Weapon and shield, One two-handed weapon, or dual-wielded weapons?

[mediocrepoet]

And I'm pretty sure now there was a one-handed style in BG2, for once

If I remember correctly your crit chance goes up by using just a one-handed weapon. Extra useful for backstabs.

Only if you put points in the style.

1 AC bonus + 1 crit range for 1 point, 2 AC bonus + 1 crit range for 2 points.

It can be good for certain class setups, like you mention.

 

[Harthwain]

Chainsword and Bolter Pistol is the obvious choice.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

And yeah, carrying a polearm around on your long adventures would be a giant pain in the arse as well.

Bro that's not where polearms are stored.

but in RPGs, you are an adventurer, often fighting indoors, in caves, in woods. In all of those circumstances, polearms would be too unwieldy, and swords would be much more practical (hell, sometimes you might even switch to daggers in really tight quarters)

Two handers wouldn't get much room either

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

It's difficult to imagine what a power attack would constitute with a rapier or cavalry sword. With the former you're taking advantage of a very small window to poke a very small hole in your opponent. With the latter you're relying on the speed of the horse

A power attack with a rapier would be a passata sotto with the full force of your bodyweight behind it. That being said rapiers are cut and thrust swords, some have roughly the same profile as certain types of arming sword.

More

Dagger is defensive indeed, but it has some advantage over buckler: it is much better at binding the opponent's weapon.

Some bucklers are better at binding than others, as I'm sure you know, but the downside of the dagger is the increased vulnerability of the hand. Much less forgiving if you fail to catch the opponent's blade with the guard or misjudge the angle of attack.

The Patrician's Choice is, of course, buckler and dagger.

Naturally, there are downsides to this as well but we don't talk about those.

 

[Serus]

And yeah, carrying a polearm around on your long adventures would be a giant pain in the arse as well.

Bro that's not where polearms are stored.

but in RPGs, you are an adventurer, often fighting indoors, in caves, in woods. In all of those circumstances, polearms would be too unwieldy, and swords would be much more practical (hell, sometimes you might even switch to daggers in really tight quarters)

Two handers wouldn't get much room either

You really don't want to know where it can be stored.

 

[Lt Broccoli]

Mace and shield. Back-up two-handed sword for large plus targets.

Dual wielding is for soft cock show-offs.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

To be fair, there was one legitimate use of dual wielding in history: in one of his shitty movies, Steven Seagal dual wielded two dead cats by the tail.

 

[Alienman]

Roll mutant and triple wield.

Jokes aside. I have always liked the idea of a duelist. Tackling monsters and human foes alike with only a sword, but my RPG autism tells me I'm wasting a slot for something that would benefit me (increased damage or armor).

 

[mediocrepoet]

Roll mutant and triple wield.

Jokes aside. I have always liked the idea of a duelist. Tackling monsters and human foes alike with only a sword, but my RPG autism tells me I'm wasting a slot for something that would benefit me (increased damage or armor).

Who needs to be a mutant, so long as you're blessed and know that your third weapon has to be a club (bludgeoning / piercing).

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

You couldn't bludgeon a fly with your so called "club".

 

[Alienman]

Dem fightin words.

 

[mediocrepoet]

You couldn't bludgeon a fly with your so called "club".

Quit listening to your mother.

 

[Bulo]

You lot are obsessed with penises

 

[Halfling Rodeo]

Spears/polearms were always king on the battlefield, but in RPGs, you are an adventurer, often fighting indoors, in caves, in woods. In all of those circumstances, polearms would be too unwieldy, and swords would be much more practical (hell, sometimes you might even switch to daggers in really tight quarters). And yeah, carrying a polearm around on your long adventures would be a giant pain in the arse as well.

You realize there's no better place for a spear than in a tight indoor area right? They have to get into range to hit you and that means coming through the pointy bit. Swords are much less easy to use in any of the ways they are better than a spear in a confined space. So ultimately in an indoor area you want a pointy stick you can repeatedly thrust forward while being out of range of counter attacks. Unless your opponent can grab hold of it they have no way to ever hurt you in melee. Even if they get past the tip you can always pull it back and have the pointy bit in front of them again.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

You are assuming it's a 2 way corridor, and the enemy is coming at you from the front. A much more realistic scenario would be a complex topography where the enemy could come from the side, behind, etc. And now think about reorienting that long spear in tight quarters.

That's why short weapons dominate in close quarters combat. Not just daggers/swords vs spears, but even with firearms, pistols/submachine guns are much more useful indoors than assault rifles, but that flips outside.

 

[Orud]

 

[Johnny Biggums]

Spears/polearms were always king on the battlefield, but in RPGs, you are an adventurer, often fighting indoors, in caves, in woods. In all of those circumstances, polearms would be too unwieldy, and swords would be much more practical (hell, sometimes you might even switch to daggers in really tight quarters). And yeah, carrying a polearm around on your long adventures would be a giant pain in the arse as well.

You realize there's no better place for a spear than in a tight indoor area right? They have to get into range to hit you and that means coming through the pointy bit. Swords are much less easy to use in any of the ways they are better than a spear in a confined space. So ultimately in an indoor area you want a pointy stick you can repeatedly thrust forward while being out of range of counter attacks. Unless your opponent can grab hold of it they have no way to ever hurt you in melee. Even if they get past the tip you can always pull it back and have the pointy bit in front of them again.

This guy thrusts

 

[Zero CHAR]

Spear and shield, hoplite style.

 

[Orud]

You realize there's no better place for a spear than in a tight indoor area right? They have to get into range to hit you and that means coming through the pointy bit. Swords are much less easy to use in any of the ways they are better than a spear in a confined space. So ultimately in an indoor area you want a pointy stick you can repeatedly thrust forward while being out of range of counter attacks. Unless your opponent can grab hold of it they have no way to ever hurt you in melee. Even if they get past the tip you can always pull it back and have the pointy bit in front of them again.

Spears are handy in doors until you meet a corner, a barrier (e.g. a door) leading into a larger space, enter tight quarters, or if they get past the pointy end in some other way. There's a reason why the classic spear fell out of favor compared to multi purpose weapons (e.g. halberd, poleaxe). They are easy to manufacture, maintain, store and use, but at the end of the day their sharp point is all they have. Frankly, they've reached the same bullshit mythical proportions as the Katana at this point.

Greatswords in particular were used to get past spears. A big sword is a really big pointy stick allowing you to engage that pointy end of the spear from a distance, and once you've past that you have the benefit that a sword also has a very shard edge!

 

[Tyranicon]

 

[REhorror]

In history, it always comes down to rangedchads actually.

It's sad but it's true, it's usually cavalry's salary > archer's salary > footmen's salary.

While you guys argue over spear and sword, I carry two hand crossbows. And a sword of course, for close encounter.

 

[Cologno]

You realize there's no better place for a spear than in a tight indoor area right? They have to get into range to hit you and that means coming through the pointy bit. Swords are much less easy to use in any of the ways they are better than a spear in a confined space. So ultimately in an indoor area you want a pointy stick you can repeatedly thrust forward while being out of range of counter attacks. Unless your opponent can grab hold of it they have no way to ever hurt you in melee. Even if they get past the tip you can always pull it back and have the pointy bit in front of them again.

Spears are handy in doors until you meet a corner, a barrier (e.g. a door) leading into a larger space, enter tight quarters, or if they get past the pointy end in some other way. There's a reason why the classic spear fell out of favor compared to multi purpose weapons (e.g. halberd, poleaxe). They are easy to manufacture, maintain, store and use, but at the end of the day their sharp point is all they have. Frankly, they've reached the same bullshit mythical proportions as the Katana at this point.

Greatswords in particular were used to get past spears. A big sword is a really big pointy stick allowing you to engage that pointy end of the spear from a distance, and once you've past that you have the benefit that a sword also has a very shard edge!

Spears/polearms were always king on the battlefield, but in RPGs, you are an adventurer, often fighting indoors, in caves, in woods. In all of those circumstances, polearms would be too unwieldy, and swords would be much more practical (hell, sometimes you might even switch to daggers in really tight quarters). And yeah, carrying a polearm around on your long adventures would be a giant pain in the arse as well.

You realize there's no better place for a spear than in a tight indoor area right? They have to get into range to hit you and that means coming through the pointy bit. Swords are much less easy to use in any of the ways they are better than a spear in a confined space. So ultimately in an indoor area you want a pointy stick you can repeatedly thrust forward while being out of range of counter attacks. Unless your opponent can grab hold of it they have no way to ever hurt you in melee. Even if they get past the tip you can always pull it back and have the pointy bit in front of them again.

This guy thrusts

Two pump chump wins out here.

 

[Zombra]

I have always liked the idea of a duelist. Tackling monsters and human foes alike with only a sword, but my RPG autism tells me I'm wasting a slot for something that would benefit me (increased damage or armor).

Playing a character you like in a video game is actually more beneficial than playing one you don't like as much. Also, overcoming limitations is more rewarding than facerolling.
Tune in tomorrow for more "advice no one asked for".

 

[Tyranicon]

Playing a character you like in a video game is actually more beneficial than playing one you don't like as much.

Rolling a sword and magic battlemage is either super OP or you're going to get your shit shoved in for most games, with few exceptions for balanced cases.

But it's the only right answer.

 

[Alienman]

I have always liked the idea of a duelist. Tackling monsters and human foes alike with only a sword, but my RPG autism tells me I'm wasting a slot for something that would benefit me (increased damage or armor).

Playing a character you like in a video game is actually more beneficial than playing one you don't like as much. Also, overcoming limitations is more rewarding than facerolling.
Tune in tomorrow for more "advice no one asked for".

Sure, it usually works, until you find The shield of the HEAVENS with 30 AC and 12% more luck with the ladies, and wonder.