One of the nice things about a mailing list (or usenet Newsgroup)
is that you can get a lot of discussion on an issue.  (A drawback to 
usenet and mailing lists is that you can get a lot of discussion on
an issue.  Depends a lot on how interested you are in that issue.)

   I posted a problem I had with the way axe attacks are handled in
GURPS and got some interesting responses and suggested fixes.

   Basic details: GURPS allows balanced weapons to be used at a 
rate of once per turn, while unbalanced ones and relatively heavy
balanced ones require a turn to ready them after use.  Net effect is
that a broadsword or short sword using character gets double the 
attack rate of an axe or mace wielding one.

The Problem:

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Once upon a time, (Saturday last) a potential new player watched my game for a bit. We talked about his bringing a character in. He wanted to convert an existing AD&D character over. Not a major problem, until that is, he described the guy's primary weapon: A battle axe.

He may show up next time, but I doubt it. He kind of lost interest once the 1 attack every 2 turns aspect of unbalanced weapons was explained to him.

I'm not happy about probably losing a new player.

Now, there are 3 ways to get around the 1:2 ratio. The first is to have sufficient strength to be free of the penalty (17+ in the case of an axe. 100 pts. Not great in a 100 point - actually 120 now - starting game. The second is to get an axe enchanted with Quick Draw. The going rate for that is 1200 energy points, $30,000 or 60 pts using the method described in Compendium 1. In a "Spells R Us" world where magic items are common enough to be treated as normal equipment, The advantage Filthy Richwould get the Axe. 50 pts, but you'd have cash left over, and a nice yearly income.

Finally, there's Cinematic attack rates. GMs can allow the the true cinematic attack rate (1 extra attack per 8 levels of skill) or the character can purchase an advantage like Trained by a Master or Weapon Master and use the Chamabara attack rates (Skill -12)/3 rounded down attacks per turn. Weapon Master (Axe) 20 pts would do the trick sayeth Compendium 2, you could burn an extra attack to ready the weapon, assuming your skill was high enough.

Doable, and if I'd been thinking better I might have thought of these in time to keep the pitch from going sour.

However, there ought to be an easier way.

Think about it: A 17 ST character _automatically_ is able to ready the weapon in one turn. A 16 ST character _cannot_ do this. No die rolls required. Can/Cannot.

Someone just shy of the strength required should fall from "automatic" to "probable", with chance of success dropping as ST decreases.

My suggestion to fix the axe 1:2 attack rate problem:

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Ready Weapon (PH Maneuver) Defaults from Fast Draw (weapon type) -2 or Weapon (type) -5. Modifiers: subtract half the difference between the Weapon's Minimum ST +5 and the character's ST score. Automatic success remains at MinST +5 while Automatic failure drops to MinST -1, round down.

Example: Caleb has a 15 ST (2 pts below MinST +5 thus a -1 penalty) and Fast Draw Axe at 14. His default is 12 (-1) or 11. Four points (a realistic top expenditure for a maneuver except in really high point games) would bring it up to a reasonably successful rate of 14-. Far cheaper than any of the other options.

Weapons that can't be fast drawn are more troublesome. Fast draw: Maul being something of a contradiction if not an oxymoron, nothing I've seen in the basic set forbids Fast Draw: Maul, but...

Shegath has ST 19, MinST +5 = 22 for the maul, So the penalty is -1.5 (-2). No fast draw skill possessed (if the GM even allows it), but he has Two Handed Axe/Mace at 13. Default is 8 (-2) or 6. Four points spent on the maneuver would raise the level to a less than impressive 9 or less. It's doubtful you'll see many mauls users taking this maneuver.

Chris Taylor's suggestion:

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The easiest way to do this is for the character to depend solely on his armor for protection and all-out-attack. Yes this is dangerous, but the chances are that this guy is going to cleave most enemies in two the first time he hits (battle axes are heavy and likely to cleave weapons used to parry too).

David Pidcock's suggestion:

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Extra Effort Readying...

Ok, so you lack a point of two of ST under that MinSt+5 limit. Why not use Extra Effort to up your ST to that level, thus readying the weapon in 1 turn less than usual.

Anthony Jackson suggests:

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Readying (hard): default to ST, must specialize, cannot exceed ST + 5

The readying manuever replaces your ST when determining the ready time for an unbalanced weapon.

S. John Ross suggests:

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One optional rule, though, for those who don't mind some extra die-rolling: Allow a fighter with an unbalanced weapon to "force" it ready in emergencies. This requires a ST roll at a penalty. The penalty is equal to the difference between 10 and the weapon's required ST (thus, force-readying a weapon requiring ST 12 is rolled at ST-2). If the roll succeeds, the weapon gets a second shaved off it's readying time (instantly readying it unless it's a polearm or something). If the roll fails, the weapon stays unready, and takes an EXTRA turn to ready. It can't be "forced" again until the next time it's unready.

This option completely balances with the existing rules, but creates more of a curve between the minimum ST and 5 above it.

Revenant suggested:

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One other thought I just came up with - switch the readying time from a prohibition to a penalty. Say that he *can* swing his axe twice per turn, but that he's at a -1 penalty to skill for each point of ST below that required.

e.g. It requires ST17 to swing an axe once per turn. If he had ST14, he could swing it once per turn at a -3 to skill.

This is fairly cinematic and if you wanted it to be more realistic it would be better to go with a -2 per point of ST below that required...

Bob Huss suggested

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Ooh! Just had a thought: How about a Combination Maneuver w/the axe (or other weapon): Attack/Re-ready. At 4 pts, it's kind of cheap. And the Contest of skills requirement could put a real crimp in using the maneuver against equally skilled opponents.

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