>> Or, is
Frederic says:
> Well, one of the main limitation seems to be the "minimal STR" requirement.
> I consider that the "secondary" hand of a character has only 3/4 of its
> STR, and so usually fighting with 2 broadswords is difficult.
.. and I agree with him. Has anyone else tried this with steel (i.e. full weight) weapons? My own re-enactment experience is very limited, but "done that" answers are really what we need here.
Data to go on: I'm an inexperienced wimp, in stat/skill terms. Say STR7, max: I'd put it lower. I'm also more or less ambidextrous when learning new skills (though of course if I've learnt something like writing RH, I can't just transfer to the LH.)
I spent some time trying to learn what would probably be classified in Glorantha as a broadsword. One-handed, I had problems with the weight: my wrists aren't strong enough. I found this was slightly more the case with my LH, as I'm not so used to using it, but I could happily swap hands when one got tired. Two-handed was much easier, especially when blocking non-pulled blows.
Shields of the standard size I've only used with a spear, and had even more weight problems than with the sword. To actually wield a medium shield rather than just use it as arm-armour, you have to hold it out from your body and move it around at speed. Holding up a 12-lb weight for any length of time wasn't on, for me, though I expect I'd have more success with the very big shields that just hang from a shoulder strap, Templar style.
I once (and only once) tried a sword in each hand, and found I kept getting them tangled (yes, I know it sounds daft). RH alone or LH alone, fine, but coordinating the two was beyond me. I used to play the piano, so I should be able to cope with both hands doing different things, but no. Sword and dagger, on the other hand, was quite good. The dagger doesn't parry as well as a shield, but the lighter weight means I can use it. Given a sword light enough to use reliably one-handed, this is probably what I'd go for for single combat. For mass lines of battle, a large shield I can cower behind might be more effective.
BTW, in real fights most blows don't get pulled. From my own experience of parrying with a weapon rather than a shield, what goes wrong isn't the weapon breaking but my dropping it, with a numb wrist. Shields absorb the shock, metal weapons don't. (Unless this is a real use for a Wooden Sword...?)
Jane Williams jane_at_williams.nildram.co.uk http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~janewill/
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #228
WWW material at http://hops.wharton.upenn.edu/~loren/rolegame.html
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