Swift Attack as a Half Action

Loswaith wrote: I would have thought reguardless of what spin you put on it the fact that you want to disable an enemy from attacking you is the best option.

The best way to disable or nullify an enemy is to kill it, the faster this is achieved the better, no amount of fancy stuff (feints, maneuvers, moving and so forth) is going to change that fact, so multiple attacks are always the best option if you have it.

So swift attack as a half actions would still mean everyone will go for swift attack as their main option, and it opens up parrying stance (thus gaining a parry) for those weilding the two-handed weapons (usualy impact).
Overall giving extra attacks with no downside.

You're almost drawing the right conclusion, but not quite!

The solution is to not force the player to have to make the same choice over and over again. That is, the designer should assume in his design that attacks are as powerful as they are (for the reasons you describe).

This is something WFRP succeeds at for Attacks 1 characters, leaving a half action open to a choice between various actions, neither which is obviously better than another. (If Parrying Stance ever was, it's effectively nullified by a character getting the Parry through the TWF rules)

So when you say "would still mean everyone will go for swift attack as their main option" that's the solution not the problem.

Identifying that this is what everybody will do most of the time is step one. Making sure a player doesn't have to choose that choice over and over again is step two. Making sure the other actions remain available (but outside the overwhelming competition that is Swift Attack) is step three.

CapnZapp wrote:
You're almost drawing the right conclusion, but not quite!

The solution is to not force the player to have to make the same choice over and over again. That is, the designer should assume in his design that attacks are as powerful as they are (for the reasons you describe).

This is something WFRP succeeds at for Attacks 1 characters, leaving a half action open to a choice between various actions, neither which is obviously better than another. (If Parrying Stance ever was, it's effectively nullified by a character getting the Parry through the TWF rules)

So when you say "would still mean everyone will go for swift attack as their main option" that's the solution not the problem.

Identifying that this is what everybody will do most of the time is step one. Making sure a player doesn't have to choose that choice over and over again is step two. Making sure the other actions remain available (but outside the overwhelming competition that is Swift Attack) is step three.

This is the basic methodology I was using.

But to add a couple of thoughts, crippling the Swift Attack option to me is problematic, as it basically makes warrior careers lose a lot of progression, and of course it makes Spells far more powerful. I dont really want to have to go through and Rebalance everything.

Indeed there currently is not a problem in terms of Balance, the current problem is that Charging is stupid and combat takes 8 rounds of people eye balling each other before one moves forward, (And dies) and that combat can be a bit dull as the choice of what to do is obvious.

(The same problem currently exists in 3rd ed, D&D, but D&D combat is not supposed to be exciting and interesting ;o)

If while making a Standard Attack you successfully hit your opponent, you may make an additional attack by foregoing any opportunity to Dodge Blow or Parry until your next turn.

Better?

It's a Half Action, you have another Half Action to do whatever, either before or after.

It makes two attacks available to everyone.