behind you, or a wall, or a pit of lava you don't want to step into). We can both fight at Great Weapon range, but with a -2... I can't get a good hit, and you're kinda slapping me with a pole, but it works. If I want to move into Armed range, where you can't keep fighting with a pole arm, I can with another action... but you might maintain range.
It can turn the game into a dance, with people giving and ceding space. We'd need to talk about moves that combine closing or retreating with attacks, and ways to push people back. But it also gives a lot of those martial arts moves a purpose... if you're in Armed range and suddenly find yourself face-to-face with a knife-fighter, the ability to throw a knee is useful.