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The Kusari Weapon Master

   
The Kusari Weapon Master

I'm trying to perfect a character's mastery of the kusari, all it's variations, and, heck, any chain really. I do realize this isn't the epitome of optimal fighting style choices, but I have the Character Points to burn, and it's just so cool. Unfortunately (and realistically), it is far easier to be a master swordsman or world class knife fighter, so I come to you, fellow GURPS experts, for advice in pursuit of my goal.

Of course, the character I have in mind is not so one-trick-pony to be useless otherwise: i'll be adding a few more melee weapon Skills and unarmed Skills as backup. I may even add a Guns Skill. However, the core focus of this thread deals with kusari-themed weaponry.

I figure that the following counts as the basic mechanics necessary for the character type, but do offer helpful suggestions if you have them.

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Attributes

Minimum ST of 12.
Minimum DX of 13.

Advantages

Signature Gear (Kusari).
Striking ST 2 (if ST is at least 12, then effective damage is at ST 14, which makes Weapon Master's damage bonus even more worthwhile).
Weapon Master: Kusari (is the 20 CP version broad enough, or is a costlier level required?).

Perks

Improvised Weapons: Kusari

Skills

Kusari at at least DX+2 level.

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Also, with the Martial Arts supplements, I am fairly certain I can scrape together enough Cinematic Skills and Techniques to round out the character's capabilities beyond "hit target until they're incapacitated/running away/dead" (hello, Sweep).

Now, the kusari is a weapon that offers some attractive innate benefits to those that wield it. You've got the benefit of Reach up to 4 yards away, it's difficult to defend against (-4 to Parry, fencing weapons can't Parry against it, and -2 to Block), and, you get a "free" entangle attempt on a weapon that does successfully Parry it. However, on the flipside, it also possesses some rather substantial drawbacks. If possible, i'd like to know of rules legal or even reasonable houserule solutions to minimize (perhaps even eliminate) these drawbacks.

Problem: Shifting between each yard of Reach requires a Ready Maneuver (one second).
Potential Solution: There's always the Altered Time Rate Advantage, but it covers much more than Reach changing and is hideously expensive. This particular problem isn't my biggest concern, but being able to go from stationary unreadiness to attacking an opponent twelve feet away in the span of a second is one hell of an advantage, and is just the sort of maneuver you'd expect an anime/chambara/wuxia type character to pull off.

Problem: -2 to Parry.
Potential Solution: The Enhanced Parry Advantage.

Problem: Unbalanced.
Potential Solution: Unsure. I can only think of Altered Time Rate (see above). *This* is the biggie. I really need to capitalize on the Parry score which will most assuredly outclass the Dodge score. There is the Defensive Attack option from Martial Arts, and it has the unbeatable cost of Free, but it reduces damage.

Problem: Cannot be used in confined spaces/spaces with many obstructions, and has a nasty tendency to hit the wielder in the face on a Critical Miss.
Potential Solution: Use the regular kusari's thrust crushing damage option (Martial Arts). Damage suffers significantly, but chains are best in open spaces for a reason.

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Other thoughts -> Is the Whip Skill worth dipping into for closely related thematic (long and flexible weapon) and strategic (great variety of improvised weaponry - rope, cord, cable, etc) reasons?

I think you're probably just going to have to accept that fighting in a broom closet is not for you. There is a downside to such a potentially potent weapon and that's one you really can't get rid of.

Not as familiar with the current GURPS ruleset as I'd like to be, especially Martial Arts, Powers and the various web enhancements thereof so there might be a more elegant solution to the Ready problem that I don't know of. What occurs to me is that you could take Altered Time Rate with a limitation, only to perform Ready maneuvers with chain weapons. That seems like a fairly significant limitation, at least -60%, probably more.

Whip might be an interesting dip.

once i tried something similar
i solved all of the problem you posted but theres one more you forgot, and that one stopped me

Problem: Shifting between each yard of Reach requires a Ready Maneuver (one second).Reach mastery perk allow to switch reach once a turn free, this means you can get from reach 2 to 3 in a turn, but will need the next turn to return to 2 from 3(still free move, just only one per turn)...price 1 point


problem -2 to parry
dodge..use the dodge, really mobility must be the focus of this kind of fighter

problem unbalanced
its a bit cheesy but should be legal and since it make playable a weak weapon i think it will not be hard to persuade your gm
the dwarven weapon enhancement in dungeon fantasy turns an unbalanced weapon in a balanced one...its a +400% on the price ...i think, works for flails...so play your fast talk card here

Problem: Cannot be used in confined spaces/spaces with many obstructions, and has a nasty tendency to hit the wielder in the face on a Critical Miss
dont know you but few times ive seen a fight in a so small zone that a reach 1-4 weapon is too big, simply use it as reach 2
and you will be fine, about critical miss, well you cant do much about that, daredevil or luck can solve in part this problem but i dont suggest them

however there is one thing that ive found no solution(page 406 campaigns)
after the attack you need 2 rounds of ready actions after an attack to ready the weapon
attack-ready-ready-attack-ready-ready-attack

and everyone that play gurps know that you cant stay idle for 2 rounds
only thing i can think is an enchantment from magic, but i dont know if you can use magic(like quick draw spell..say that the kusari is an ancient ninja weapon of the master something and it aas mystical powers...then buy the enchantment, it also solve the unbalanced problem...two with one)

however if you solve this, add return strike, then the swordmaster and knife fighter will stop laughing

whips may be interesting, but i would not suggest it, gurps penalize generalists

Quote:
Originally Posted by leons1701 View Post
Not as familiar with the current GURPS ruleset as I'd like to be, especially Martial Arts, Powers and the various web enhancements thereof so there might be a more elegant solution to the Ready problem that I don't know of. What occurs to me is that you could take Altered Time Rate with a limitation, only to perform Ready maneuvers with chain weapons. That seems like a fairly significant limitation, at least -60%, probably more.
The issue with this, is that Extra Attack [25 Character Points] beats your proposed Altered Time Rate [40 character points], because an extra attack is far more useful than an extra Ready maneuver in this instance. Heck, even if you tack on the Multi-Strike Enhancement to Extra Attack [30 Character Points], it still does more for only ten Character Points less.

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudra View Post
once i tried something similar
i solved all of the problem you posted but theres one more you forgot, and that one stopped me

Problem: Shifting between each yard of Reach requires a Ready Maneuver (one second).Reach mastery perk allow to switch reach once a turn free, this means you can get from reach 2 to 3 in a turn, but will need the next turn to return to 2 from 3(still free move, just only one per turn)...price 1 point
I wonder if the GM would let me buy four "levels" of the Reach Mastery Perk. It's a bit larger-than-life, but the Weapon Master Advantage is already grandiose enough.


Quote:
problem -2 to parry
dodge..use the dodge, really mobility must be the focus of this kind of fighter
Basic Speed 7 and Combat Reflexes nets Dodge 11. Kusari-18, Enhanced Parry 2, and Combat Reflexes nets Parry 13. In the end, buying up Dodge is more expensive [15] than buying up a specific Parry [5].

Quote:
problem unbalanced
its a bit cheesy but should be legal and since it make playable a weak weapon i think it will not be hard to persuade your gm
the dwarven weapon enhancement in dungeon fantasy turns an unbalanced weapon in a balanced one...its a +400% on the price ...i think, works for flails...so play your fast talk card here
Since I want all the badass training and experience to be applicable to anything even vaguely chain-based, improving a single weapon is of no use to this build .

Quote:
Problem: Cannot be used in confined spaces/spaces with many obstructions, and has a nasty tendency to hit the wielder in the face on a Critical Miss
dont know you but few times ive seen a fight in a so small zone that a reach 1-4 weapon is too big, simply use it as reach 2
and you will be fine, about critical miss, well you cant do much about that, daredevil or luck can solve in part this problem but i dont suggest them
Not a big concern, come to think of it. The thrust crushing option in Martial Arts avoids the space requirement (it can be used at Reach 1) and Critical Miss issue. The price of reduced damage is worth it during the few times a chain must absolutely be used in close(r) quarters.

Quote:
however there is one thing that ive found no solution(page 406 campaigns)
after the attack you need 2 rounds of ready actions after an attack to ready the weapon
attack-ready-ready-attack-ready-ready-attack
Thanks for catching this.

Quote:
and everyone that play gurps know that you cant stay idle for 2 rounds
only thing i can think is an enchantment from magic, but i dont know if you can use magic(like quick draw spell..say that the kusari is an ancient ninja weapon of the master something and it aas mystical powers...then buy the enchantment, it also solve the unbalanced problem...two with one)
As I made note of above, investing in a sole weapon isn't helpful towards my character concept. However, it could be worth a look later on.

Quote:
however if you solve this, add return strike, then the swordmaster and knife fighter will stop laughing
I'll have to read up on this Technique further...

Quote:
whips may be interesting, but i would not suggest it, gurps penalize generalists
Even Whip-15 is too much of a side investment ?

i would take dodge 11 over parry 13 any day
instead of spending these 10 points in enhanced parry i would put 4 points in acrobatics and buy 2 fatigue points
but if you like to parry

unbalanced problem
mmm well if you want it for all the weapons maybe ask the GM an unusual background like this
master of chains, your so skilled wwith chains that when you wield a flexible weapon ou can ignore the unbalanced note
5 points seem enough

about the attack-ready-ready attack problem maybe ask for a new technique(so that it will apply to every weapon used with that skill)

like hard technique[insert cool name] require weapon master, kusari 18+ and fast draw flexible weapon 15+
default kusari-10, can not exceed kusari skill level, when you attack with a kusari roll on this technique instead, if you do so your weapon is instantly readied after your attack

in my opinion these are balanced enough to be allowed, expecially since you can get the same thing (with just 1 weapon) with magic, without spending 16+ points

whip 15 ? i dont know your character , but lets just say that if it cost you more than a point than yes, i think its a waste
why not skill adaptation perk whip to kusari instead? you use whips with the kusari skill(weapon master will not apply but you will have an higher skill)

One thing to remember - if you face a fencer and they choose to Cross Parry, so they can still parry your Fiail based weapon, you have a shot at binding both of their weapons. I've yet to see it in play, but it's an enticing option.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Propter Hoc View Post
One thing to remember - if you face a fencer and they choose to Cross Parry, so they can still parry your Fiail based weapon, you have a shot at binding both of their weapons. I've yet to see it in play, but it's an enticing option.
Can't the Edged Rapier also Parry Flails/Kusari/Whips?

Sorry - going through old threads that appeal to me.

"Basic Speed 7 and Combat Reflexes nets Dodge 11. Kusari-18, Enhanced Parry 2, and Combat Reflexes nets Parry 13. In the end, buying up Dodge is more expensive [15] than buying up a specific Parry [5]."
So long as your doing your fighting on the ground, throw a point or two into Boxing, which ads 1/8 of skill to dodge when in a melee/ground fight. That'd increase your Dodge to 13 with options of increasing with earned CP. Plus, you can dodge more often than you can parry and it won't take a chance on binding your weapon.

At least, it did in 3rd ed. I'm not sure about 4th ed.

Did you ever finish this build? Care to post it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dajoji View Post
So long as your doing your fighting on the ground, throw a point or two into Boxing, which ads 1/8 of skill to dodge when in a melee/ground fight. That'd increase your Dodge to 13 with options of increasing with earned CP. Plus, you can dodge more often than you can parry and it won't take a chance on binding your weapon.

At least, it did in 3rd ed. I'm not sure about 4th ed.
That sounds nice, but it's not a part of the core GURPS 4th Edition rules .

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dajoji View Post
Did you ever finish this build? Care to post it?
I'll get something posted...eventually .

azar's right, several things changed since 3rd, expecially defenses

for example now parry is skill/2 +3

also improving parry isnt cheaper than improving dodge(if we stay inside useful levels, like 14-16 for defenses)

for example
if we take the speed 7, combat reflexes, kussari at 18 as base

parry guy: take 2 levels of parry(10 points) base parry at 13 +2 enhanced parry +1 retreating -2 kussari= 14

dodge guy buy acrobatics at dx+1(8 points) base dodge 11 +3 retreating +2 acrobatic =16 (it needs one more roll but work against attacks you cant parry, seem a good trade)





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